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Fat Freddy's Drop is a New Zealand seven-piece band from
Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
, whose musical style has been characterised as any combination of dub,
reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
,
soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
,
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
,
rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...
, and
techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...
. Originally a
jam band A jam band is a musical group whose concerts and live albums substantially feature improvisational "jam session, jamming". Typically, jam bands will play variations of pre-existing songs, extending them to musical improvisation, improvise ove ...
formed in the late 1990s by musicians from other bands in Wellington, Fat Freddy's Drop gradually became its members' sole focus. Band members continued playing with their other respective groups— The Black Seeds, TrinityRoots, Bongmaster, and others—for much of their 20-year career. Fat Freddy's Drop are known for their improvised live performances. Songs on their studio albums are versions refined over years of playing them live in New Zealand and on tour abroad. The group gained international recognition in 2003 after their single "Midnight Marauders" was re-distributed by record labels and DJs in Germany. The group has toured Europe nearly every year since then. The first studio album by Fat Freddy's Drop, '' Based on a True Story'', was the first independently distributed album to reach first place in New Zealand record sales directly after release in 2005, and is the third highest-selling album by a national artist in the country's history. ''Based on a True Story'' won Best Album at the New Zealand Music Awards the same year, and remained on the top 40 New Zealand sales chart for over two years, establishing them as one of the most successful contemporary bands in the island nation.


History


Formation: 1999–2001

The band Fat Freddy's Drop gradually took shape from members of other bands in the Wellington music scene in the late 1990s. The group's founder, Chris "Mu" Faiumu, had performed with other bands for most of that decade under the name DJ Fitchie. He and two friends,
trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...
er Toby Laing and
vocalist Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...
Dallas Tamaira, occasionally played improvised
jam session A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without ...
s at his seaside home. Faiumu provided percussion and bass for these on an Akai
Music Production Center The Akai MPC (originally MIDI Production Center, now Music Production Center) is a series of music workstations produced by Akai from 1988 onwards. MPCs combine sampling and sequencing functions, allowing users to record portions of sound, modi ...
(MPC). All three were involved with other bands. Faiumu and Tamaira were members of the 15-piece dub band Bongmaster; Laing was a member of The Black Seeds. In 1999, they began performing together at local clubs and festivals, and released several vinyl singles distributed locally. That same year, Faiumu founded the independent music label The Drop with the help of his partner Nicole, and money from private investors. According to Faiumu, the venture was a learning experience in the business of making and releasing records. The Drop's first release was Dallas Tamaira's solo project, the five-track EP ''Better Than Change'', followed by a single performed by the group named "Hope". "Hope" was written and recorded over two days under the influence of
LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...
, according to interviews. Each blotter — individual dose — of that type of LSD, popular in Wellington at that time, had the image of Fat Freddy's Cat (from
Gilbert Shelton Gilbert Shelton (born May 31, 1940) is an American cartoonist and a key member of the underground comix movement. He is the creator of the iconic underground characters '' The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'', '' Fat Freddy's Cat'', and '' Wonder ...
's comic strip '' The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'') printed on it. Dropping — common slang for taking LSD — Fat Freddies became the inspiration for the band's name. The group organised several informal jam sessions in 2000, inviting local musicians to play with them at Faiumu's home. These sessions led to four new members joining Fat Freddy's Drop: Warren Maxwell on tenor and alto
saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...
, Tehimana Kerr on
guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
, Iain Gordon on keyboards, and Joe Lindsay on
trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...
. Like the original three, the new members played with other groups in and around Wellington, and continued to for most of Fat Freddy's Drop's career. Gordon was a fellow Bongmaster member with Faiumu and Tamaira. Gordon was also a member of the band Ebb which in 2001 performed an audiovisual concert and released an EP titled Plush Bomb, with Fat Freddy's Drop playing in support. Maxwell was in the reggaemusic group TrinityRoots. Maxwell and Joe Lindsay, who make up the horn section of Fat Freddy's Drop, were students at the Conservatorium of Music in Wellington in the mid-1990s. Faiumu was the "central point ndthe reason for the band getting together," according to a 2009 interview.


