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A TAV Curator's Pick.

“Heavyweight soul providers Fat Freddy’s Drop take flight once again with their third full-length release Blackbird.

Featuring nine tracks, Blackbird was written and recorded at Bays, the band’s own studio, which was one of the last vinyl pressing plants in New Zealand and then an apostolic church. 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.”  

“Blackbird is truer to FFD's musical philosophy than anything else we've done”, says Chopper Reeds.  “The song structures are open and unruly - just like our live shows - whilst we've pushed ourselves to deliver rich and deeply layered arrangements that showcase Joe Dukie's exceptional voice. We feel totally at home melding together this unholy mix of disco, rootsy dub, blues, soul and electronic funk - it's what we do.” - Fat Freddy’s Drop

“A decade of touring has earned New Zealand collective Fat Freddy's Drop a reputation as a live act of the highest calibre, the Wellington-based seven-piece celebrated for its improvised, marathon jam sessions.

Taking these sessions into the lab to craft them into polished studio albums is the outfit’s penchant. Essentially, they do it the old-fashioned way – and it has paid off massively. ‘Blackbird’ is their third full-length studio LP, on which hip-hop, soul, jazz, reggae and funk blend effortlessly. Throughout, the music remains organic, heartfelt, and spontaneous, capturing that jam-session atmosphere.” - Clash Music 

About Fat Freddy's Drop:

Fat Freddy’s Drop are a New Zealand seven-piece band from Wellington, whose musical style has been characterised as any combination of dub, reggae, soul, jazz, rhythm and blues, and techno. Originally a jam band 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 13-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 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. - Wiki

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