Fat Freddy's Drop Bio

'Fat Freddy's Drop throws a fun party. Get into it' Erik Thybony, San Francisco Critic, USA

Fat Freddy's Drop's pirate soul train has seen them beat a resolutely independent path to the ears and feet of audiences around the globe for over a decade.

Formed in 1999 the Wellington seven-piece has never stuck to a script. Their sound draws inspiration from almost every part of the black music lexicon. Soul drenched vocals and jazz harmonies collide with tape delays and echo chambers, underpinned by a rhythm section as comfortable laying down a throb­bing, techy sound­scape as they are a swampy blues stomp.

It's an approach that demands a lot of performer and listener. According to DJ Fitchie, MPC & producer, Fat Freddy's Drop is the product of both the band's restless creativity, and New Zealand's geo­graphic isolation.

"One of the upsides of being far away from the action and not having to deal with the weight of a strong musical history is that we don't feel we have to stick to one par­ticular style or approach," Fitchie said.

A string of legendary festival performances around the world set the scene for Freddy's debut album, Based On A True Story. Re­leased in 2005 to a storm of critical acclaim and public support it remains the highest selling independently released album in New Zealand's music history (9 x Platinum) and garnered the band seven New Zealand Music Awards be­tween 2005 and 2006.

Cham­pioned in the UK by BBC Radio's influential left-field DJs Gilles Peterson and the late Charlie Gillett, and constantly evolving live per­formances led to invitations to play iconic festivals, such as Glastonbury, WOMAD and Barce­lona's super-hip SONAR Festival, and a string of sold out tours of the UK, Europe and Aus­tralia.

On the second studio album release, 2009's Dr Boondigga & The Big BW, their songs took a natural path from the live stage to the studio and the band stretch themselves further musically by dig­ging deeper into their grab bag of influences. There are stylistic nods to Mem­phis soul (the low slung soul of Boondigga), Detroit  (album opener The Big BW) and even Africa jazz alongside the blues and dub that Freddys fans expect.

"It's still jazz, soul and reggae with a bit of a modern take on it. I like that you can keep com­ing back to it to make sure you've discovered every layer. We're better songwriters now too," Fitchie said.

Dr Boondigga & The Big BW was the biggest selling local release of 2009, going Platinum in four days and picking up several NZ Music Awards.  The nine track seventy minute long disc has again attracted criti­cal international acclaim. Charlie Gillett named it one of his top seven albums for 2009 while Garth Trinidad, Radio KCRW, Los Angeles, hailed Fat Freddy's Drop as 'the bugged out love child of Isaac Hayes and Lee Scratch Perry.'

Celebrating the release, Fat Freddy's Drop toured Ber­lin, Paris, Amsterdam and London and in 2009 and made their headline debut in North America, selling out all three shows in San Fran­cisco, San Diego and The Roxy in LA.

In 2010, the third album release was Live at Roundhouse, a recording of the band live at the converted rail roundhouse in London in 2008. The gig was the finale to a six-week European tour and captures the band in their natural element. Lost in the music in the best possible way, the long extended jams were the foundation for the studio recording of Dr Boondigga & The Big BW.

No two Freddy's shows are ever the same and given the band's beginnings, it's no surprise that live performance is really what excites and drives the band, with regular pilgrimages across the seven seas. Fat Freddy's Drop continues to sell out headline shows via word of mouth and to garner spots at top festivals such as Rock en Seine Festival, Paris and Bestival, Isle of Wight. Freddys kicked off 2011 playing Good Vibrations Festival across Australia and hit the road for a six week tour to Europe and UK including a headline show at 5000 capacity Brixton Academy, London and gigs in Germany, Portugal, Spain, France and Poland. A second Europe & UK tour is set for September, including the headline spot at Alex James Present Harvest and Harvest at Jimmy's food and music festivals.

Fat Freddy's Drop's free-spirited ap­proach to making and performing music spills over into all facets of the FFD operation. Marketing campaigns are spread via word of mouth by fe­verish fans. The band design, produce, and sell merchandise via fatfreddysdrop.com, the website where they also host an internet radio show and a direct FFD Dealer model enabling indie record stores worldwide to order exclusive product directly. In 2009 the band launched their second website, fatfreddysdrop.tv, an online TV channel and recently launched a Freddys App on itunes.

The band release their music on a range of vinyl, digital and CD formats through their artist operated label The Drop, and Freddys albums are available across Europe, United States, Australia and New Zealand with distribu­tion partners Rough Trade, !K7, Inertia and Rhythmethod.

"It has been very important being independent and guiding the direction of the band our­selves. We've been together for over a decade now and being independent has given the band a strong identity," Toby Chang said.

