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Fat Freddy's Drop: The Sound of Home

You know when you are away from home and one smell, taste, sound, or sight suddenly takes you right back there? A friend from Honduras living in Melbourne told me that hearing music with Garifuna drums in it reminds her of home, and that when the sky is finally blue she also thinks of home immediately. Another friend in New Zealand said that she recently had açai on the beach and she instantly felt like she was back home in Brazil. A friend’s partner from England hears British 90s pop and is instantly reminded of home. For me, hearing Fat Freddy’s Drop when I’m away from New Zealand gives me the same sensation. 

Fat Freddy’s (which the band’s name is often shortened to) is a Wellington band that came together in 1999 during a time when live music was thriving in the capital city. Their style is described as a blend of different genres ranging from dub and reggae to soul, jazz and R&B. The songs that end up on their albums are refined versions of songs they’ve developed while improvising live on stage.

The other day, I went to the Fat Freddy’s Drop exhibition at Wellington Museum. The exhibition was put together to celebrate 25 years since the release of their first studio album, Based on a True Story, in 2005. I’ve loved their music for years, but I learned a lot of things I didn’t know about the band from the exhibition and doing a bit of extra reading afterwards, like that their first studio album was recorded in a studio at Lyall Bay Beach and how that location had a special influence on the feel of the album. They say that with it being a basement studio, it felt a bit like a sea cave.

But my favourite part of the exhibition was this part where, next to a stack of little paper squares and a box of pencils, there’s a sign that says ‘Share your Fat Freddy’s story’. Visitors to the exhibition have put their handwritten notes up on the wall display, and the notes felt so relatable. Here’s some of them: 

“NZ summers wouldn’t be the same without this staple soundtrack.”

“The soundtrack to my childhood!!! Such nostalgic sounds! Kia ora, Kia ora.”

“Sound of summer since forever ago. Sounds like home.”

“Seen you so many times - Soundtrack of my life!”

“I remember many a great day with your tunes as the soundtrack! A heartfelt chur! You guys have been awesome.”

“Best summer road trip music. Saw Fat Freddy’s live so many times, once in London, made me homesick!”

I left my own note too, of course: 

“I put on Fat Freddy’s Drop, and I’m instantly transported back home, no matter where I am in the world.”

Reading all these notes, it is clear how meaningful Fat Freddy’s music is to many New Zealanders. Their music is the soundtrack to life, summer, and home. 

Here are three of my favourite songs from Fat Freddy's: