It would almost be an abomination for someone to dream up a music festival that celebrates the cultural diversity of not only Sydney but Australia as a whole and not invite Sydney reggae/hip hop fusion group The Strides to headline.

A force to be reckoned with ever since their self-titled debut dropped over six years ago, this nine-piece have not only worked with such Australian heavy-hitters as R&B powerhouse Ngaiire, but each member of the band has also poured their talents into a variety of side projects.

Whether it’s keys man Daniel Pliner getting down with Sydney’s Ethiopian-flavoured funksters Mister Ott, drummer Carlos Adura smashing the skins in Sydney indie outfit Deep Sea Arcade, or trumpeter Nick Garbett joining tenor saxophonist Jeremy Rose in The Vampires, each member seems willing to lend out their services while always coming back to this riveting, worldly collective.

Rose, the last name on that list, seems to have a particular penchant for playing in multiple musical outfits, and he seems slightly befuddled when asked why he has his fingers in quite so many pies. It’s evident that playing music is a natural extension of his character, rather than some ultra-calculated move designed to win him prestige or cash. “It’s a question I get a lot actually,” he says, taking some time to consider his answer.

“I guess it’s sort of like watering a garden,” he says. “I sort of foster each project little by little. They kind of grow and mature throughout different times in the year, so it keeps me busy. I’ll have intense periods of working on one thing while the others are on the simmer.

“The Australian music climate is such that you can’t really work full time within one creative project – or at least you can’t with the sort of bands that I work with,” he continues. “One of my mentors Phil Slater used this analogy of a drip-feed, where you just let it slowly build. Each project may have a cycle of six years – that’s just how it is.

“We just don’t have the same density of population that other bigger scenes have, like they do in Europe, where you could travel half an hour to an hour and you could be in another country. So with us, it’s not quite possible for people within the niche scenes such as world music or jazz to tour full time. But I think it does give us opportunities to do eclectic projects here in Australia.”

Having just released a riveting colonial Australia-inspired project with the Earshift Orchestra called Iron In The Blood, Rose is the poster boy for multi tasking, and he’s managed to juggle a number of creative endeavours without ever once spreading himself too thin. Though many other artists faced with Rose’s heavy workload would run the risk of burning out, he has managed to keep all of his projects ticking over nicely.

“2016 has been a bit of a watershed year for The Strides,” he says. “We were really excited to be invited to perform at the WOMADelaide festival earlier this year: it’s been a bit of a goal for us since our inception as a band. We had such an incredible time there. It’s such a beautiful scenic location and to be included with such renowned and unique artists as Angelique Kidjo, Seun Kuti and even artists that we hadn’t heard of was just excellent for our self esteem and profile.”

Not that The Strides were in massive need of a profile-boost, mind you: their reptutation had already been bolstered by the release of their 2015 album The Youth, The Rich & The Fake, a collection of 12 songs that promoted the social consciousness and diversity of their music. It’s an album that Rose still looks back on fondly.

“It’s only natural that the band evolves over time, and we’ve been working on some new tunes that we are hoping to record next month,” he says. “But we are still really proud of that album and the tunes still feel fresh while we’re playing them, so we still really enjoy it. I think there is a really interesting mix of dance hall, ska and old-school Skatalites on that album that still really feels fresh.

“All of us in the band are songwriters, so it’s quite natural for us to have many points of influence,” he continues. “I think that has been a strong point of The Strides: we draw on music from afro-jazz to dance hall artists to hip hop and all of the Marley family too.”

The band are particularly looking forward to their showing at Global Rhythms Festival. Set to take place in Centennial Park in Glebe overlooking the waterfront, you can expect to witness the rhythmic brilliance of a range of bands in a beautiful, open setting. The festival will also provide one of the last few opportunities to immerse oneself in the sweet reggae stylings of The Strides before they set upon recording their next album at Rec Studios right here in Sydney.

“We try to bring the same energy to whatever stage we’re playing at,” Rose says of their performance style. “We have our vocalist, Blacker C, who is just a phenomenal dancer, and all of our singers are just so much fun to watch. The Strides can really thrive when we’re on a festival stage.”

Global Rhythms Festival, featuring The Strides, happens Sunday September 25 atBicentennial Park, Glebe.

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