released April 11, 2011

From the beautiful islands of New Zealand comes Fredericks Brown, the musical collaboration of vocalist Deva Mahal, keyboardist Steph Brown, and guitarist Michael Taylor. They have become renowned for their energetic live shows, rich harmonies, and
beautifully crafted songs.

Betrayal started out as an instrumental jam, born out of a weekly residency gig held by Steph Brown and Julien Dyne (BBE). The two were hired to play as an organ duo in the backbar of a Thai restaurant in their hometown of Auckland, New Zealand. The bar was well hidden, relatively unknown and unpopulated. Then, when the music got too loud, the bar manager would close the internal doors leading to the restaurant, effectively sealing off the bar and providing Steph and Julien with their own private (and paid!) jam session. A perfect environment to create and it was here that the song Betrayal was born.

Upon moving to New York, Steph would occasionally play the jam before Fredericks Brown shows as an opener. Then one day Deva came on stage early singing the melody with wordless vocals and it sounded so good that they decided to make it a song. Drawing on the influence of Fela Kuti and Stevie Wonder, the song tells the story in three simple verses of a loved ones betrayal.

Land of Plenty is a rich and evocative piece of music, depicting a nostalgia and deep longing for a home, far away. It draws on the vast, stunningly beautiful landscapes of New Zealand, the homeland of Fredericks Brown. Mixed by Mu of Fat Freddys Drop.

Label head Dusty picked up the unmistakable Afrobeat vibe of Betrayal and contributed a heavy percussive Afro-Funk remix to this EP. Everyone who enjoyed his remixes for The Boogoos or the Bad Jazz Troupe last year will definitely dig this one!
Finally Andreas Saag, the mastermind of the exquisite Swell Session project has come up with a fantastic jazzy-house remix of Betrayal. It works wonders on the Jazz&Milk dancefloors and even in the deepest winter it definitely sounds like the next summer anthem to be! Saag plays some driving jazz chords on top of a refreshing beat that will sweep you off your feet. You can also find an additional deep house remix version of Andreas Saag on the digital release of this EP!

Enjoy the wonderful music of Fredericks Brown and watch out for upcoming live performances
this year!