If you bristle at the mention of guns and bitches, but still find yourself craving your daily dose of non-threatening rap, the boys from Fuld Effekt may just have you covered.
Having burst onto the Danish music scene courtesy of Emergenza in 2014, the band has been garnering a fair amount of buzz in Copenhagen recently. Their music is self-described as hip-hop/funk/good vibes – and it’s catchy as hell.
British blood
Two of the band’s members, Zac (ZacDaddy) and Alex (BeefSupreme), are particularly close to our hearts here at the Weekly Post because they are the sons of our very own Helen Dyrbye, the long-time writer of our Kids Corner column.
We sat down with all three to talk about Danish rap, English influences, and why they’ll always be British boys in their mum’s opinion.
How’d Fuld Effekt get started?
Zac: It was less “Let’s start a band” and more “Let’s make some music!” So we started playing around and came up with some songs.
Alex: Then a week before Emergenza ’14, I saw an ad for it on Facebook and we decided to sign up. It was incredibly nerve-nerve-racking – we had no time to prepare, but we decided to just go for it anyway.
Tell us a little bit about your style of music.
Alex: It’s fun and unpretentious. There’s a lot of hardcore rap in America, but not so much in Denmark. I wouldn’t be able to take rapping about guns seriously in Denmark.
Zac: If you can try to be funny about how you say things, it doesn’t matter if you’re rapping about geopolitical issues or going out for a beer on Friday. In fact, people relate more to ‘beer on Friday’ than to a political statement rapped about for three minutes because there’s no responding to that.
You rap in Danish. Would you ever make the switch to English?
Zac: We did one English song, but it wasn’t very good [laughs]. It was called ‘Beyonce what?’ It had some good elements, but that was before we found our vibe. Also I think there’s something funny about the Danish language. English has so many words and allows you to be so precise that I genuinely think it’s aesthetically more pleasing. But with the Danish lexicon, you have to be creative about how you put words together because you’re working with fewer – so it’s incredibly challenging and rewarding all at once.
Helen, you moved here 25 years ago. What does it feel like having Danish children?
Helen: I’m afraid [laughs] they’re British to me. I’m amazed at how well they’ve integrated! But I’ve never really tried to make them fit in. Myself, I’ve realised that I’ll always be English, so might as well enjoy being different. And it’s great to see your kids being different too. I mean, they swear in English, but they can be polite too!
What about the both of you? Do you feel more British or Danish?
Alex: We could never say Danish – at least not in front of mum!
Zac: If people ask, I say I’m half-English. But it rarely ever comes up. I dream in both English and Danish, depending on who I’m hanging out with.
Are there any British traditions you insist on, Helen?
Helen: Christmas on the 25th! I do a complete English spread: turkey, sausage rolls, the works. I print out all the instructions from Gordon Ramsay I can find and follow them religiously.
Alex: We also celebrate when England qualifies in sports –
Zac: But they never do!
Fuld Effekt’s music can be streamed via Spotify, Soundcloud and iTunes. If you’re in Copenhagen and curious, they are playing a gig on December 19 at 21:00 at Underbar (Vandkunsten 5, Cph K), where it will be free entry all night.
