18 Jul 2025
Chris Ta’aloga Faiumu aka DJ Mu aka DJ Fitchie passed away in Wellington this week. The founder producer and beat maker of renowned New Zealand band Fat Freddy’s Drop, DJ Mu has been a legend in Aotearoa music and the vibrant underground music scene in Wellington since the early 1990s. He has been at the heart of Fat Freddy’s Drop’s distinctive sounds from the beginning with inspiration drawn from dub, soul, reggae and electronic grooves.
From a Samoan family in Wainuiomata, DJ Mu was well known in Wellington’s vibrant arts and creative communities for decades including a job as Front of House Manager at Wellington’s backstreet and iconic Taki Rua Theatre in Courtenay Place in the 1990s.
He was a regular DJ at the early and popular Matterhorn Bar on Cuba Street and many other venues and gigs around the capital’s dynamic arts scene at a time when bands such as Shihad and Trinity Roots were being formed. Wellington was a powerfully connected community of creativity and artistic energy.
He met Dallas Tamaira, Fat Freddy’s Drop’s talented lead vocalist and composer when DJ Mu had a gig as a sound engineer for Pacific Underground collective’s touring production of Romeo and Tusi, and where Dallas was a lead actor in the comedic play.
The pair later began their extensive musical collaborations and jamming when Dallas moved to Wellington in the 1990s followed by the formation of the band as more musicians and collaborators joined, growing to major packed out gigs in the city and around the country towards international tours and a world fan base.
Erolia Ifopo, Mana Pasifika Navigator at Creative New Zealand previously worked with Fat Freddy’s Drop for 18 years says he was deeply loved and admired as a person and for his musical talent and vision.
“Mu was a beautiful human being, always a steady and gentle hand providing alofa and strength for his family and the Fat Freddy’s Drop family. It’s an honour to have known him for so many years, and all the great achievements and relationships he spearheaded. I know it’s a huge and sad loss for his family and Aotearoa music and fans around the country and around the world,’ she says.
“We have a saying in Samoan, ‘Ua Motu le ‘ula fala’ which means the garland of chiefs has broken. It denotes the passing of a chief, the setting of a star from the sky – and that’s what it feels like for our arts community, the passing of a great chief,” says Erolia.
‘Samoans also have a saying to those that pass away, ‘Ia manuia lau malaga,’ which means may your journey be blessed. Ia manuia lau malaga Mu.”
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