From the underground to the higher-ground, Fat Freddy's Drop is the South Pacific soul monster doing it for the love of music.
First and foremost a live collective, no two Freddy's gigs are ever the same. The hypnotic live jam is the essence for Freddy's hybrid of dub/reggae, soul, funk, hip-hop and techno, marinated in jazz and served on Island Time.
Established in 1999, Freddy's watershed year was 2005 when the bros dropped their debut full-length album, Based On A True Story, re-writing musical history at home and unleashing the slow burning, future-funk voodoo worldwide.
In late 2008, following three solid years of songs being road tested in tours across the seven seas and some intense studio lockdown, Fat Freddy'ss Drop is ready to pull the catch and release their second studio album, Big BW
It'ss been a fantastic voyage so far for the midnight marauders representing Aotearoa/NZ, the land of the long white cloud, and there are plenty more jams and paua won tons to follow.
NO PRESERVATIVES, NO COLOURING, NO SAMPLES...JUST FRESH AS
The Freddy's
The Freddy's family of musicians evolved in Wellington through a multitude of musical incarnations, from funk jam bands, reggae sound systems and jazz improvisation cliques to live hi-tek dub-soul experiments.
Joe Dukie AKA Dallas Tamaira is Freddy's lyricist and singing sensation. His hot buttered voice and conscious lyrics are earning him respect as one the best soul singers in the world today.
Freddy's thunderous wall of sound and bootae shaking horn section is led by Tony Chang AKA Toby Laing on trumpet and flugel-horn, and Ho Pepa AKA Joe Lindsay on trombone, tuba and 'Bad Ho Jelly Roll' dance moves and Scott Tower on sax. Scotty, who first jammed with Freddy's in London in 2003, replaced original sax player Fulla Flash who has left to front Little Bushman.
All Freddy's horn players are graduates of Wellington Jazz School and can be spotted playing with other NZ bands such as Scribes of Ra, The Eggs, The Yoots and Tyra and the Tornadoes.
On the backline with Fitchie, Freddy's rhythm section features Jetlag Johnson AKA Tehimana Kerr on skanking electric and acoustic guitar and the funkadelic Dobie Blaze AKA Iain Gordon on keyboards. A founding member of Ebb and Bongmaster, Dobie is also a kai khemist whose cooking and fishing prowess keeps the extended Freddy's whanau well fed.
Additional talent on Freddy's soul train includes the likes of Riki Gooch on drums, MC Slave on the mic and guest vocalists Rio Hemopo, Parks and Lisa Tomlins.
Freddy's HQ is the 'beach' in Wellington, home to Fitchie's recording studio and the bands independent label, The Drop run by Freddy's manager, Nicole Duckworth.AWARDS
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 the Asia/Pacific region
Based On A True Story wins Highest Selling Album, Wandering Eye wins Best Video for Director Mark Williams aka Slave, and Freddy's win People's Choice Award, NZ Music Awards 2006
Hopepa scores '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 wins Album of the Year, Best Aotearoa Roots Album, Best Group and People's Choice Award, NZ Music Awards, 2005
Joe Dukie Awarded Best Vocalist at the b-Net NZ Music Awards 2005
Fat Freddy's Drop wins 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, 2003KEY RELEASES
Based On A True Story was released May 2005 on CD and double gate-fold vinyl. Shipped Gold on its first day, making history as the first independently distributed album to strike #1 on the NZ Top Ten Album Charts.
Based On A True Story holds the top spot for a record breaking 11 weeks, and was the second Top Selling Album in Aotearoa NZ in 2005, and second again in 2006.
Wandering Eye, released as a CD single off Based On A True Story is the most-played song ever on New Zealand radio in 2005/06
In 2007, B.O.A.T.S made history as the longest charting local album in Aotearoa/NZ and after notching 107 consecutive weeks on the album chart became the 9th longest charting album release in Aotearoa/NZ, ever.
