Vocalist Interview – Pat Fulgoni (UK)
Cross pollination between musicians and music genres is nothing new, but it’s not overly common in DNB. The rock/DNB crossover has bubbled over several times, and there is a strong undercurrent of spoken word and rap that is ever present within contemporary drum and bass.
Generally though, the genre hop takes place with vocalists (due to DNB’s digital blueprint) and I would probably feel reasonably safe saying that this was an area mostly featuring female singers. Male singers are a minority in comparison.
So how is that a Yorkshire based male blues singer, who has travelled the world extensively with his own internationally renowned band, has ended up featuring on tracks by legends within the DNB scene like Camo & Krooked, Technimatic, Murdock? the list literally goes on and on.
If ever there was an interesting person in DNB to talk to, this is one, and we wanted to find out more.
Pat, Welcome INSIDE!
Thank you Dan, for your interest in what I do and for spotting the blues influences!
First and foremost, you’re a blues singer, so let’s start off there. How and when did you discover the blues as a musical entity?
Well at college, I loved the blues rock vibe particularly the psychedelic end, like Jimi Hendrix through to Funkadelic – so if I’m a blues singer it probably dates back to then!
I used to have a teacher at school who was a blues fan. He used to lend me tapes of the Paul Jones Blues Show on Radio 2. How far back does your collection of blues music go? What eras are your favourite, if any?
I dip in and out of most genres and am learning all the time. I’ve played the Blues Alive Festival in Czech a few times and they recently asked me to do a playlist. After loads of procrastinating I got it done, and it features stuff like John Lee Hooker, Big Mama Thornton, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, BB King, Sister Rosetta Thorpe, Walter Trout, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Aretha Franklin, RL Burnside, Lucky Peterson, Gil Scott Heron, Johnny Guitar Watson.
Did you go through the whole singing in to a broomstick in front of MTV thing? I mean, when did you realise you had a voice strong enough to front a band?
Ha ha! never as a singer. More pots and pans dreaming of being a drummer or using tennis rackets thinking I’m a guitarist. TBH it took me years to try fronting a band
Even though blues music is still a massive global scene, it hasn’t been at the forefront of popular culture for some time now. I imagine it’s quite close knit, so how hard was it to break into the scene?
There is so much talent out there in the blues scene, so it is hard to break through and play outside your home town. That said, until relatively recently for me it’s all been abroad and TBH just every now and then.
I was probably too busy with other styles to get it going over here, but the last few years I’ve been gigging blues a lot around the north of England. The work helps me keeps a roof over my head and I find the lyrics (mainly blues standards) resonate with people, what with the pandemic and the effects of Brexit on the economy – especially on the music biz.
The new band, Pat Fulgoni Blues Experience was formed when a promoter friend from my home town was raising funds for a local food bank. He had seen some footage online and wanted to book the band. I explained that the costs of bringing the musicians over wouldn’t leave much for the charity, so I agreed to do a blues thing with local musicians.
I kinda forgot about it and then saw the name Pat Fulgoni Blues Experience on a poster, thought ‘now that’s a good name!’ and had to pull my finger out! We also toured abroad a bit. Have a look at the Czech TV footage from 2021 to give you an idea where we are at:
Credits:
I’m guessing that you did the usual rounds across the live gig circuit to cut your teeth, so how did you find that? Pretty scary at first, I would guess? You play trumpet as well, so you’d have gigged in that musical capacity too?
Yeah the band I spent most time in was Kava Kava. We were pretty much feral and unmanageable so I had to man the bookings etc myself ha ha. Kava Kava played lots of free parties in the nineties and some traditional venues (although the sound was pretty whacked out so that was a hard sell).
Later on I expanded the band’s line up to incorporate a brass section for bigger gigs like Glastonbury or Beijing Midi Festival
I do play trumpet, albeit like a pissed up Mexican football fan and enjoyed hearing my riffs in Kava Kava doubled up by various very talented jazzers including the Haggis Horns. Along the way I was hired in as a trumpeter by indie bands like Embrace, Scaramanga Six, and even Mr Methane (yes, that comedian who farts for a living!)
Those early days would have included hopping in and out of quite a few bands as well I suppose?
Back then, keeping the Kava Kava band going ended up pretty much full time, but I did get to work with a few folks like NYC guitarist Gary Lucas (Chris Cornell, Jeff Buckley) in the crazy avant rock band Urfaust, as well as trying a bit of jazz, some blues and later on dub with festival legends Zion Train and some house and techno collaborations too.
Tell us about your first big break with Kava Kava then. When did you get your first recorded release?
The first 2 albums came after we did a traditional showcase in London at the Marquee Club. We got signed with Delerium Records, who also punted bands like Porcupine Tree, and to be honest at that time we were miles more funky than anything else on the label and also dressed up like freaks. It must have been OK though, because this year heritage rock label Cherry Red re-released the ‘You Can Live Here’ and ‘Supalube’ albums.