''Live at the Matterhorn'' and singles: 2001–2004

The now-seven-member Fat Freddy's Drop, sometimes calling themselves the "seven-headed soul monster", continued to play live at clubs and festivals. The band's first full-length album, '' Live at the Matterhorn'', was released in 2001 by The Drop. The live album is a recording of their show at the Matterhorn club in Wellington that year. Very little mastering was done to the album, which is divided into four tracks averaging 18 minutes each. It was not formally promoted, but sold 9,000 copies in its first few months via word-of-mouth, according to the ''
Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...
''. In 2000, the New Zealand government began a campaign to increase the profitability of the country's music industry, and of music exports abroad, by funding artists and events. The percentage of music sold by nationals went from 5.45% in 2000 to 10% in 2004, and a 2004 government survey indicated one-quarter of New Zealanders attended a live music event in the year previous. Fat Freddy's Drop were not one of the bands funded, but the elevated live music scene, and the relative success of ''Live at The Matterhorn'', gave them more opportunities to establish themselves as one of the area's best live acts. Several of their early singles, like "Hope" and "Runnin", were featured on
compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...
s published by local labels and radio stations. An established group from
Kaikōura Kaikōura (; ) is a town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand, located on New Zealand State Highway 1, State Highway 1, north of Christchurch. The town has an estimated permanent resident population of as of . Kaikōura is th ...
named
Salmonella Dub Salmonella Dub is a Dub music, dub/drum n bass/reggae/roots reggae, roots band from New Zealand. The band was formed in 1992 by Andrew Penman, Dave Deakins, and Mark Tyler. The band has toured extensively throughout New Zealand, Australia, the Un ...
—who one member described as the "forerunner for Fat Freddys"—provided the band opportunities to play in front of larger crowds in New Zealand and neighbouring Australia. The third single, released by The Drop in 2002, "Midnight Marauders" became their first step towards international recognition when a copy was taken to German record label Sonar Kollektiv by a producer. That year, Sonar and affiliated label Best Seven re-released the single in Germany, and European DJ group
Jazzanova Jazzanova is a German Berlin-based DJ/producer collective consisting of Alexander Barck, Claas Brieler, Jürgen von Knoblauch, Roskow Kretschmann, Stefan Leisering, and Axel Reinemer. Formed in 1995, the group's music is characterized by nu j ...
used the track in several mixes. A second single, "Hope/This Room", was re-released by Sonar and Best the next year. After the singles' success, Sonar invited the band to play a string of European shows in 2003. Sonar label manager Matthias Bohmbach said he was surprised when one-thousand copies of "Midnight Marauders" sold at a show in Germany. Not wanting a single label to control their work in Europe, the band also partnered with London-based label Kartel in 2003 to handle distribution and promotion in England. From 2003 to 2009, distribution of the band's work was handled by The Drop in New Zealand and Australia, by Sonar Kollektiv and Best Seven in most of Europe, and by Kartel in England. Fat Freddy's Drop's European profile slowly increased between 2003 and the release of their first studio album in 2005. The
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
's Gilles Peterson called "Hope" one of the top tracks of 2003. The band was invited to play at the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
in 2004. ''International DJ Magazine'' listed Fat Freddy's Drop as one of the "top 20 bands to look out for" in 2004. In what became an almost annual trip, they returned to touring New Zealand and Australia in 2004, and—partnering with Sonar Kollektiv—returned to Europe for an official "Hope for a Generation" tour.


