RIP Chris Faiumu aka Mu (Fat Freddy's Drop)

 

Chris Faiumu aka Mu. Photo: Sarah Hunter

Very sad news to wake up to -  Mu of Fat Freddy's Drop has died, RNZ reports. 

The band have posted this message: "Our talismanic founding member, production maestro, selector and brother, Chris Ta’aloga Faiumu aka DJ MU aka Fitchie has unexpectedly passed away. This is a seismic shift in our world. Sending alofa to the Faiumu & Duckworth aiga, and to MU’s wider aiga of friends and fans worldwide. We ask please that you all respect everyone’s privacy during this difficult time. Hold tight.

Ua maligi loimata i le maua mai o le tala ua fa i lagi lau malaga Chris Ta’aloga Faiumu … DJ MU … Fitchie. O suafa uma nei na lauīloa ai oe ma ōu galuega fa’aofoofogia i tagata fai musika uma i Aotearoa ma le lalolagi atoa. Ua goto le fetū āo, peāu o le vasa, ua motusia le pale sa matou tiu ai Brother ina ua e fai malaga. Alofa atu mo aiga Faiumu ma Duckworth, atoa ma aiga o lo’o tagi mai i ala. Ia manuia lau malaga Chris. 

Tears flowed on receiving word that your journey had taken you to the heavens Chris … DJ MU … Fitchie. These were all the titles you were famously known by for your miraculous works to all music makers of Aotearoa and the whole world. The star by which we navigated across the sea has gone and the crowns of flowers that adorned our heads are forever broken since you journeyed Brother. Much love for the Faiumu and Duckworth families, as well as those family members who can only cry from afar. May your journey be blessed Chris."

Steve Shaw wrote in 2002: "Mu himself is a long established DJ. He’s also a well-respected producer and a key figure in the Wellington music scene. Mu started off Fat Freddy’s Drop along with vocalist Dallas Tamaira, just the two of them at first. They recorded a track ['Hope'] for Radio Active’s 10th anniversary CD [in 1998] and ended up totally immersed in the sound. They started doing a lot of gigs, using a sampler to produce the drums and bass. It all started working so they added Iain Gordon from Ebb on keys and guitarist Tehi Mana Kerr – a classically trained player who was performing mainly rock."

I remember going down to Welli in the early 2000s to do a Dub Asylum gig at Bar Bodega, with Trip To The Moon. The gig had a small audience, and was pretty low key. After we played and packed down our gear, Mu and a few of the Fat Freddys guys wandered in and Mu started setting up his MPC, he was a friendly, chatty guy. About an hour later they started playing and the place was absolutely packed. This is before they even had an album out. 

Fat Freddy's Drop released their latest album Slo Mo in October last year, putting out the vinyl first.

Mu told RNZ's Tony Stamp "I've been buying records for 40-odd years. I'm the youngest of five kids, I inherited my sister's great little soul collection. My brothers were more into Santana and Neil Young. "When I hit intermediate I started on a cassette collection, which by the time I finished high school in the late '80s, turned into vinyl. I think the very first record I ever bought was Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life. That's where it all kicked off." 

Fat Freddy's Drop first toured Europe and UK in 2003, there's a doco made in 2023 of it. The band went back there almost every summer since, and very few folk here really get how big they were in Europe and UK. For example, in 2014, they sold out London's Alexandra Palace. Thats a 10,000 person venue. 

Mu (Audioculture profile)

Fat Freddy's Drop (Audioculture profile)