FAT FREDDY'S DROP BAND MEMBERS
Fitchie aka MU/Chris Faiumu - MPC, Joe Dukie aka Dallas Tamaira - Vocals and lyrics, Do­bie Blaze aka Iain Gordon - Keys & Synth, Jetlag Johnson aka Tehimana Kerr - Guitar, Tony Chang aka Toby Laing - Trumpet, Hopepa aka Joe Lindsay - Trombone & tuba, Chopper Reedz aka Scott Towers - Saxophone

Fat Freddy's Drop Hits

  • Fat Freddy's Drop TV Finalist, Best Music site, SXSW Web Awards 2010
  • Dr Boondigga and The Big BW ships Gold on release in New Zealand, May 2009, de­buting at #1 NZ Music Charts. Shipped Platinum in four days. Now 2 x Platinum
  • Dr Boondigga and The Big BW winner Best Aotearoa Roots Album and Fat Freddy's Drop winner Best Producer for New Zealand Music Awards 2009. Nominated for Al­bum of The Year, Best Group and People's Choice Award, and Otis Frizzell for Best Album Cover and Fitchie for Best Engineer
  • Fat Freddy's Drop TV winner Best Music Site, Pixel Awards 2009
  • Based on A True Story 9 x Platinum sales in New Zealand. First independent release to ship Gold and debut at #1 on the New Zealand Music Charts
  • Live At The Matterhorn 1 x Platinum sales in New Zealand
  • Ray Ray Winner Best International Music Video, New York Independent Film and Video Festival 2007
  • Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence, b-Net NZ Music Awards 2006
  • Fat Freddy's Drop nominated for BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards 2006, re­present­ing Asia/Pacific region
  • Based On A True Story winner Highest Selling Album, Wandering Eye Best Video and Fat Freddy's Drop winner People's Choice Award, New Zealand Music Awards 2006
  • Hopepa 'Male Fox' at the B-Net NZ Music Awards 2006
  • Based On A True Story voted Worldwide Album Of The Year at the Radio 1 Gilles Pe­terson Worldwide Music Awards 2005
  • Based On A True Story winner Album of the Year, Best Aotearoa Roots Al­bum, Best Group and People's Choice Award, NZ Music Awards, 2005
  • Joe Dukie Best Vocalist at the b-Net NZ Music Awards 2005
  • Fat Freddy's Drop Best Live Act at the b-Net NZ Music Awards 2004
  • DJ Fitchie, Best Producer and Most Outstanding Musician at the b-Net NZ Mu­sic Awards 2005, and Best Producer at the b-Nets, 2003

Fat Freddy's Drop Media Quotes

'...few bands have created a sound so uniquely theirs whilst keeping it so open for manoeuvre' Paul Clark, BBC, UK

'...their Down-Under dub, New World soul and effortless funk, all anchored by Joe Dukie's commanding vocals, makes for a potent hit. Expansive, tight and superbly potent.' Euan Ferguson, The Skinny, UK

'Breathe easy, music lovers. Breathe easy' Soundlust, UK

'Needless to say, Dallas Tamaira (aka Joe Dukie) is magnificent as ever and you can just listen to these guys all day and never fail to be impressed with their laid back swing, reggae, dub, jazz brilliance that means that there's hope for a generation' FlyGlobalMusic, UK

'A decade strong and larger then ever Fat Freddy's Drop are the seven-headed soul powerhouse we all turn to in our hour of need. Their rise to worldwide fame has been a uniquely democratic and slow burning one, with the journey emphasis on pin point reputation and word of mouth rather then stumbling over hype.' Ali Raymond, Beatnik, UK

'I mean on paper who would believe that a bunch of Kiwis, some of whom are far from svelte, would be global pop stars with a mix of dub and soul? Do it for the god of music.' David Rafferty, FlyGlobal, UK

'Is there a better Kiwi band than Fat Freddy's Drop at the moment? Judging by the crowd at London's Troxy on Thursday 10 September, the answer is no. Call their sound dub, reggae, soul or funk. Call it what you will, the Drop play it with such passion that people can't help but be drawn into their realm. Their rhythms are truly infectious, to the point that even the staunch UK security teams started stomping their feet. It's easy to think of this band as being "merely" Kiwi, of and for the Antipodes, but they're not, if the large proportion of English, German and French accents in the audience were anything to go by.' Joe Hoye, NZ News, UK

'Joe Dukie's voice is still as velvet as a cad's smoking jacket, the bands' grooves remain luxuriously loose and the vibe is ultimately horizontal.' IDJ, UK

'It's impossible not to love Fat Freddy's Drop.  Classic of spirit and sound but still contemporary, their loose-limbed upbeat jams of ska, soul, reg­gae, dub and electronic flourishes rise to the next level...' Allan McGrath, DJ Magazine, UK

'The songs are long, spacious, jam-packed with great musical ideas, and supremely soulful.  There's no category for this band; they're simply one of the finest, most original bands in the world today.' Bill Lupoletti, Global A Go-Go, USA

