Pato Fu

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Fernanda Takai, lead singer of Pato Fu.

Pato Fu is a Brazilian musical band from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. The band was formed by lead singer Fernanda Takai, guitarist John Ulhôa & bassist Ricardo Koctus, in 1992. Their drummer, Xande Tamietti, joined the band in 1996, as did keyboardist Lulu Camargo in 2005.

Their first album, Rotomusic de Liquidificapum, was released in 1993, followed, since then, by other seven releases: Gol de Quem? (1995), Tem Mas Acabou (1996), Televisão de Cachorro(1998), Isopor (1999), Ruído Rosa (2000), MTV ao Vivo: No Museu de Arte da Pampulha (2002), and Toda Cura para Todo Mal (2005). The band's popularity began to increase simultaneously with two other groups from Belo Horizonte, Jota Quest and Skank. The band plays in pop-rock style, but resorting frequently to electronic music elements. Pato Fu is frequently said as being influenced by Os Mutantes, a famous Brazilian tropicalist group from the 1960s, probably because of the experimentalism found in both bands songs. One can find in Pato Fu songs influences of Devo, The Cure, Radiohead, Pizzicato Five, Super Furry Animals and also MPB, among various others.

With the release of Ruído Rosa, Pato Fu was elected in 2000 one of the best bands of the world by Time Magazine. The band made its 10th birthday in 2003 with the release of MTV ao Vivo: No Museu de Arte da Pampulha, a live performance with some of their most famous songs. As of 2006, popular hits include:

Sobre o Tempo (Gol de Quem?)
Pinga (Tem, Mas Acabou; a song about alcoholism)
Canção pra Você Viver Mais (Televisão de Cachorro)
Antes Que Seja Tarde (Televisão de Cachorro)
Made in Japan (Isopor; sung almost entirely in Japanese. It was written in Portuguese by John and translated by a Japanese teacher. Its video clip is a tribute to old Japanese Sci-Fi movies and a satire against Americanization, winning a Brazilian VMA award). The chorus is from the song Manah Manah '(see the External links section)'.
Depois (Isopor)
Perdendo Dentes (Isopor)
Eu (Ruído Rosa)
Ando Meio Desligado (Ruído Rosa; Mutantes cover)
Por Perto (MTV ao Vivo)
Uh Uh Uh, Lá Lá Lá, Ié Ié! (Toda Cura para Todo Mal)
Anormal (Toda Cura para Todo Mal)

Fernanda Takai and John are married and had a daughter, Nina, in 2003.

The band name is from a Garfield comic strip. Garfield attacked the mailman with his "Cat Fu" techniques. The band liked the wordplay, but decided to change Gato (cat) to Pato (duck). Coincidentally or not, the expression had also previously appeared in the Brazilian translation of the Howard the Duck movie; in it, Howard says he knows "Pato Fu" (Quak Fu in the original).