On the gritty grey sidewalks of Detroit, a colourful ghetto-fly bounces casually to an unknown destination. With shoulders slung back and Motown attitude oozing from each stride; the ghetto-fly struts with absolute conviction. His tattered pants sit awkwardly, wrapped around his knees while satellite sized sunglasses adorn this super fly’s photoreceptive eyes. A comical pimp hat with fur trimmings coupled with a cheeky knowing grin finish off the ensemble. But while this ruggedly handsome ghetto fly might look absolutely out of this world, it is his waltz that captured the attention of a nearby onlooker. Joseph ‘Amp’ Fiddler stares from a distance with his son, observing the waltz of the ghetto fly – a waltz which conversed with him, transmitting a sense of undeniable coolness. And then and there, he knew exactly what to call his debut album. ITM’s palu investigates.
“It was just an amazing waltz of a walk. He looked like somebody out of a Superfly movie.” Amp reflectd “So I decided to come up with that title ‘Waltz Of A Ghetto Fly for the record” Evidently ‘Waltz of a ghetto fly’ was a long overdue piece of work, considering the fact that Amp Fiddler has been seriously involved with music for over twenty years. His skills in keyboarding, music production and vocals have led to collaborations with artists such as George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, J Dilla, Prince and Moodymann in the past but it is only recently that he was able to release his long awaited debut album. Why the delay? ”Nothing happens until it’s supposed to in life – same thing applies to your career. Everything is about timing and everything happens at the right time. It wasn’t the right time back then and I wasn’t in the right headspace. It’s all about the vision a person has and how spiritually down you are with where you have to go in your life and once you get to that point its much easier for things to start happening”
The album in itself is a beautiful tapestry of electronic soul, funk and RnB drawing from a rich palette of diverse influences, whether it’s the ubiquitous Motown sounds or deep minimal techno. In addition, Amps smooth velvet vocals stands strong, with many critics comparing him to Stevie Wonder, Sly Stone and Maxwell. However Amp is not one to imitate or recycle. He’s an innovater, much like those he worked with in the past and as a result, the road to success was paved with considerable struggles. Admittedly, it is much harder to get support as a groundbreaker then a traditionalist.
“I think it depends on how you make it.” Amp shares his views on finding an audience for innovative music ventures “Making innovative music is much different to making music for the masses in the sense that there is more risk that it might not be received so well. But I think it’s how you make it. You have to have a mix of elements to attract your listeners. I will say that it is difficult at first. Yes. It is much harder to make music as an innovater rather then to make music as a traditionalist. It’s a lot more work but it pays off in the end when you get it right and you get with the right people”
As well as producing sexy experimental sounds, Amp is also very conscious of the world around him. In a time of trouble where media tactics are highly questionable and world leaders’ motives are anything but transparent, it is no surprise that music can sometimes act as the last bastion for political or social awareness. A few tracks on the album delivers a vehicle for political and social change – Amp shares his views “Music is so great because you can use it to express voices that influence political or social change and transmit messages that need to be heard. Artists like Bob Marley proved that in the past. They made change by writing political and social statements in their music. It made big changes in their living spaces, cities and the world by having that sort of conversation with their music because music is so powerful.”
The city of Detroit seems to breed a plethora of incredible music talent, from Electrifying Mojo through to Drexciya through to Eminem. Evidently the city acts as a great source of inspiration for Amp Fiddler and his son Dorian, who also played a role on the album, contributing his trumpet playing skills ”The majority of my influences are from being in Detroit because a lot musicians, artists and singers I love are from Detroit” Amp tells. “There’s the Drummatics, The Temptations, The Supremes, all that Motown sound. There’s no one group or artist, everything has an influence on me. Parliament Funkadelic, they were all in Detroit when I got there. The whole dance scene was taking off with house and techno as well as all the jazz hits. All the people I’ve been involved with have had some impact on my sound. And most of them seem to come from Detroit. It’s just a great source of creativity.”
Amp will be leaving his local watering hole of Detroit to entertain us in Australia at the Good Vibrations Festival. And like the distinctive waltz of that grinning ghetto fly, it is without a doubt that we are guaranteed an original, vibrant performance filled with urban vibes, velvet vocals, funk chords and smokey jazz grooves. Pure bliss to the ears and food for the soul ”It’s gonna be a wild party, I’ll tell you that. There’s going to be singing, dancing, great music and we’re going to have a good time. People are going to love it.”
Waltz with Amp Fiddler at the Good Vibrations Festival:
Fri Feb 11th – Sydney, Metro w/ Arrested Development (BUY TICKETS)
Sat Feb 12th – Brisbane, Riverstage (BUY TICKETS)
Sun Feb 13th – Melbourne, Myer Music Bowl (BUY TICKETS)
Sat Feb 19th – Sydney, Centennial Park (SOLD OUT)
Sun Feb 20th – Perth, Belvoir Ampitheatre & Parklands (BUY TICKETS)
