He’s got a lot on his plate, what with the whole 10 albums in 10 genres in 10 years thing, but Troy Kingi leapt at the chance to be part of the Bill Withers Social Club project and pay tribute to a songwriting hero.

What drew you to this salute to Bill Withers? I've been a big fan of his for a while now. I think after my third album, when I was starting to get into a bit of a creative block, I started getting deep into Bill Withers and then realised his story. He started in his 30s and the amount of bangers that he churned out, it just got me off my ass and got me working again. Just an inspiring guy and I love that he started later in his life.

How did this show come about? Iraia Whakamoe, the man who’s behind the show, basically just told me ‘You're singing some Bill Withers songs’ and I said yes, that's basically it! He told me ‘We're gonna do the social club’. He didn’t even tell me who was going to be involved. And I said ‘Let me know where and when’ and that was it.

When did you first hear his music and how did you react? I've been listening to his music for years, but it was one of those ones where you don't actually know they're Bill Withers’ songs until you become a musician yourself. You then start looking at biographies and where songs come from, and you realise that Bill's got this massive back catalogue of songs that you've been listening to your whole life but just didn't realise they were his. So there was no ‘Oh wow these songs are amazing’ moment, they have just been part of my upbringing my whole life without even knowing, like ‘Lean On Me’ and ‘No Sunshine’, those sorts of songs.

Bill's quiet originals often contrast with the full-blown treatments of Al Green or others. Where will this show sit on that spectrum? We’re trying to kind of mimic his shows where everyone’s seated and they’ve just got that cool vibe about it. He didn't have to be up and dancing and this crazy dude, his mana just lay in the music and in the vibe within the band. So we're not going to stray too much from the likes of his Carnegie Hall show or his BBC performance, replicating that sort of lounge session vibe.

The Green Room will be a flashback to Kaikoura Roots Festival. Must be a real reunion. It's definitely going to be cool to get back together with the gang. We haven't actually seen each other since we performed the show as part of last year’s Auckland Arts Festival, at the Auckland Town Hall, so it's going to be cool to get back together and start rehearsing again.

What’s the next project for you? At the moment, just trying to finish album number 8. We are a little bit late on our deadlines by about three months so we're just powering through that, but at the same time trying to do a good job. Not trying to rush it, well, we are rushing it but trying not to, if you know what I mean! But finishing that and there’s just a lot happening in life in general with our family. Making sure the kids and everyone's all good. Our kids have started new schools and we love it. We just moved into a new house at the end of last year so we're still getting used to that and being out of town, so just life.

How's the 10 in 10 in 10 project going? We will be ready to release three months after we've finished our mix and master, so I'm hoping that's within the next couple of weeks and that'll be number 8. We were hitting a wall last year, and when we went to record this album over in Joshua Tree, it was very timely and it kind of sparked a creative river again, so I hope it's gonna be enough to get me through the last two albums and get that decade ticked off.

Any plans for while you're in Christchurch? Any favourite haunts here? I might catch up with Delaney Davidson. I haven't seen him for a while. Maybe hit Smokey T’s if we get a little bit of time, get some barbecue.

Any emerging Kiwi artists you think we should know more about? Oh man, I haven't had my finger on that pulse for a long time.
I wouldn't have a clue, I'm such a dinosaur these days!

Bill Withers Social Club, Isaac Theatre Royal, Friday 10 May.
isaactheatreroyal.co.nz