Kong Fooey’s Final Destination is a solid collection of uptempo summer jams, perfect for the oncoming sunshine season. Opening with Kong Fooey 1, a wee instrumental of slick, kung-fu-fight scene reminiscent drums and synths, the album smoothly transitions to the first song Right As Rain; a catchy, infectious funk’n’B/Pop piece. From there, each song progresses and adds another layer to a very well thought out and put together album
Let Go features an awesome harmonica intro that slickly transitions into a reggae -inspired guitar-based verse and an understated, synthy chorus.
The production is tight, across the whole album - drums are
crisp and fresh, the basslines are fat and driving and the overall mix is well
weighted and such a refreshing listen. The artist features are also, pretty
constant and add some brilliant contrasting dynamics to each new song - the
song features from Rolleston’s Topaz being particularly standout.
Aim Your Arrow is a great low-key, relaxed piece featuring Maitreya and Katerina Theo. The call and response male/female vocal play is really well executed and makes for an interesting dynamic. Speak That Truth is a step up in energy, a little bit aggressive in organic feel - though somehow restrained in production.
Overall, Final Destination is an awesome album, and a definite summer listen.
Predominately hip hop inspired but not afraid to infuse old school funk, soul, dance hall, heavy bass and solid grooves, Kong Fooey is a unique sound with hard hitting positive vibes, big hooks and solid beats. Kong Fooey is the alter ego of mild mannered drummer/producer Jason Peters who having drummed for various rock bands over the years - most notably for 90's heavy hitters Pumpkinhead - uses his knowledge of beats and percussion to provide the back bone of what is the groove-heavy Kong Fooey sound. Peters decided to relocate to Auckland in October 2011.
Looking for a new start after the chaos of the Christchurch earthquakes and working in a new direction musically he signed with Loop. Having crossed paths with Maitreya back in the '90s music scene, a chance meeting at Auckland's Ponsonby Food court led to Peters asking Maitreya to check out his new work, Maitreya dug the vibe and was happy to collaborate. "We have written around five tracks together and there is a mutual respect for each other's abilities and work ethic. I really want to produce music that not only grooves hard but has a positive and conscious message in the lyrics too, something Maitreya and Topaz both do very well," says Peters. Topaz (Jason's cousin also hailing from Christchurch) provides the yin to Kong Fooeys yang, a talented upcoming female MC who contributes positive and thought provoking vocals over Fooey's hyped up beats. Peters has been pleased with the positive reaction to first single 'Let Go' receiving excellent rotation on George, Kiwi and Mai FM. Kong Fooey recently played before 12,000 people warming up the Christchurch beer festival crowd before Supergroove took the stage, and then played a great show at Sounds on 2013 along side David Dallas and Home Brew.
A five track Kong Fooey EP is due to be released in 2013 along with an NZ on Air funded music video for 'Let Go'. With a debut album now in production Kong Fooey is a name you're definitely going to be hearing more of... and in case you were wondering about the name, it does come from the 1974 cartoon and the superhero pooch who uses martial arts to fight crime. Number one super fly and quicker than the human eye, Kong Fooey has got style, a groovy smile and a fight that just won't stop! Stay tuned...