Love Letter To A Record: Black Bird Hum On Fat Freddys Drop’s ‘Dr Boondigga and The Big BW’

July 12, 2018

Many of us can link a certain album to pivotal moments in our lives. Whether it’s the first record you bought with your own money, the chord you first learnt to play on guitar, the song that soundtracked your first kiss, the album that got you those awkward and painful pubescent years or the one that set off light bulbs in your brain and inspired you to take a big leap of faith into the unknown – music is often the catalyst for change in our lives and can even help shape who we become.

In this series, Music Feeds asks artists to reflect on their relationship with music and share with us stories about the effect music has had on their lives.

Here are their love letters to records that forever changed their lives.

Jon Panic, Black Bird Hum – Fat Freddys Drops’ Dr Boondigga and the Big BW

Dear Dr Boondigga and the Big BW.

Hi.

First, some honesty, i could have written this to you, Based on a True Story, Bays or Blackbird. I’m in love with you all. I know, weird.

Sure, …True Story is better looking. And Bays has the best song. But you, you’re the complete package. You look good, if a little quirky. You tell a mean story. But you can be light-hearted too.

You were the first Freddy’s album i waited for. Sweated on. I came to ..True Story late, but it was still years before you showed up. I waited. So many of us waited. And then you appeared. No track shorter than 5-minutes long, with your longest rolling for an epic 10-minutes. Journey’s all. Builds. Peaks. Drops. So many killer drops.

By the time ‘Pull the Catch’ cues up at track five (my personal favourite), it’s clear that you’re a meditation on groove. Yep the vocals are magic. Yep, the horn lines some of the best in modern reggae and soul (‘The Raft’ lines are standouts). Yep, there’s some wicked little guitar licks (check the intro to ‘The Camel’). But everything is really just there for the groove. And those simple, heavy, hypnotic grooves are all-time.

And for all times.

I’ve got down and dirty to them at live shows. I’ve zoned out to them on the lounge room floor. I’ve whiled away trips through peak hour Sydney with them. I’ve done stuff you mostly do naked to them.

And I might go a few weeks not thinking about you from time to time. But i’ll always come back to you.

“…and you are all that i need”.

Jon Panic – Black Bird Hum

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Black Bird Hum’s new single ‘Say You Want’ is out now & you can catch them touring it around Australia this month and next! Check the dates below.