pato fu

Pato Fu is a brazilian band from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais formed in 1992. The band is composed of Fernanda Takai (guitar and vocals), John Ulhoa (guitar, vocals, keyboards and programming), Ricardo Koctus (bass and vocals), Xande Tamietti (drums) and Lulu Camargo (keyboards). Their first album, Rotomusic de Liquidificapum, was released in 1993. Since then, they have released another eight: Gol de Quem?, Tem Mas Acabou, Televis?o de Cachorro, Isopor, Ru?do Rosa, MTV ao Vivo: No Museu de Arte da Pampulha, Toda Cura para Todo Mal and Daqui pro Futuro.

Their first album, Rotomusic de Liquidificapum, was released in 1993. Since then, they have released another eight: Gol de Quem?, Tem Mas Acabou, Televis?o de Cachorro, Isopor, Ru?do Rosa, MTV ao Vivo: No Museu de Arte da Pampulha, Toda Cura para Todo Mal and Daqui pro Futuro.

The band's popularity began to increase along with two other groups from Belo Horizonte, Jota Quest and Skank. The band plays pop-rock but frequently resorts to electronic music elements as well. Pato Fu is often said to be 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 musical influences by Devo, The Cure, Radiohead, Pizzicato Five, Super Furry Animals and also mpb, among various others.

With the release of Ruído Rosa, Pato Fu was nominated as one of the best bands of the world by Time Magazine in 2001. The band's 10th anniversary in 2002 was celebrated 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 2005, popular hits include:

* Sobre O Tempo (Gol de Quem?)
* Pinga (Gol de Quem?, about alcoholism)
* Canção Pra Você Viver Mais (Televisão De Cachorro)
* Um Dia, Um Ladrão (Televis?o de Cachorro)
* Made In Japan (Isopor; the song is 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 which won a VMB (the Brazilian VMA)). The song chorus is from the song Manah Manah '(see the External links section)'.
* Depois (Isopor)
* Imperfeito (Isopor)
* Perdendo Dentes (Isopor)
* Eu (Ru?do Rosa)
* Ando Meio Desligado (Ru?do Rosa)
* Por Perto (MTV Ao Vivo (Museu de Arte da Pampulha))
* Não Mais (MTV Ao Vivo (Museu de Arte da Pampulha))
* 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 name of the band was taken from a Garfield comic strip where Garfield attacked a mailman with his "Cat Fu" techniques. The band liked the wordplay, but decided to replace Gato (cat) with 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" (Quack Fu in the original).