Clockenflap party rockers Fat Freddy’s Drop promise unique Hong Kong versions of songs

Every Clockenflap throws up a surprise people’s champion that’s talked about long after the festival has finished – more than even the headliners. Young British rockers The 1975 were one. The large ensemble The Turbans were another.

What they’ve all had in common is a certain party spirit that lifts a festival from merely a gig to an event. One band that fits that description on this year’s bill are New Zealand favourites Fat Freddy’s Drop, the seven-headed soul party animal that puts the fun in funk.

“I think ‘party band’ is a name we’re happy to have – that’s what we bring; a lot of energy and a party atmosphere,” says the band’s sax player, Scott Towers, much better known to the band’s fans over the world as Chopper Reedz.

You’ve probably guessed by now that Fat Freddy’s aren’t a band who do serious music, unless you count their serious attitudes towards having a fun time. With a name that cheekily references drug culture and a comic book character from the American underground, their focus is entirely built around the principle of giving their fans and themselves a good time.

Their jumping blend of soul, jazz, reggae, techno and flat-out rock has been delighting audiences at home and in Europe since the band was put together in 1999 by singer Dallas Tamaira and his musical buddy, Chris Faiumu. At least that’s how their mums know them. To diehards fans of the band, they’re Joe Dukie and Mu, the heart and brains behind the band that are starting to rival even the legendary Crowded House for the title of New Zealand’s biggest band.

The nicknames are a key part of the band’s character. Each one has a different meaning. Reedz’ was adapted for his instrument after the band watched a TV show about notorious Australian criminal-turned-children’s-book-author Mark “Chopper” Read.