[LFF]

 
Caravan Palace - Caravan Palace
 
Often times I find that my taste in music is limited to a certain age group. I can't recall the last time I had a conversation about one of my favorite artists with anyone under the age of 40. The difficult thing for me isn't necessarily talking with younger people but finding a common interest point when it comes to music. I find myself often talking about Britney Spears or, if I am extremely lucky, about Andre Bocelli. More often than not, the conversation is just that...a conversation and a pleasant one at that. I don't even bother making a recommendation or even mentioning my pastime of head-fi'dom.
 
Imagine my surprise when I was talking to someone at my local CD store a few months ago who was not only young and hip but very knowledgeable about music. We talked Sinatra, big bands, jazz, rock and even British pop. I recommended he check out some music and he recommended I check out some as well. One of them was this album. I didn't immediately pick it up but I did eventually get it. Sadly though, it just sat on my "to listen to" pile. Sadly, that pile is bigger than I care to admit.
 
On a side note, one thing I love to do on Saturdays, aside from visiting head-fi, is listening to the programs on NPR, especially "Wait, wait, don't tell me". Just before that show I was listening to a special news segment with some really cool music. I thought to myself "Wow, that is some awesome blend of music!". They talked quite a bit about the band and played samples here and there. Each and every single sample was sublime. Turns out that the band was Caravan Palace and they were talking about this CD which I had purchased about 6 months ago and had yet to listen to!
 
I decided to skip my NPR show (since it was just a retrospect best of) and popped in this CD. What came out of my headphones was an awesome blend of Django Reinhardt, swing music, Andrew Sisters, cabaret, scat, jazz and electronic music. It was something completely new yet strangely familiar. Moreover, the music was very catchy! The album does sound a bit compressed but it's not as bad as other modern day releases. I actually think the compression works for this type of album too! The music is creative and works on many levels for me both in terms of style, rhythm and overall blend of genres.  
 
Needless to say that I enjoyed the entire album from start to finish. I can also tell you that this album has great replay value as well, both for casual listening, in the car for driving and even for entertaining purposes.
 
If you are stuck looking at amazon's music catalog and can't decide what to get....order this album and enjoy it!

 

[Maxvla]

Gave this album a sample listen on Amazon. While some of it is interesting, I can't help feeling pulled in too many directions. The mix sounds like modern techno and pop but with old style sounds (and some of them sound like digitized samples at that...). To me these don't mix well and comes off sounding cheap.
 
Thanks for bringing it up though!

 

[4nradio]

Thanks for the tip on Caravan Palace! The music reminds me in places of another French group, Lo'Jo.
 
If you're not familiar with Lo'Jo, check out their Mojo Radio album...I also like Boheme de Cristal.
 
I saw Lo'Jo live at WOMAD in the Seattle area when WOMAD was still in the US.  (now *that's* a festival which I sorely miss... sniff! )
 
Cheers,

Guy
 

 

[turimbar1]

Wow, I really like it! I will have to pick up the cd

 

[Br777]

Just heard this band for the first time today.  LOVE IT!!! definitely getting a copy of their album.   Their live show looks like a lot of fun.

 

[planx]

Really like Caravan Palace and the Genre Electro Swing. As a Jazz Clarinetist myself, it's a real fun twist to Jazz, Pop, and Electro. It's oddly inspirational to my ears as a musician.