They temporarily moved to the US, added another member to their band and they just released a new album, Active Galactic.

Singer Elliott Hammond said making the album was extremely challenging as they set out to do it in nine days.

“It was rattling, mentally, because of lack of sleep and also the attention to detail on this record is much more poignant than some other ones … our older recordings are perhaps a bit more reckless,” Hammond said.

He admitted the whole process did take a bit longer, as most of the songwriting was done by he and guitarist Rudy Markwell when they were living in Echo Park, LA.

Meantime a night at a Sydney dub bar resulted in the addition of Trinidad DJ, Gold Fang, to the group.

“This dude was on stage with a spray jacket on and a pair of Ray Bans. He was all in black and looked like he was straight out of NWA,” Hammond said.

They were already thinking about bringing someone else in because of the amount of keyboard parts on the new album and Fang had the right vibe.

“He had the right energy and was right across the band; he’s only been in the country for a year,” he said.

“We’re a rock’n’roll band doing a take on a hip-hop album whereas his whole vibe is hip-hop, reggae and dub.

“The live show’s real slick – it’s proper punk rock disco party.”

The Delta Riggs play at Wollongong's UniBar on October 27. 

For tickets visit: www.unibar.com