Dallas Tamaira (aka Joe Dukie), singer for the mighty Fat Freddy's Drop, has released a brand new solo EP today(digital/vinyl), his second one after a 24 year gap - his first one, Better Than Change, came out in 1999, two years before the first Fat Freddys release.
Martyn Pepperell talked to him about it, and found a connection between Dallas and Dei Hamo....
“We became good friends, and he would come and stay with me when he came down to work on music with our friend Hamish [Clark],” Dallas remembered.
"Throughout February and March of 1994, the late great Phil Fuemana - the founder of Urban Pacifika Records - led a litany of South Auckland hip-hop, RnB and new jack swing groups across New Zealand to promote the release of the classic album Proud: An Urban-Pacific Streetsoul Compilation.
"Throughout February and March of 1994, the late great Phil Fuemana - the founder of Urban Pacifika Records - led a litany of South Auckland hip-hop, RnB and new jack swing groups across New Zealand to promote the release of the classic album Proud: An Urban-Pacific Streetsoul Compilation.
When the tour arrived in Christchurch (the largest city in the South Island), a then-teenage Dallas Tamaira, aka Joe Dukie, who went on to find global underground fame as the smooth soul voice of the hi-tek soul big band Fat Freddy’s Drop, was in the audience.
Thinking back twenty-nine years, Dallas remembers the experience as having a profound impact on his younger self. “That was one of my most important experiences in terms of finding brown musical role models,” he said, speaking by Zoom on a Tuesday morning. “Seeing a whole show of amazing and polished artists gave us a sense of how far we could take it. It was really affirming for us.”
Thinking back twenty-nine years, Dallas remembers the experience as having a profound impact on his younger self. “That was one of my most important experiences in terms of finding brown musical role models,” he said, speaking by Zoom on a Tuesday morning. “Seeing a whole show of amazing and polished artists gave us a sense of how far we could take it. It was really affirming for us.”
Dallas and his mates, a vocal group called Symphony, ended up in Auckland auditioning for Kane Massey of Deepgrooves, thanks to Dei Hamo.
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