''Based on a True Story'': 2005–2008

Fat Freddy's Drop's first studio album in 2005, '' Based on a True Story'', showcased polished versions of songs the band had developed gradually at live shows over the years—in some cases going back to 1999; the album's title is a reference to that process. Many Fat Freddy's Drop members still played with other Wellington bands while recording ''Based on a True Story'', and scheduling conflicts forced them to record their individual parts at different times to be mixed later. In a later interview, they said it is "healthy for members to be able to do other things," but they hoped to record the tracks together in the same room on their next album. Replacing Faiumu's MPC sampler on the album—and in some live shows afterwards—were
drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...
Riki Gooch and
bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...
Rio Hemopo, who together with Fat Freddy's Drop saxophonist Warren Maxwell make up the band TrinityRoots. Also contributing were vocalists Hollie Smith,
Ladi 6 Karoline Fuarosa Park-Tamati (born 7 November 1982), known professionally as Ladi6, is a New Zealand recording artist of Samoan descent. She spent six months living in Berlin and touring Europe in both 2010 and 2011. Her debut album '' Time Is ...
, and P Digsss, and Bongmaster guitarist Aaron Tokona. After mixing ''Based on a True Story'' for 18 months at his home studio in-between tours, Faiumu took the album to San Francisco-based Fantasy Studios to be mastered. ''Based on a True Story'' became the first independently distributed album to reach first place in New Zealand record sales directly after release, and is the third-highest-selling album by a national artist in the country's history. The
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded ...
's (RIANZ) sales chart listed ''Based on a True Story'' as one of the top 40 selling albums for more than two years after its release, and has since been certified nine-times platinum, denoting shipments of 135,000 copies. The album's only single, "
Wandering Eye "Wandering Eye" is a single released from the band Fat Freddy's Drop in 2005. It was their first publicly released single and had an excellent response from the public. This song features a multitude of instruments such as the trumpet, saxop ...
", spent more than four months on the top 40 selling singles chart. Like ''Live at the Matterhorn'', the album was given no formal promotion or marketing; its popularity largely due to the band's reputation in New Zealand. At the 2005
New Zealand Music Awards The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant that ...
, Fat Freddy's Drop won awards in every category they were nominated: ''Best Group'', ''Best Album'', ''Best New Zealand Roots Group''. They also won the ''People's Choice Award'' in both 2005 and 2006. ''Based on a True Story'' had sold 120,000 copies in New Zealand as of April 2009. The album sold 30,000 copies in Europe. The band continued touring for the next four years while planning and developing a second studio album. They returned to Germany, England, and Italy in 2005; returned in 2006 for their European World Cup Tour, and again for a set of shows in 2007. They also toured the east coast of Australia in 2006 and 2007. Many band members were fathers by then, a factor increasingly affecting their "touring stamina". Warren Maxwell left the band in 2007 for family reasons, and was replaced in live performances with Scott Towers. Towers attended the Conservatorium of Music with Maxwell, and was trombonist Joe Lindsay's tutor there.


''Dr Boondigga and the Big BW'': 2009–2012

Fat Freddy's Drop released their second studio album, '' Dr Boondigga and the Big BW'', in 2009. The title refers to "the Big Brain-Wash and Dr. Boondigga hois some evil creature who's trying to sign us to a major label," according to Faiumu. The band is still independently distributed by The Drop label, and as of 2009, have handled distribution themselves in Europe. Like ''Based on a True Story'', the album's songs are polished versions of songs they developed over four years at live shows; mixed from 2007 to 2009 in-between tours. Unlike their last album, most of it was recorded live in-studio with all band members present. There were some exceptions; Alice Russell's duet with Tamaira on the album's first single "The Camel" was recorded in 2006 when she was in Wellington with The Bamboos. '' Dr Boondigga and the Big BW'' was the highest selling album in New Zealand for five weeks after its release, and the highest selling album there in 2009. It was listed on the RIANZ top 40 sales chart 38 weeks in total. The album received more international promotion than its predecessor, reaching number 45 in the Australian album chart, and 97th in France. The
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
's John Lusk called Fat Freddy's Drop "New Zealand's most critically acclaimed band since The Clean", and lead singer Tamaira, "one of the most soulful singers of his generation." At the 2009 New Zealand Music Awards the album won the awards ''Best Producer'', and ''Best Aotearoa Roots Album'' ''Dr Boondigga and the Big BW'' had sold 30,000 copies in New Zealand as of December 2009. Fat Freddy's Drop returned to touring New Zealand, Australia and Europe to promote the new album in 2009. Three shows on the west coast of the United States, and a show in Canada, were also included in the tour. The only previous time the band had played in the United States was a single performance at the
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
Electronic Music festival in 2004. Before 2009, the cost of touring in the US, difficulty obtaining visas, and the band's low profile in North America prevented them from including tour dates there. Band members say they now consider playing together as Fat Freddy's Drop their first musical priority, and spend less time playing with other bands.


''Blackbird'': 2013

In early 2013, the band revealed a new album was in the works, and eventually the first single, ''Silver and Gold'' was released as a vinyl and free online download. The single received significant radio airplay following its release. The album, ''Blackbird'' was released on 21 June in Ireland and in most regions, and on 24 June in others. The album debuted in the number-one position on the New Zealand album chart and remained in that position for four weeks. The band went on a national tour of Australia in late August/early September where they appeared at the Splendour in the Grass festival, and will head to Europe for a string of dates immediately after.


''Bays: 2015''

New material was teased in early in October 2014 on NZ radio and Fat Freddy's Drop released ''Slings and Arrows'' 17 October 2014. Starting with an 8-bit intro the song blossomed in to what they said was their most reggae track thus far. The subsequent album '' Bays'' was released the following year on 23 October 2015, reaching the number 1 in New Zealand and 12 In Australia. The album title is derived from their home base in Wellington where the majority of the album was written. Widening the sphere of influence which colours their music the new album features more electronic flavour in ''Wheels'' and ''Cortina Motors,'' which seems like a true evolution, and more soulful moments in ''Makkan'' where Dallas already resides.