The album has gone x8 Platinum in Aotearoa/NZ, selling over 128,000 copies. B.O.A.T.S is available in Australia, UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Holland, Japan, and North America.
The band's original under the radar release is Live at the Matterhorn, a recording of a jam session at Wellington's den of iniquity that has achieved x1 Platinum sales in Aotearoa/NZ.
HOPE was the first Fat Freddy's Drop vinyl, released in 2003. The 10. vinyl hit Number One on Gilles Peterson's Top Twenty Worldwide
Midnight Marauders was released as an independent 12" vinyl under the guise of Joe Dukie & Fitchie in 2002 and was Number One on Gilles Peterson's Top Twenty Worldwide the same year.
Freddy's debut DVD, Fantastic Voyages Vol 1 released in 2006, has achieved x1 Platinum sales in New Zealand.
GIGS OF NOTE
Ngai Tahu Seafood Bluff Oyster & Food Festival, Bluff, 2008
Europe/UK Summer Tour, including sell out shows at Hammersmith Apollo, London, Bristol Music Academy and Elysee-Montmartre, Paris, May 2008
A Bush Party, Matakana Music Mountain, two jams in the rain and mud, February 2008, and Red Bull Daylight Savings, Grey Lynn, 2008
The Big Drop Off, NYE hometown gig at Shed 1, Wellington 2007/08
Dance Stage and Jazz World Stage at Glastonbury Festival, as part of the Fantastic Voyages Summer 2007 Tour. Other gigs included sell out shows at Astoria London and a live jam at Garance Reggae Festival in Paris.
The Front Room, Wellington (2 shows) & Galatos, Auckland (3 shows), 2007
Womadelaide Festival, East Coast Blues & Roots Festival, Byron Bay, 2007
Summer Tour 2006 includes Algarve Summer Festival in Portugal, Sonar Festival, Barcelona, and sell out shows at Caberet Sauvage, Paris and Brixton Music Academy, London
NZ National Tour 2006 includes RDU Cheap as Chips gig, Red Bull Daylight Savings, Grey Lynn Park, Auckland
Live at BBC Worldwide Awards, Koko, Camden, 2005
Europe/UK summer tour 2005, including Big Chill Festival, two sold out shows at Koko, Café Moskau and Popkomm Festival in Berlin
National Tour, BOATS album release including St James, Auckland, Shed 6, Wellington, Christchurch Town Hall, 2005
Europe/UK summer tour 2004, including Spain, Austria, Ireland, London and Glasgow plus Detroit Movement Festival
New Zealand Summer Tour 2004, including Rippon, Big Day Out, Cuba St Carnival, Whopper Chopper & Lord of The Rings Premiere Afterparty
Fat Freddy's Drop, first full band summer tour 2003, London, Berlin and Amsterdam
Joe Dukie & DJ Fitchie, Cargo, London 2002
CRUCIAL CUTS
Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival 2007
My wife's sister spent a year in New Zealand and this was her favourite band. So much so, we'd bought her the CD for her birthday. But we hadn't listened to it and had no idea what we were in for.
Since their performance, we've become instant fans and now we'll be asking her to buy us the album too. So what made them so good? Sheer energy and the ability to get the crowd totally rockin' to their beat!
I've not seen a band able to totally win over an audience of this size before, awesome, surely they couldn't all be Kiwis or all have copies of the album 'Based On a True Story' already?
Well the magic ingredients of dub reggae with a mix of soul, jazz and dub from the collection of musicians on stage is bound to get people bouncing at Jazzworld. Add in a knee jerking horn section and some head bopping basslines and lots of MC type vocals. The tunes are catchy as hell, and judging by the number of people singing along, a lot clearly did have the album!
Building a huge vibe throughout the set like some New Zealand geyser the seven piece band built it up to intense beats before washing the crowd in white light as they bounced happily along at lead singer Joe's command. They reminded me a bit of Cypress Hill when they first played live in the UK.
What a terrific festival act!
Review by Scott Williams, eGigs.co.uk