'Hailing from Aotearoa-buried on the other side of the bend at 41°17´S 174°27´E-these musical seafarers have mapped the coasts of a Kiwi soundscape seen through an international spyglass.' Anuhea Yagi, Maui Time, Hawaii

'Catch the smoldering island soul of Fat Freddy's Drop' Tuesday's Pick, San Francisco Weekly Blog, USA

'Over the course of the last decade they've built much of their fan base on their legendary improv-heavy stage show and they recently played their biggest gig in LA thus far at The Music Box to a sold-out crowd.' Sinning in LA, USA

'They have a word for god in New Zealand: Fat Freddy's Drop. That may be three words, but if you are a local, the terms have become synonymous.' Huffington Post, USA

'...this live band from New Zealand was here just last fall and received a wild reception by the local hippies and city kids alike who love their dub-infused sound that is riddled with jazz, funky as hell and topped off with the impossibly soulful voice of lead singer Dallas.' DanceFever 500, USA

'As most of y'all know, we've been supporters of New Zealand's Fat Freddy's Drop for years now, and they're a band that I have still yet to see live. Sure they're all the way on the other side of the world (hasn't stopped Whitney and Safia-just sayin') but the straight up rarity of a FFD performance in the States makes me almost shed a tear.' The Couch Sessions, USA

'With a silk-smooth tenor, oven-hot horns, and a rhythm section that teeters on the edge of the pocket, it's a tripped-out electro-soul heaven' Soundbleed, USA

DR BOONDIGGA & THE BIG BW Album Review Quotes

Blissfully epic jams. It's impossible not to love Fat Freddy's Drop.  Classic of spirit and sound but still contemporary, their loose-limbed upbeat jams of ska, soul, reg­gae, dub and electronic flourishes rise to the next level on this second LP. 4.5 Stars, Allan McGrath, DJ Magazine, UK

The epic Shiverman is probably the most radical departure, driven by an organic, dubbed-up house beat, and featuring a fiery performance by lead singer Dallas Tamaira. Big BW airs another new direction, with its trippy broken beat/nu-soul feel rather reminiscent of D'Angelo, while Boondigga is an affectionate homage to pro­ducer Willie Mitchell's classic Memphis soul sound, best heard on Al Green's mid-70s albums. Jon Lusk, BBC, UK

'...infectious mix of retro-soul and dub reggae, heavy with brass and fronted by the silky fal­setto of Dallas Tamaira.' Neil Spencer, The Observer, UK

'Perhaps it's the genre-hopping, the willingness to engage with forms that might not be con­sidered the height of cool, or even the fact that Fatty Freddy's Drop are from New Zealand. There is often an engaging, can't-quite-put-your-finger-on-it oddness about Dr Boondigga & The Big BW, which, along with a commitment to good old-fashioned musicianship, makes it worthy of a recommendation.' John Donnelly, The Music Fix, UK

'Joe Dukie's voice is still as velvet as a cad's smoking jacket, the bands' grooves re­main luxu­riously loose and the vibe is ultimately horizontal.  Yup, FFD are back and it's business as usual.  But there's more... There's a strong electronic twang, and a propensity to drop into lively carnivalesque hornfests that belie the band's previous, somewhat mellower output.  Warming the soles of any dub and funk lover's feet as we're dragged kicking and screaming into the colder months, 'Dr Boondigga' is thor­oughly indicative of the band's international ap­peal.  Knocking spots off 'Based On A True Story', there's a depth and element of surprise that's only been hinted at before with vibes spanning from the Noze-esque party jam 'Shiver­man' to the slightly mournful dancehall moment that is 'Pull The Catch'.  Business as usual indeed, wel­come back FFD.' 9/10, Dave Jenkins, iDJ, UK

'With a silk-smooth tenor, oven-hot horns, and a rhythm section that teeters on the edge of the pocket, it's a tripped-out electro-soul heaven.' Soundbleed, USA

LIVE AT ROUNDHOUSE, Album Review Quotes

'Not only have a thousand subgenres - witch house, anybody? - normally come and gone in the time it takes Fat Freddy's Drop to finish one track, but the New Zealand group's entire modus operandi seems out of kilter with the modern world. In an age in which ever more music is created from files swapped across the internet by people who've never met, the crucible of Fat Freddy's music remains live performance... Trying to capture the atmosphere of a Fat Freddy's Drop gig on record is ultimately futile, but if you've never been to one yourself this offers a good insight into what makes them so fertile.' Paul Clark, BBC

'...singer Joe Dukie's voice induces a reverie which renders time and space inconsequential. Overall, the songs are less electronic and more organic than the studio versions allowing Fat Freddy's Drop to reveal its authentic dub roots.' Sachyn Mita, Pop Matters