General Article name: Dr. Boondigga & the Big BW
Genre: Disco / Dance Product type: LP (Vinyl) Label: THE DROP Number of tracks: 8 Duration: 63:47 Tracklist LP - 1 1. Fat Freddy's Drop - Big Bw 6:09 2. Fat Freddy's Drop - Shiverman 10:33 3. Fat Freddy's Drop - Boondigga 6:01 4. Fat Freddy's Drop - Raft 7:10 5. Fat Freddy's Drop - Camel 9:34 6. Fat Freddy's Drop - Nod 8:37 7. Fat Freddy's Drop - Wild Wind 6:54 8. Fat Freddy's Drop - Breakthrough 8:49   Description Description

This Maori/Samoan/New Zealander band claims influences as diverse as highlife, Berlin techno, and bhangra, but what their music sounds like most consistently is a strangely modern and soulful version of jazzy reggae. Lead singer Dallas Tamaira (aka Joe Dukie) has an airy, soulful voice that sometimes comes across like a more nimble version of Roland Gift's falsetto, while the band can shift with equal agility between house, dancehall, funk, and one-drop grooves, sometimes within a single track. "The Nod," for example, starts out in a slowly chugging one-drop reggae mode before a lovely trombone solo heralds a segue into a New Orleans second-line funeral jazz interlude; "Big BW," on the other hand, juxtaposes a dark and bumping club groove with light soul-jazz vocals. "Pull the Catch" is straight-up funky dancehall, while "Shiverman" slowly builds a strong house beat beneath a chestier and more robust vocal -- it's a great sound, but at over ten minutes, the song is too long by half. It's hard to understand why the band chose to end the album with the relatively enervated and pedestrian reggae-soul of "Breakthrough," but overall this album is a hoot and a triumph. ~ Rick Anderson

Rick Anderson

Contributors Artist: Fat Freddy's Drop Record Label: The Drop Record Label: !K7