One Drop

When Fat Freddy’s Drop beat programmer and founding member Fitchie answers the phone for our interview, it almost sounds like he’s expecting a call from a spammer.

He seems slightly guarded - or perhaps he's just being extremely laidback. This is, after all, one of the most chilled members of one of the most chilled sounding bands on the modern musical landscape.

Since forming from the ashes of several other NZ jam/ dub outfits (including The Black Seeds and Trinity Roots) some ten years ago, Fat Freddy's Drop has become one of the most successful and accomplished roots bands in the world right now. Appreciated as much, if not more, throughout Europe as they are in Australasia thanks to being picked up by a range of European spinners in the mid-noughties on the back of 'Midnight Marauder', the Drop is an eight-headed sound machine that's always silk smooth. Still fiercely independent and on the way over for a national tour, and a massive Splendour celebration, Fat Freddy's isn't going anywhere anytime soon, with a new live album in the can and about to hit shelves - recorded at the spiritual home of one William Shakespeare, no less.

“We've got a sneaky new live album out in New Zealand today. It's called 'Live At The Roundhouse London'. The Roundhouse is in Camden, and is the home of Shakespeare. It was an amazing place to play; we did two nights there at the end of quite a lengthy tour, both sold out, and the second night was a particularly good performance. We generally record everything we do live to pick back through and see if there were any good ideas. So we mastered that up and it's on the shelf now in NZ, soon in Australia.”

In terms of the next studio effort, hugely anticipated from Aoteroa to Zurich, they're trying to get back into the studio just before Christmas.

“We're going to go back to our traditional style of recording and not spend too much time on the next one. Going back to playing as a band in the studio and use the best takes. The last album was a bit more of an overdubbed, track-by-track album.”

Last time I caught Fat Freddy's, I was absolutely gobsmacked to see that, for a premier dub outfit, they don't use much live bass, which, along with the drum kit, generally forms the backbone of any like-minded ensemble. Fitchie, of course, has an answer.

“We've always gone for that … we never had a drummer. It always left us open to walk into a club and play a bit more electronically. I think we find it quite easy … I quite often start off laying down a bassline electronically, and our keyboard player sometimes plays some bass. It's quite hard to tell from the crowd who's playing what.”

Travelling the world as an eight-piece must be akin to travelling with a small circus - what's their take on life on the road with that many people?

“It's been a quiet year up until now,” Fitchie says softly. “The last half of the year is going to be crazy with touring … almost everyone in the band has kids these days, so we sort of plan it like that. When we approach festivals like Splendour, it's mostly that time factor. We usually do two-hour shows when we're headlining, and get a chance to take people on a bit more of a journey, so with festivals you've got to get in there quick and bang it out. You just don't have that luxury at festivals.

“But we're excited. Touring can be like a small circus. It can be. The show has definitely grown - there's seven or eight on stage these days. We've got a fairly big crew to support us too. I still love going on the road and touring. I played a lot of sport when I was younger, so that got me used to life on the road.

“For me, I find Berlin a very exciting place to hang out. It's funky, it's cosmopolitan and chic. I've almost moved there countless times over the years. Or anywhere in Spain for the food.”

One last question that he's probably sick to death of - what the hell is in the Kiwi water to turn out such universally loved reggae?

“I dunno. There's just a big scene over here. I'm not sure why reggae and drum and bass - I guess it's an island lifestyle, and it's got something to do with Bob Marley.”

Fat Freddy’s Drop plays Splendour In The Grass July 31. They also play The Coolangatta Hotel, Sunday, August 1.