Getting the music into US film and TV was a breakthrough though. Tunes from the more electronica influenced ‘Maui’ album on my Chocolate Fireguard label were licensed to TV shows like Weeds, Dirt and John From Cincinnati, and we ended up touring out in the US as well as Europe, China etc.
You’ve spent the last 2 decades gaining a really solid reputation with Kava Kava and your blues band, so how the heck did you get a break in DNB? The scene is well known for having people within it with broad tastes in music, but were you a fan of the genre before this?
Credits: Rupert R Plumb
I remember reading about Roni Size in an acid jazz / soul magazine called Straight No Chaser and saw him live around the time of the Mercury nomination. It blew my mind TBH. I was like – this is jazz from Mars with dogs barking and ducks quacking! what the f++k is this music?! I then heard Goldie’s ‘Timeless’ and that was that. I’ve loved drum n bass ever since. Thank you Roni and Goldie!
Things kind of grew from there then? Was it a slow burner or did you start to pick up work in the scene quite quickly?
My first drum and bass tune was with a producer called Acetate. He was also Huddersfield based and was hanging out a bit with my band Kava Kava and wanted to do a collaboration. So I suggested he came round to the crazy 24 hour party house the band used to live in, I got my Roland Juno 106 out and came up with a riff which was then doubled up by the guitarist and bass player. There were no vocal at this stage though. The track was called Acetate vs Kava Kava ‘Pursuit’ and came out on Emotif Records.
I got to actually sing on drum n bass years later, after a truly bizarre karaoke session with Chris Goss of Hospital Records, Music Week magazine, Safta (Muse’s manager) and many others! Seriously. I was pretty out of it and lined up the Isley Brothers ‘Backstabbers’ and Britney Spears ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’.
Thankfully I never got to do ‘Wuthering Heights’ by Kate Bush. Hospital were impressed though, and said we’ll ring you when we get back to London. I was like, ‘yeah right’ but they did, and I ended up co-writing Nu:Tone ‘Beliefs ft Pat Fulgoni’ before working with other artists on that label like Logistics (Transporter), London Elektricity (Maybe I Was Wrong, Had Little Fight), Camo & Krooked (All Night, Turn Up The Music) and more on that label and others like Spearhead, Shogun, Viper, Ram ….
Please tell us about a few of your stand out moments as a DNB vocalist!
Singing live at Ministry of Sound for Drum and Bass Arena’s 20th. That was a buzz. Some folks couldn’t quite get their head around the fact that I’d sung Camo & Krooked’s “All Night” looking the way I do and all that ha ha. There was a great response though and it left me wanting to do some more big big drum n bass shows!
It was also great touring around Czech singing DNB with my friend Babe LN. Elen is an original female DNB DJ with her own Radio One show over in Prague. She has been active since well before the welcome upturn of interest in female drum n bass.
Vocalists all seem to work in different ways. What is your method for laying down vocals over a track?
Its different track by track. I’ve turned tracks down before because they don’t need a vocal. I like a dialogue with the producer. Ideally in the same room.
Your years of singing both over a live band and writing songs with other musicians must put you in quite a strong place when it comes to building melodies?
I like to think so and prefer it when I get to co-write!
What is apparent is that you have managed to bring a distinct blues flavour to your DNB vocals. The thing is, the tempos are at complete opposite scales, so are you effectively singing in half time, and are you ‘singing the blues’ over DNB? The transposition sounds almost effortless to me, like it’s second nature?
Sometimes I am indeed half time! In fact if you listen to one of my collabs ‘Sometimes’ by Technimatic I literally am singing the blues!
You’ve performed live for years within the blues spectrum, but you’ve also done live DNB gigs. How do you find the difference in energy in terms of the crowd? There will likely be a quite distinct difference in ages for a start?
Pretty different for sure! My blues band is actually quite uplifting as well though and folks do get up to dance – not exactly “stepping” so to speak but not head banging either. With drum and bass it’s naturally more of a dance environment. I have sung drum and bass at live venues though. Just me and the laptop. I stick to liquid and folks are happy to sit about and appreciate the grooves as songs in their own right. The same set in a club will get folks up and dancing though.
I had a great 30 minute set the other day at Beaverworks, Leeds for their BBQ. From time to time I also infiltrate DJ’s sets with my instrumentals. Last month it was ace to sing Murdock ‘Come Together’ with Charlotte Devaney on the decks and Fire Fox on the flame throwing!
I have to ask. What do your friends and associates within the blues scene think of drum and bass? The two couldn’t be more different if they tried?
It ranges from “Your electronic music is bullshit, but I like your blues” to “fucksake Pat, that guitar stuff is just noise, do some more DNB please and I’ll come see you play”.
Thankfully, most are open minded!
Have you thought about trying the live DNB thing, with a full band of musicians rather than DJ’s or digital media? Is there a real place for it within the market do you think?
100%! I would absolutely love to sing drum n bass with live musicians, especially some of the tracks I’ve been on like Keeno ‘As One’. Sort it out! I loved Breakbeat Era! I promise not to be high maintenance with my rider demands, but I would prefer it if my mic was presented to me on a cushion!
