I remember it well, it was the trouble resident’s night for my birthday and we’d decided to check out a new Caribbean restaurant just down from George Sq (forgotten the name) when Erik D’Viking came out with the words ‘Fat Freddys Drop are gonna blow up, believe me’. Seriousness came across the table as Hobbes, Flanners and myself lifted our heads from the quite delectable goat curry that had just been brought over, Viking wasn’t joking, and this wasn’t a passing comment, the man had just got his grubby paws on the a six track sampler from the New Zealand six piece and he knew it was the start of something very exciting.

Mr Viking wasn’t the only one onto it; Jazzanova, Dazed & Confused (‘the most delicate and deep dub record of recent times, superb crisp production and aching vocals’) and chief tastemaker Gilles Peterson were also keen to get in on the act: Fat Freddy’s Drop found themselves in Gilles’ 2004 All Winners top five sessions of 2004 after he invited them down to Maida Vale and hope became one of the biggest tunes of the year, an amazing achievement for a group still relatively fresh on the scene and without an album under their belt on these shores.

So here it is, it’s finally arrived. The albums called Based On A True Story and it’s already been a massive success in their homeland reaching number one. What immediately draws the listener in is their gentle hybridisation; the clear presence of modern dance developments married together with the welcoming sounds of Dobie Blaze’s vintage keyboards and grand piano as on the broody opener dark days. Producer Fitchie constructs the beats and baseline bedrock onto which the Drop’s rich horn section present layer after layer of harmonious texture. Paying their dues to the kings of dub from yesteryear, Based On A True Story nonetheless looks forward thanks to Joe Dukie’s soulful, velvet-smooth vocals, which you might recognise from Recloose’s club banger Dust. Dukie times his entry into the heart of the song with perfection, in full knowledge that this collection of talented musicians are more than capable of holding the listeners attention on their own as they draw out the groove to the point that you start to wonder if its been given the re-edit treatment by Mr Krivit. Darting from hi-tek dub to soul and occasionally stumbling across a house rhythm in the jamming process, this is a stunning collection of songs, which retains the Fat Freddy distinctive character throughout. Positively uplifting, this album is utterly essential for any fan of a good groove.