Fat Freddy’s Drop
Glasgow ABC (September 2010)
The universally adored sounds of dub and reggae reached an apparent saturation point some time ago. The long and painful collision with modernity that led us through ragga and dancehall finally turned up trumps with dubstep – light years from Jah – utterly transforming dance music the world over. But meanwhile, in the world of pop, we have endured an embarrassing procession of groups attempting to emulate the spirit of Jamaican music. From Less Than Jake to Hard-Fi; ska punk is, and always has been: dreadful. For the past few years anybody vaguely nodding in that direction has been considered highly unfashionable; only reinforcing the reverence with which we treat that bottomless pit of golden reggae 45s.
Indeed, it has taken a loose group of acid-gobblers from the wrong side of the world to revive that feeling. Fused with suitable sprinklings of funk, jazz, techno and electronica; the sound of Fat Freddy’s Drop – direct from Wellington, New Zealand – demonstrates a laidback yet meticulous approach to good-time music. It is difficult to ignore the strangeness of their most fortunate existence. Over ten years – and just a handful of releases – they have amassed a global following just beneath the surface of the mainstream. Still, it is a pleasant surprise to see the ABC so full tonight. The crowd is as mixed as it could be and every one of them skanks for the duration.
As demonstrated on new record ‘Live At The Roundhouse’ FFD’s studio albums have only ever presented a heavily abridged version of their sprawling sound. These songs are written over years of jamming and performing; structured to allow ample space for solos, rhythmic workouts and languorous sing-song builds, all of which are performed flawlessly tonight. This is a band so steeped in their music that it practically oozes from their pores. Their sound, while unique, is so consistent that it is easy to take it all in as one long shuffling symphony. In such a freeform environment individual songs are discernible only by the hook at their gooey centre.
Surprisingly they are lacking the drum and bass duo I have so admired on record. Instead the rhythm section is operated by DJ Fitchie; his head bopping over a rack of synths and sequencers. As the founder of the collective; the whole band hangs around this odd nodding fellow. Hidden at the back of the stage, guitarist Jetlag Johnson and keys man Dobie Blaze riff of Fitchie while the horn section swing in sync at the front; filling the venue with heady clouds of brass. But it is frontman Joe Dukie who really shines tonight. On stage his voice is infinitely sweeter and striking than his recorded alter-ego. Note-perfect, it pierces the air with a purity that elevates the music to a higher plane. More than any other vocalist today he slots easily into the line of great soul singers stretching back to Old Bob and beyond.
However unconventional and unprolific they may be; Fat Freddy’s Drop are a band to treasure; refreshingly lacking in pretension, ego or any overwhelming artistic concept. Glasgow could not be happier to have them here, and reassuringly for a band in the midst of an international tour; the seven men on stage look like there’s nowhere else they’d rather be. Simply put; they do it for the love of music.
Jim Bevington
