Fourfront are going to be pop stars. There should be little doubt about this, when one considers the individual and combined quality of the four personalities that make up this Dublin hip-hop collective. Tukka, the former US3 rapper whose performance credits also include Herbie Hancock, Fugees and Coolio; Evanna Lyons, the AA Roadwatch presenter and ex-vocalist with acid jazz outfit, The Beatnik Record Club; Tukka s lyrical partner, Judge; and Dubliner, Gavin Redmond.
Initially, the four band members were working on solo projects until they were put in contact with each other through Dublin producers Hugh Drumm and Ger McDonnell, and they hit it off immediately. Two years of writing and rehearsing have resulted in their debut single, Get Together , an assured blend of pop, r n b and hip-hop, and they are just three songs short of a completed album.
The whole album is very diverse, from start to finish, stresses Evanna. We decided on this single because it is radio-friendly and catchy, but it wouldn t necessarily represent exactly what we re doing.
The quartet come from very different musical backgrounds, but they knit together extremely well and each brings something different to their musical mix. Evanna explains: I have an acid-jazz background, Tukka s very raggamuffin, Gavin s very hip-hop and Judge is Mr Swing King, so we have so many ideas. In fact, sometimes there are almost too many ideas.
That is also a blessing, adds Tukka, because we all keep each other working and we all feed off each other.
While the single is being released independently, Fourfront are holding out for a major label deal before they unleash their debut album into the public domain. On the strength of Get Together , which should be winging its way up the Irish charts as you read this, there will probably be a host of labels queueing up for their signatures. So if international chart success follows, which it should, are they ready for fame?
I don t think there s anybody in the music business who is serious about it that doesn t want success, says Judge with a grin. If the fame comes, I ll drink champagne.
I believe success is doing something you enjoy, adds Tukka. Getting up in the morning and doing something you love, there is nothing better than that. I wouldn t like to put my name to anything I didn t like just to get fame, and I think we all feel the same.
It would be a lovely thing to be successful doing something you love, sums up Gavin. We enjoy it so much and get on so well, it s almost like another family. That in itself is success and anything else is a bonus. n
Get Together is out now and Fourfront will play in The Globe Bar, George s St., Dublin, in early October.