Kulcha (band) explained

Kulcha
Origin:	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Genre:	R&B
Years Active:	–
Past Members:	Joe Fidow Richard Matila Eric Palu Jay Whitmore

Kulcha were an Australian R&B band formed in 1993 by four vocalists Joe Fidow, Richard Matila, Eric Palu and Jay Whitmore. They have Samoan or Māori ancestry. They released two studio albums, Kulcha (September 1994) and Take Your Time (May 1997), the former reached No. 13 in Australia and No. 5 in New Zealand. Their top 10 singles are "Shaka Jam" in both markets, and "Don't Be Shy" and "Fly Girl" in New Zealand.

At the ARIA Music Awards of 1995 their self-titled album was nominated for Best Pop Release and "Shaka Jam" was nominated for the Highest Selling Single. Their songs featured on episodes of TV series, Heartbreak High, in 1994, 1995 and 1997.

History

The four members of Kulcha, Joe Fidow, Richard Matila, Eric Palu and Jay Whitmore were all raised in New Zealand but formed their R&B band in Sydney in 1993.^[1] They have Māori or Samoan ancestry.^[1] Kulcha issued their debut single, "Shaka Jam", in May 1994 via East West Records. It was recorded at Mo Brown Studios with Matthew O'Connor producing. It had been broadcast on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)'s programme, Blackout, series 6, episode 3, which aired in December 1993.^[2] It reached No. 7 on the ARIA Singles chart and No. 8 in New Zealand.

Their songs featured on episodes 15 and 38 in Season 1 (1994) of TV series, Heartbreak High with "Shaka Jam", "Spend the Night", "Don't Be Shy" and "Fly Girl"; episode 62 of Season 2 (1995) with "Nasty" and episode 157 of Season 6 (1997) with "Do You Like It?".^{[3] [4]}

Band members

• Joe Fidow
• Richard Matila
• Eric Palu
• Jay Whitmore

Discography

Albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions		Certifications
		AUS ^[5]	NZ ^[6]
Kulcha	Released: September 1994 Formats: CD Label: EastWest (4509976772)	13	5	ARIA Gold^[7]
Take Your Time	Released: May 1997 Formats: CD Label: EastWest / Warner Music Australia (0630186742)	40	—

Singles

Title	Year	Peak chart positions		Certifications	Album
		AUS	NZ
"Shaka Jam"	1994	7	8		Kulcha
"Don't Be Shy"		13	8	RMNZ Gold^[8]
"Fly Girl"		26	4	RMNZ: Gold^[9]
"Soul Feeling"	1995	16	16
"Everytime You Go Away"		35	22		non-album single
"Do You Like It?"	1996	18	—		Take Your Time
"Always Be"	1997	25	34
"Treat Her Like a Lady"		—	—

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony held by the Australian Recording Industry Association. They commenced in 1987. |-| rowspan="2"| 1995| rowspan="1"| "Shaka Jam"| Highest Selling Single| |-| rowspan="1"| Kulcha| Best New Act| |-

Notes and References

1. Web site: National Australia Day Concert 1996 . telstra.com.au . . http://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/19990914200516/http://www.telstra.com.au/nadcconcert/docs/kulcha.htm . 14 September 1999 . 25 August 2022 . live .
2. Web site: Blackout Series 6 . Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) . 1999 . National Library of Australia . http://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20020208202417/http://www.abc.net.au/message/blackout/series6.htm . 8 February 2002 . 26 August 2022 . live .
3. Web site: Australian Television: Heartbreak High: episode guide: series 1 . Tony . Zuk . Australian Television Information Archive . 2019-07-20 .
4. Web site: Australian Television: Heartbreak High: Music Credits . Tony . Zuk . Australian Television Information Archive . 25 August 2022 .
5. Australian (ARIA Chart)Web site: australian-charts.com > Discography Kulcha . Hung Medien . 31 December 2018.
6. Web site: Discography Kulcha . Hung . Steffen . New Zealand Charts Portal . Hung Medien . 14 October 2018 .
7. Australia. book. 159.
8. New Zealand. single. 3640. Don't Be Shy.
9. New Zealand. single. 3646. Fly Girl.