The Raft is the third single to be lifted from Dr Boondigga & The Big BW, the platinum-selling, award-winning second studio album from New Zealand’s pirates of soul, Fat Freddy’s Drop. The song is one of the album’s few reggae tracks and so in keeping with the great Jamaican Reggae tradition The Drop is pressing The Raft onto 7” Vinyl. Singer Joe Dukie provides an inspirational chorus in his honey-drenched tones – “Though my people may not be many we are ready to rise as one”. The lyrics are a response to a painting much resented by New Zealand Maori: The Arrival of the Maoris In New Zealand, painted by Charles Goldie in 1898, depicts the first migration of people to Aotearoa (the Maori name for New Zealand, translated as “Land of the Long White Cloud”). Objections to the painting came from the way Maori are shown as desperately starving and thirsty while elated at the final sighting of land. The work shows Maori as shipwreck survivors rather than the master navigators they really were. Reflecting the struggle of visually representing this historical yet mythical event that holds a most epic magnitude in New Zealand’s history, the band decided to pass this job on to the fans and ask them to design cover art for the 7” vinyl. With over a hundred cover design entries from all over the world the feedback was truly amazing. Winner Paul Walsh said: “My Mum’s gonna be so proud!” TRACKLISTING A1. The Raft (7” Radio Edit) B1. The Raft (Stepper’s Dub)