After two years of non-stop touring, Fat Freddy’s Drop decided to take seven months off to work on the album.
After two years of non-stop touring, Fat Freddy’s Drop decided to take seven months off to work on the album.
After taking a break, Fat Freddy’s Drop members tell Lydia Jenkin they are happy to be going on the road again.
Chris faimu (aka Mu aka DJ Fitchie) thinks Bays is the best album Fat Freddy's Drop have made.
"I think this is our best album, because of the focus we had," he explains.
After two years of non-stop touring, the band decided to take seven months off gigging and only work on the album.
"We'd been on the road for a long time, so it was great to just be in Wellington, going to the studio every day, and not having to jump on a plane, or pack up the gear, or think about another show next week."
"I think we really needed to have that break to let everything sink in, and then, without even consciously thinking about it, we were doing things in the studio that we knew would work live, because it becomes so ingrained when you've been touring that long. It was quite a revelation, to have a break. It all seemed to come naturally after that." however, the pair seem eager to be heading back out on the road again.
"One thing about having a break is that you have to be prepared to have no money coming in for a while," laughs Faimu.
"It's like when you cook meat right, you almost need to rest it for as long as it's been cooking, and it's really hard because you want to eat it straight away, but you know it'll be even better if you leave it there" Tamaira muses. "That was kind of like us. We're thinking, 'We're really broke, but if we just take the time to focus on making this album, and give ourselves time to rest after cooking, it'll be all the better for it."
What else makes it their best album? They've become better at what they do.
"I find mixing easy, but what I've got better at is recording," Faimu explains. "Like if I listen to the raw recordings of Based On A True Story [released in 2005], I'd have to spend hours and hours working with them, whereas now, what we record already sounds pretty good really. We're all much better musicians too," he laughs.
The fact that they're no longer so concerned with album sales also had an effect.
"There was just no pressure on this album, no pressure to sell copies. That's what I was telling myself anyway," Tamaira shrugs. "The way the industry is now, we can't expect another BOATS. And I think that alone made everything a bit more relaxed as far as writing new material and deciding what sounded good.
"I guess that's also partly growing up as well, and the experience of being in a band for a long time, learning to let things go, try things out.
"When I think back to BOATS now, I'm amazed it even got made really, we were all just floating in and out of the studio, and we didn't really have songs sorted - we were recording our gigs and listening back to them and trying to figure out if there was a song in there. That was quite a different experience.
"This time the ideas were flowing, and just having that rest seemed to make it work."
The group have now been together for more than 15 years, and despite the relentless touring (they now play more shows in Europe than they do in New Zealand, and they're booked up for the next year), the eight-piece remain firm friends and have no plans to slow down.
"You just try to keep going, and keep making something good. I just don't want to be regarded as 'One of those old fellas'. I want to stay relevant" says Faimu.
Who: Fat Freddy's Drop What: New album Bays out now. Where and when: Touring New Zealand over summer, starting at Mangawhai Tavern on December 27, before heading to Mt Maunganui, Coroglen, Petone, Waipara, Havelock North, and Martinborough. They play three dates around Auckland - Ascension Vineyard in Matakana on January 30, and two dates at Cable Bay Vineyard on Waiheke on January 31 and February 1. Then they head to Upper Moutere and Central Otago. See fatfreddysdrop.com for details.
