It’s been a long time since we’ve shared a proper rock’n’roll infused offering on IDIOTEQ,, but that doesn’t mean loads of hard working DIY bands have stopped rolling in! Today, we’re giving you a great example of well-balanced alternative rock, delivered by Dutch band EL FATSO, who have just unveiled their new EP Rock’n’Roffa! Today, we direct your attention to their earworm songs and the band’s special commentary on their influences, as well as other bands worth looking into.
The Rotterdam-based band came out with killer forerunner singles and videos back in 2020, teasing their audience until the EP release. Well, the big moment has come! Oil up your mustache and put on your dancing shoes baby, because it’s here! El Fatso have dropped their new sweat, sex, and swag-filled EP Rock’n’Roffa.
The record contains just the right amount of bravado to get you fired up for a night out. In this new release, the Rotterdam-based Fatso’s continue to develop their signature Rock’n’Roffa sound with falsetto vocals, crooked guitars and sweaty grooves.
The record is a wild ride through the themes of hedonism, adultery and self-reflection, which is also portrayed in the artwork (Luis Toledo, PrisaMata Studio). Previously released singles came with videoclips covered in that special Fatso sauce: Tarantino-level storytelling with a touch of absurdity.
Today is February 22, 2021 and it has now been a year in this mess called Covid-19. We were lucky to have just finished recording all of the tracks for βRockβnβRoffaβ. Our initial idea was to release a single and then the EP, but due to the fact that we couldnβt play shows we decided to release a single every couple of months. We felt that we could keep momentum going in this manner. We notice that the scene is keeping a low profile: other bands arenβt releasing, the venues are trying to survive and our rehearsal place is seeing fewer bands than usual. We try to keep ourselves busy with this release and are currently finishing up the writing process of 4 new songs. The sounds and themes of these tracks are depicting our feelings of the current times: frustrated, angry and rebellious. Itβs good to let of some steam this way and also excites us for whatβs ahead. Weβll get through one way or another!
The recordβs artwork is all about psychedelics and poultry. Designed by Luis Toledo of PrisaMata Studio (also responsible for the previous EPβs artwork), it goes together with the music as mac goes with cheese.
πΈπ πΉππ‘π π π ππ’πππ ππππ π βππ‘ πππ πππ π π¦ πππ πππβπ‘ π π‘πππ πππ‘π€πππ ππ. ππ‘ππππππππ πππ ππ . πππ. πΉπππ ππ‘π‘π π£πππππ , πππππππ ππ’ππ‘πππ πππ π π€πππ‘π¦ πππππ£ππ ππππ π‘βπ ππππππππππ‘π πππ π‘βπππ π πππππ‘π’ππ π ππ’ππ, π€βππβ π‘βππ¦ ππππ ”π πππ ‘π’ π ππππ”.
Their songs demand you to move that ol’ body of yours around, in whatever way possible and absolutely own it while doing so. After it!’
Track by track rundown:
Rodion: our first single is inspired by Crime and Punisment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, but in our version Rodion, the protagonist, plots to kill the guy (Marvin) who caught him cheating with another woman in order to save his relationship. ββPoor old Marvin had no clue, he bit of more that he could chew. Kept yapping about healing you, didnβt know his days were throughβ.
King Louie: have you ever seen someone riding a bicycle in the dead of night with a huge monkey on his back? Well, our lead singer Tom swears he hasβ¦ But also admits his pupils at the time were 2 massive black holes after a night out. βMonkey bikes backwards at night and hears his jungle beats so tight. Bikes towards olβ King Louie.. yeah this boy should go to bed and sleep.β
Thirsty: the first single on our new EP. The lyrics are inspired by graffiti on a wall of a nightclub in Rotterdam (“If these walls could talk …”). The lyrics tell the tale of Marco, who two members of our band encountered in a strip club in Portugal.. Yes,β this story is based on real life events’, so keep your ears open for the juicy bits! The themes of the song are hypocrisy, bastardism and deception.
Touch Base: do you know that feeling when you’re about to hook up with someone for the first time? The push and the pull? Up and Down? These motions are what inspired the lyrics for Touch Base. With the first line “Supple hips started swaying, when you caught me misbehaving”, things can only get hotter, right? Fun and also slightly embarrassing fact: we got the title from Urban Dictionary. Look it up or let your imagination run free :)
Ketama: slightly more serious now! Ketama is about the search for an individual identity in a time when people are increasingly thinking in boxes: identity politics (barf). It is about trying to break free from this group thinking based on gender, race, etc. and the tendency to fall back into this mindset.
El InspiracΓon – a special playlist featuring a lot of EL FATSO influences.
Mastodon β Blood and Thunder
Dirty, burly vocals and guitars and octopus drums that are all over the place. We dig all of Mastodonβs work: the difference between the three lead vocals, their approach on concept albums, their awesome tattoos and sense of humor.
Queens of the Stone Age: Sick, Sick, Sick
Heavy dance rock, buddy! Theyβre not defined by genres and keep refreshing their sound.
The band that showed us that making heavy guitar rock could be made without grunts and screams. Tom: βI realized that I could use my own voice within this style of music.β Without Queens there would be no El Fatso.
Their attention to detail, the superb playing by everyone, their mastery of making complex stuff sound easy and accessible.
Electric Light Orchestra β Mr Blue Sky:
Sooooo long! Falsetto vocals, we love them! (Yes we are also big Bee Gees fans). This song vibrates such good feelings. It also still sounds new and fresh. Digging the part of 2/3 of the song: fuck it, no compromise and put a choir in there because it rocks.
Other Dutch bands and artists worth a check, by EL FATSO:
Time to get some Dutch acts in the spotlight!
Boskat: Antwerp/Rotterdam based band. We dig the Nirvana, Royal Blood influences and both these guys are absolute beasts on the instruments!
Certain Animals: another Rotterdam based band. This trio released their debut album βSongs That Make You Moveβ a year ago and we fully support their psychedelic and vintage journey!
Ten Times A Million: we supported TTAM on a couple of shows. Awesome guys with a good taste for hit material. Theyβre on their way of making it big, so be sure to check them out!
