When The Pier was putting our Pacific Island Sampler together this summer, we were bummed that we weren’t able to add Wellington, NZ’s own Fat Freddy’s Drop, to the line up. But now, we’re very excited to announce they’re this week’s MP3 Leak of the Week
Fat Freddys Drop –“Pull The Catch”
“Pull The Catch” Storyline:
Fitchie aka Chris Faiumu, Freddy’s producer and MPC technician, describes the song “Pull The Catch” as ‘tuff electro reggae…with quite an 80s feel’.
The lyrics were written by vocalist Joe Dukie aka Dallas Tamaira, inspired by an early morning crayfishing trip with a few of the band aboard his uncle’s fishing boat off the Kaikoura Coast in the South Island. Upon returning from the excursion pulling craypots the lyrics Pull The Catch as one were born. Dukie and a couple of the band laid down some reggae rhythms and recorded the demo that very day in a small studio set up at a family house by the beach.
The band then took the tune on tour, building it up, as they do with all their songs, as part of their live performances. The final version was recorded in Wellington NZ at The Drop studio as part of the band’s second studio album Dr Boondigga & The Big BW that was released in 2009.
Dr Boondigga & The Big BW ended up being the biggest selling local release of 2009 in Wellington NZ, going Platinum in four days and picking up several NZ Music Awards and currently sitting at 2 x Platinum. The nine track seventy minute long disc has again attracted critical international acclaim. Garth Trinidad, Radio KCRW, Los Angeles, hailed Fat Freddy’s Drop as ‘the bugged out love child of Isaac Hayes and Lee Scratch Perry.’
Fat Freddys Drop Bio/Background:
Formed in 1999 the Wellington New Zealand 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.
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.
Fat Freddys Drop Links:
Fat Freddys Drop Website
Fat Freddys Drop Facebook
Fat Freddys Drop iPhone App
Enjoy the FREE track on the Home Page!
–Mike Patti
Here’s the official music video to the song “Pull The Catch”. Enjoy!
