Well, it’s that time of year again folks. The sun is shining. The birds are chirping. The temperature is soaring higher than an eagle making all that outdoor nonsense even less appealing. During this season of sun and fun, I do my annual “Let’s talk happy things!”
This little event happened a few years ago after I was unduly criticised for hating everything. Well, let’s push all that negativity away and focus on the positives! So for the next couple of weeks, I’m going to be sharing with you some of my favourite “things” from a whole bunch of different entertainment mediums. The world out there may be rapidly changing into something scary and unfamiliar but have no fear, I’ll always be here for you. You are my favourite person. Yes, you. The one reading this with the shirt. You’re the best and never forget that.
Oh, before we dive into this weeks fun, a bit of housecleaning. The Clockwork Caterpillar has now reverted to its original pricing. My condolences if you didn’t manage to catch it during its massive sale. But that shouldn’t hold you back. The digital copy is only $3.50! So you can still get it for pennies and enjoy the thrilling adventures of Felicity and crew!
Now on with the show.
Truth be told, even though I discussed my list of great things with Kait over our holiday, I don’t actually remember what I had planned to write. So if today’s band wasn’t meant to be my musical selection then you might get two artists this summer! You lucky devils you.
This little band may be quite unfamiliar to a lot of people. They are another European band (it seems my heart belongs to the EU). But what really got me loving their style is this fantastic fusion of old and new. Here’s a tidbit about me that you may not know: I used to do swing dancing.
It should go without saying that I own none of the rights to Caravan Palace and their associated imagery. They are on the Wagram label, however.
That’s right, the crazy 1930s jaunt that involved short skirts and legally throwing girls around the room was a past time of mine during my university years. A friend of mine and I made a point to go out to the Swing Club on campus every Friday and stumble around in ungainly coordination in the hopes that someday we wouldn’t step on someone’s foot. It was a blast and I particularly enjoyed doing the Charleston which – woah Nelly – really builds up a sweat.
Sadly, I never got to throw my partner through the air like a sack of sausage but I did get to watch more advanced couples enjoy the rebellion against gravity and friction. The other great thing about swing dance is that swing music is so lively and upbeat in order to get its dancers moving with fury across the floor.
And there are quite a few old swing artists that I enjoy. Benny Goodman’s Sing, Sing, Sing comes to mind. If you haven’t heard it, you should check it out. But this isn’t meant to be a grave dive and we’re going to let those artists lie today. Instead, I was surprised and amused to discover there has been a resurgence of sorts for swing music. Maybe revolution is more accurate.
The band is called Caravan Palace and the genre has been dubbed “electro-swing.” It combines old swing melodies, often sampling from some of the famous songs of the times, and puts it to house or electric dance beats. It creates a rather catchy and addictive tune that I keep coming back to listen to again and again. I really dig this interesting concoction of old and new. It cleverly exemplifies how art isn’t about making things from scratch. It’s an iterative process and sometimes the old gives birth to something wholly new.
It’s also a good example of why copyright laws that are extended ad infinitum can be so regressive. But there’s no reason to drag that debate up now. We’re smiling and having fun which is the exact feeling I get when I listen to Caravan Palace’s work.
There’s a myriad of other artists making electro-swing music too. Jamie Berry and Parov Stelar are two excellent artists with just as catchy music as Caravan Palace. To be honest, I could have highlighted any of them. I ultimately went with Caravan because they were the first that I heard from the genre.
For samples of their work, I recommend checking out Rock It For Me. I think it’s one of their earlier numbers and certainly one of my favourites. It really highlights the twangy vocals that you can imagine ringing from the old gramophone or radio. You’d never even guess that the band was French either.
My other recommendation is my current obsession: Lone Digger. Oh, it’s sublime! I could listen to this on repeat for hours. I… may have actually done that too. Be warned, however, the music video is something else. I don’t even know how to describe it or how it connects to the music. But hey, we’re here for the jams anyway and I’ll grant that it certainly oozes style. I’d argue it’s more “modern” sounding than their earlier work too though it still retains its classic swing elements.
Hopefully this is a lovely demonstration of the exciting work that’s out there which may not always get mainstream coverage. Or, if you already knew about Caravan Palace, then you can happily enjoy the fact that you’ve been listening to a lovely gem for awhile now. The band is ten years old this year so they’ve got some lovely legs on them. I hope we can get ten more of their delightful take on a classic sound.