The boys from New Zealand are back and set to drop their third studio album Blackbird on June 28th. Since their first live album Live at the Matterhorn in 2001, Fat Freddy’s Drop has seen worldwide success and recognition and have played over 800 shows to date.
With so much amazing support, they are expected to hit 500,000 album sales worldwide after the
release of Blackbird. They are going to be dropping the new album in East London at Village Underground, which sold out within 24 hours.
Featuring nine tracks, Blackbird was written and recorded at Bays, the bands own studio. Situated in Wellington’s beach suburb of Lyall Bay, the building was one of the last vinyl pressing plants in NZ before being converted to an Apostolic church in the 70s.
Production/Percussion DJ Fitchie says, “What you hear on the album is the sound of Bays; the room itself, the vibe of the place and the performance we can get out of the band in there.”
Saxaphonist Chopper Reedz shares, “Blackbird is truer to FFD’s musical philosophy than anything else we’ve done. The song forms are unruly – just like our live shows – and we’ve really tried to craft arrangements that showcase Joe Dukie’svoice. It’s an unholy mix of disco, rootsy dub, blues, soul and electronic funk -but it’s what we love to do.”
Fat Freddy’s Drop have released two studio albums, Based On A True Story (2005) and Dr Boondigga & The Big BW (2009), two live albums, Live At The Matterhorn (2001) and Live At Roundhouse (2010) a long with limited edition vinyl singles, including Midnight Marauders and Hope For A Generation.
Fat Freddys Drop – Blackbird:
1.) Blackbird
2.) Russia
3.) Clean The House
4.) Silver And Gold
5.) Bones
6.) Soldier
7.) Never Moving
8.) Mother Mother
9.) Bohannon
“Clean the House” is the second single from the album Blackbird and features a marionette performance from the puppeteer Jon Coddington, as well as fashion design from Nell Syling, who worked together to reproduce the band in a “different light”. Director for the video was Mark Williams and is FFD’s videographer and mastermind behind the band’s breakout single “Wandering Eye.”
From Williams, “The marionettes are so amazing it wasn’t until the second day of shooting that I realized I wasn’t working with the ‘band’. Their live section performance is the best of their career and this video proves that not only are they excellent musicians, they can really act too”.
The video is creative, hilarious, and entertaining as hell, not to mention the song rocks! You almost forget who or what you’re watching, but somehow you can’t look away. So check it out below and Blackbird drops June 28th!
Fat Freddy’s Drop Links:
Fat Freddy’s Drop Website
Fat Freddy’s Drop Facebook
Article By: Andrew McClatchy
Watch: Fat Freddy’s Drop – “Clean The House” (Official Music Video)