I’m just trying to imagine what the average weekend might look like for Pat Fulgoni. I’m seeing an intimate blues gig on the Friday and then a warehouse full of ravers on the Saturday, or maybe even both on the same night? The contrast must be really amazing as an artist?
Ha ha. There’s definitely a contrast. Actually last weekend I got to sing blues AND drum and bass on the same night in the same venue for the mighty Boombox Circus at Beaverworks, Leeds! I’m gonna repeat this trick on the Stumble Funk stage at Beatherder Festival in a few weeks time.
With regards to your voice then, what sort of things do you do to ensure it stays in tip top condition?
I try to warm up before a gig – just a little. I drink lots of hot drinks too
And with regard to recording, are there many face to face sessions with your DNB collaborators, or is it mostly a web based experience, and if it is web based, how does it work? You have recording equipment at home?
It’s a mix. I am happy to travel to a studio. For example Bachelors of Science have two collabs with me on their forthcoming album called ‘Stomp’ and ‘Different Eyes’. It was tricky getting me to San Francisco (booooo!) so we all met up with Ben Soundscape down in Bristol and recorded at his. That worked really well and I’m excited to hear these on the radio!
On the other hand, tracks like Vanguard Project ‘All That I Need’ Dossa and Locuzzed ‘Stella’ Camo and Krooked ‘All Night’ were recorded at mine. I’ve a decent soundcard and Ableton and I’m a firm believer that it’s more about the performance anyway.
Your microphone is no doubt one of your most sacred possessions, so what are you using and why? Do you use the same equipment for both styles?
My SM58 is fine. It’s no nonsense and dented from live work, but still sounds great.
My Rode NT2 is good for drum and bass too I reckon.
Looking at the 70 plus videos of your collaborations on YouTube, especially the live DNB performances, it’s pretty wild seeing a dyed in the wool blues singer next to a dyed in the wool DNB DJ and MC in front of a DNB crowd dancing their backsides off. It just looks wicked. I love that you’ve stayed true to your blues roots. You seem to feel perfectly at home within the drum and bass setting?
Thank you for saying that! Do you wanna be my agent? (maybe! will I have to learn to speak Yorkshire? – Ed)
DNB has accepted you as a blues singer without question. Do you think blues would accept a DNB performer in the same way? Have there been any guest appearances on the blues scene by DNB acts as far as you’re aware?
Not much, if any to be honest. I do sometimes go out as a blues duo either with Sam the keyboard player or Chillo the guitarist. One time I was asked to play a gig for a charity and was wondering what on earth I should do. You know, am I a junglist or am I a blues man? So me and Chillo played twenty minutes of blues and then I did twenty minutes of drum and bass. Chillo stayed on as a guitarist and I must say it had a great vibe and something we could try to hone down.
You run the Chocolate Fireguard record label and agency, which hosts a number of acts ranging from hip-hop, reggae and rock, and there’s a strong link to your home county of Yorkshire and more predominantly your home town of Huddersfield. You’re intensely proud of your Yorkshire heritage and feel it necessary to represent?
Yeah, I have developed music projects to help regional music. The music industry has a habit of being too London centric. At one point I ran an ‘all Yorkshire’ Showcase at SXSW in the States. The venue called the British Music Embassy was great and we managed to help guitar bands out like Pulled Apart By Horses, Dinosaur Pile Up, Wild Beasts, Slow Club, Rolo Tomassi. That kinda vibe.
Chocolate Fireguard is still there. Highlights were the French hip hop band La Cedille, my own band Kava Kava and trip hop band Bluefoot Project. There’s a very diverse roster there! If any investors are reading this – fancy funding some new releases?
With a name like your though, I’m guessing there’s Italian heritage in the family line, so where does that fit in?
As a kid I was always embarrassed by my dad’s collection of Italian singers and accordion music, especially if it was in the car and he had the window down……..but as I get older you never know, maybe I should start singing a few Frank Sinatra crooners.
Last but not least, as you continue to straddle two completely different musical spheres with ease, what or where would you like to do next? Are there any artists that you would like to tick off of your ‘to do list’? Or events you’d to take part in?
On a DNB tip:
I’d love to sing at some larger dance events you know like Let It Roll, Hospitality, Rampage, Liquicity. I’ve got the repertoire now. Have voice will travel and all that! I can also double up as a roadie 🙂
I almost collaborated with Netsky. We were talking back in the day on myspace, but I’m not sure it was right for the label in the end. So maybe I’ll sort that out, along with Calibre, Roni Size, High Contrast and Goldie collabs ha ha!
On a non DNB tip:
I always fancied collaborating with David Holmes and Primal Scream! I’d also love to sing live with an orchestra too.
PAT FULGONI – BEAUTIFUL YOU / DRIFTER (VANGUARD PROJECT REMIXES) OUT 26TH AUGUST ON FOKUZ RECORDINGS.
FIND OUT MORE HERE:
(2) Pat Fulgoni Blues Experience | Facebook
Pat Fulgoni (@patfulgoni) • Instagram photos and videos
