Media Reviews
Press quotes on the debut album;
FAT FREDDY'S DROP :
Based On A True Story
(Out now in all good record stores)
"original, heartfelt and utterly, utterly beautiful. Simply Superb"
iDJ
"From the deep-dub opener, 'Ernie', to the soulful closing number, 'Hope', the group's debut is a slow-burn winner."
Observer Music Monthly
"one of the finest and sweetest male vocalists to emerge in recent years"
DJ magazine
"essential summer listening"
The Blue Room (Radio 1)
"Best soul singer in the world today? I vote for Dallas Tamaira. From fat freddy's drop"
Charlie Gillett
"rubbery basslines, skanking rhythms & sun-dappled horns…4/5"
Independent On Sunday
"A touching debut, which will make you itch to see them live"
Keep On
"Mellow, meaningful and truly expressive… a beautifully rich and soothing debut"
Flux
"Think reggae, dub and jazz improv spun into huge slabs of funk and soul… this album should do well with the masses"
Blowback
"A deeply moving experience indeed"
Straight No Chaser
"This is undoubtedly a work of sublime beauty and inspired musicianship"
Stranger
"Love dub reggae? Love nu-skool soul? Here's your new favourite album then, simple as that"
Knowledge
"live slots at the Big Chill and Bestival will help spread the message"
Music Week
"Modern funk has never sounded smoother…"
Trust The DJ
"the perfect way to dip your toes into the warm musical waves currently rippling in the South Pacific."
BBC Collective
"Production is exceptional, beautifully rich and giving off endless blissful vibes..."
The Leeds Guide
"an unstoppable steam train on a journey across the deepest and funkiest dub landscape"
Songlines
"Unique deep, heavy & soulful roots music. Required listening for both ears! Already in my top 5 for 2005. 10/10"
Mr Scruff
FAT FREDDY'S DROP
Based On A True Story * * * * *
"Fat Freddy's Drop album out soon! Yeah right." Now that would have made a winning Tui billboard. The phrase "long-awaited" is bandied about far too frequently, but it couldn't be more apt for this Wellington outfit's debut album. That Based On A True Story sprinted to No 1 in the first week of its release highlights the band's national popularity.
Ten songs long, True Story is a glorious, emotional high from start to finish. It opens with the piano and horn-led dub-skank of Ernie, and bows out with a fresh, soul-gospel version of Hope. In between are old-school roots, reggae cuts and soul-funk and dub tunes, all infused with an organic feel. FFD's instinctual, complementary playing is one of their many strengths, but the most remarkable element is the exceptional vocal talent of Dallas Tamaira, who ensures True Story is a soul classic with effortless longevity.
John Russell, Herald On Sunday.
Fat Freddy's Drop: Based On A True Story
(NZ Herald rating: * * * * *)
Fat Freddy's Drop are on their own beautiful bass-heavy planet. The Wellington group are also in another time zone - the longer the song, the bigger the buzz. We've been waiting a while for this debut album (not counting 2001's Live at the Matterhorn), but it's been worth it.
Based On a True Story was due last year, then January, then this month, and what do you know? The lads delivered, or possibly more to the point, Mr Perfectionist, otherwise known as musical mastermind Mu (aka DJ Fitchie, Chris Faiumu) was finally happy with the result. No doubt he's even happier now since the album went straight to number one this week. In concert, Fat Freddy's are a true experience but sometimes verge on being too laid-back for their own good. On Based on a True Story there is less of that rupturing bass but it's all about perfect pacing and, even though it is mellow music, non-stop intensity. On the opener, Ernie, the golden voice of Joe Dukie (real name Dallas Tamaira) takes an age to appear, and even then it's just a vocal echo. Then, bang, Dukie is brought to life with that classic Freddy's skank. Perfectly, and patiently, it tempts us further into the album.
Then there's that intensity - not an easy thing to achieve on a cruisy down-tempo release. The difference between Based On a True Story and other albums of this sort is the songs are soothing, pounding, jazzy, phat and funky; sometimes trippy, sometimes gospel, yet always skanking.
Fat Freddy's make utterly unique music, and in the case of the gospel tinged Dark Days, the mechanical funk of Flashback, and album highlight, Ray Ray, their sounds are futuristic.
Sometimes you forget Fat Freddy's Drop are just a reggae band. That's not simplifying them because these songs have the best reggae quality - timelessness. And best of all, to quote Dukie, they "do it for the love of music".
Label: The Drop
15.05.05 by Scott Kara, NZ Herald
FAT FREDDY'S DROP
Based On A True Story * * * * *
The wait is finally over for Fat Freddy's fans who fast-tracked not just Wellington's, but New Zealand's, premier roots reggae act into the No 1 album position last week. Two years in the making and all is forgiven as right from the opening piano jabs on Ernie, complete with menacing horn blasts that give way to this reverb-heavy smouldering reggae, you know the wait has been worthwhile.
There's a gentle feeling to the album that hides the undeniable musicianship presented. Rhythms are ever-changing and Mu's quest for sonic perfection is evident as he's layered his gentle electro and dub flourishes throughout. Cay's Crays sees Mu's fingers do the talking as he takes us on a dub interlude mid-song, awash in reverb, before the horn section returns us to the alluring rootsy vibe.
The beat-heavy This Room sees Dallas Tamaira in typically fine form, his rich vocal pleading, "I want to love, I don't want to fight". Ray Ray is typical of Fat Freddy's in that it begins as one thing, in this instance a very downbeat out-take with its organ washes, and ends up with an electro funky groove with Dallas' beautifully restrained tones asking "Tell me what's the world with no soul?" To which the only reply is nothing. Fans had hoped for perfection and they got it.
Lindsay Davis, Dominion Post, 20 May 2005
Fat Freddy's Drop
Based On A True Story * * * *
A small but significant power shift in the New Zealand music scene happened this week.
In the same week Shihad released their new album - a disc you could expect to make a run at the No 1 spot - their metal frenzy was eclipsed by the much more low-voltage reggae sounds of fellow Wellingtonians Fat Freddy's Drop. Unlike Shihad's disc, with its high-rotate singles and an NZ promotion campaign kicked off with a free concert in Aotea Square, Based On A True Story was released with a total absence of hype - apparently when asked what sort of launch the band intended for the record, the answer was "We'll put it on the shelves".
Debuting at No. 1 you would have to assume there aren't many copies left in the shops. Fat Freddy's Drop have earned their reward through sheer hard work. One of the biggest live draws in the country, the army of fans who turn up to their concerts mainly get there through word of mouth. They have waited a long time for the band's first studio album, and will not be disappointed. One of the charms of Fat Freddy's Drop live is that each song is improvised by a group of talented musicians playing funk-tinged reggae but well schooled in jazz.
Miraculously, they have managed to keep the spark on Based On A True Story, with each song subtly shifting several times like the breeze. Add in the sweet soul vocals of Dallas Tamaira, anchor the music with the bass-heavy beats of DJ Mu, and sprinkle with a mellow horn section, and the essence of Fat Freddy's Drop is beautifully captured herein. "I want love and I want a fine day," Fat Freddy's Drop sing in This Room. Who could argue with them?
Mike Houlahan, Christchurch Press, 14/5/05
