SLO MO (Vinyl 2LP)

FLYING OUT'S #14 ALBUM OF 2024:
Want the perfect soundtrack to your summer? Well Fat Freddy’s Drop have the album for it. Their signature sound of afro rhythmic funk and reggae is delivered in bucketloads with some of their best tunes to date. With an underlying focus on dub & techno, SLO MO channels music influences from Aotearoa and mid-west America in equal parts. This album is a testament to the band’s ongoing evolution and unwavering creativity.

Fat Freddy’s Drop hit the ground running with new studio album SLO MO, a bass-heavy blast of redemption and resolution. Described by Fitchie as 'afro rhythmic soul music, an exploration of Black music from Polynesia’, this heady mix creates the undefinable Freddy’s sound. Renowned worldwide for euphoric live shows, the Aotearoa band stepped inside their BAYS studio in Wellington, sunup to sundown, to craft a sixth studio album.

SLO MO is the strongest studio representation yet of a Freddy’s live show’, says Chopper Reeds. 'Usually we take the stage to the studio and this time, we're excited about taking our studio creation on to the stage.'

Emerging with nine tunes, SLO MO will drop first on double vinyl, opening the door for the full length album to be experienced as a body of work curated as Freddys intended.

SLO MO kicks off with Avengers, a tune originally captured on LOCK-IN live album, now reworked and extended. Title track Slo Mo is a funky jam with Louis Baker on the soul outro.

Next Stop is a soul soaked salve that lifts you up, featuring MC Slave with a fresh verse, Stand Straight keeps the light shining, Oldemos a cinematic desert ride, Out To Sea raises the tempo with a drifting electro beat, Roland instrumental celebrates horns and distorted electronic rhythms, Getting Late gives a serious bass heavy slap while I Don’t Want To See You slips into heavy synth vibes and dub echoes.

Chopper Reeds continues, 'Towards the latter part of the record, Joe Dukie’s vocal presence becomes quite spectral allowing listeners to inject themselves into the music.

The evocative cover art is by Dan Tippett, Aotearoa New Zealand Artist, who describes the image as ‘an ancient ngahere forest in a Jurassic Aotearoa dreamtime.’ 

Tracklist

1. Avengers
2. Slo Mo
3. Next Stop feat MC Slave
4. Stand Straight
5. Oldemos
6. Out To Sea
7. Roland
8. Getting Late
9. I Don’t Wanna See You