''Special Edition Part 1''

On 20 July 2018, the single ''Trickle Down'' was released and their fifth studio album, '' Special Edition Part 1'', was confirmed. Following this, a tour of Europe commenced, which included tease performances of three new songs: ''Special Edition'', ''114'', and ''Kamo, Kamo.'' On 10 October 2019, the single ''Kamo Kamo'' was released, along with an official name and release date for the upcoming album. ''Special Edition Part 1'' was released digitally on 15 November with physical formats to follow.


''LOCK-IN'' - ''WAIRUNGA''

Two albums recorded sans audience, released 2020 and 2021.


''BLACKBIRD RETURN REMIX''

Celebrating the tenth anniversary of ''Blackbird'', vinyl release featuring remixes by producers from around the world.


''SLO MO''

Freddys sixth studio album, recorded at BAYS studio and released October 2024. Dropped on vinyl first.


Musical style and influences

Improvisation, live and in the studio, has been the basis for Fat Freddy's Drop's music since the beginning of their career. "Live performance is the most natural state for music," according to trumpeter Toby Laing. Most songs begin as a rhythm on Faiumu's MPC, and more sections are progressively added during jam sessions. Songs featured on the band's albums and singles are versions that have been refined over years of playing them in the studio, live in Wellington, and on tour abroad. Faiumu said that, on their first studio album, it was challenging to fit the long songs the band is used to playing into shorter album-length tracks. Describing the band,
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
host Guy Raz said, "Take the swagger of Jamaican dub, throw in a little Memphis soul and send it halfway down the globe, and what comes back? The band Fat Freddy's Drop." The band has been categorised under many genres, and members say many of those genres helped shape their musical style:
delta blues Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...
,
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
, dub,
soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
,
techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...
, and contemporary
rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...
. Musical styles heard while on tour have also shaped their sound; ''Dr Boondigga and the Big BW'' was influenced by contemporary German, Portuguese, and Bhangra music while touring in the years before its release. Faiumu and other band members say their biggest influences are their peers in Wellington's music scene. They feel their music "belong here in New Zealand, you can tell it came from this country." Fat Freddy's Drop's music has been categorised as Aotearoa roots music—meaning contemporary music inspired by Māori and Pasifika culture, even though they are a mixed-race group. Faiumu is a first-generation Samoan New Zealander, Tamaira, Gordon and Kerr are Māori, and the remaining members are descended from European immigrants.


Band members

* Dallas Tamaira ("Joe Dukie") – vocals, guitar (1999–present) *Chris Faiumu ("DJ Fitchie") – percussion, production (1999–present) *Toby Laing ("Tony Chang") – trumpet (1999–present) *Iain Gordon ("Dobie Blaze") – keyboards (2000–present) *Joe Lindsay ("Hopepa") – trombone, tuba (2000–present) *Scott Towers ("Chopper Reedz") – saxophone (2007–present) *Conway Jeune (C-Way Green) - Guitar (2024–present) *Mark Williams ("MC Slave") – raps (live on stage) ;Former members *Tehimana Kerr ("Jetlag Johnson") – guitar (2000–2021) *Warren Maxwell ("Fulla Flash") – saxophone (2000–2007) File:Chopper Reedz Joe Dukie.JPG, Chopper Reedz & Joe Dukie at sampling File:Dobie Blaze.JPG, Dobie Blaze File:Fat Freddys Drop TFF 01.JPG, Hopepa, Tony Chang & Chopper Reedz File:Joe Dukie DJ Fitchie.JPG, Joe Dukie & DJ Fitchie File:MC Slave.JPG, MC Slave, the "8th Freddy"


Discography

Studio albums *'' Based on a True Story'' (2005) *'' Dr Boondigga and the Big BW'' (2009) *'' Blackbird'' (2013) *'' BAYS'' (2015) *'' Special Edition Part 1'' (2019) *''LOCK-IN'' (2020) *''WAIRUNGA'' (2021) *''SLO MO'' (202


Awards


References


External links


Official websiteKartel managementSonar Kollektiv management
{{Authority control New Zealand dub musical groups Sonar Kollektiv artists Musical septets Pacific reggae 1999 establishments in New Zealand