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CHE FU The Navigator (Epic/Sony) Raised in Ponsonby, Auckland, New Zealand, Che joined a high school band as a guitarist (The Low Down Dirty Blues Band). It was 4 years before they would discover he could sing. Che comments "no one asked me if I could sing so I didn’t, but a song came up that I really wanted to do". That band eventually became the legendary Supergroove. Supergroove advanced to achieve critical acclaim, attaining numerous music awards, their debut album Traction received triple platinum status, all whilst still at high school. Renowned for their live performances Supergroove were destined for stardom. Supergroove was unleashed with Che at the front, on a 95-96 world promotional tour. This saw the band mould tighter as a unit. However, upon their return a difference in direction would see Che dismissed from the original line up. Simultaneously, D.J producer D.L.T released Chains featuring Che-Fu (new stage name) triple platinum single. 96-97 saw D.L.T and Che-Fu receive the number one position for six weeks consecutively; single of the year, songwriter of the year and Che-Fu would add male vocalist of the year to his personal trophy case. Singer, songwriter, producer and hip-hop debtor, Che is a freak in the nicest possible way. I have seen him sing to a crowd when the sound system went dead, pure vocal heaven. He has sung to a crowd while singing autograph because I said he needed to do a few more songs. It was all done while talking to the punters and singing in the appropriate places. What you see is what you get, the rest is hype. Making this album has been liberating due to Sony’s groove. It is kind of taxing but a good form of taxing, if there is one! If there are mistakes made on this album we can only blame ourselves. That’s what happens when you take charge of things. We receive big love from loads of people hence the subject matter within The Navigator. The Navigator, is a combination of 13 tracks developed musically and lyrically by Che-Fu’s love of reggae, funk, soul, rap with a hip hop chewy center. 'Fade Away' & 'Random' the first two singles off The Navigator are lush tunes inspired by the nature of friendship and loyalty each has to one another. The Navigator was made with The Krates, D.J P-Money and The Villajah M.Cs. This is the nine piece combo collected over the last 3 to 7 years. Live they are as good as any. Each performer is an individual in his own right and together they have a f**k-off way about them. All that can be said about them is see them all live it is "bad". Epic site review Click on album image to see larger album cover
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