Last week I was on an archaeological dig in the Boundary Waters. Yes, I do lead a secret double-life as an undergrad Anthropology major. Well, if you add in my job selling knives, I suppose I lead a secret triple-life . . . .
But I digress. The point is that early one morning, I was awoken at the glorious hour of 3:00 AM by the shrieking of a flock of loons out on the lake. As I lay there in my tent cursing waterfowl and trying to fall back asleep, a brilliant idea suddenly occurred to me: International Invasion Week. Don't ask where this idea came from, I have no idea. Either way, I congratulated myself on thinking of it, and proceeded to pass out once again.
Today's post features the first six bands that came to my mind, and is an unofficial preview of sorts for the official International Invasion Week, coming soon to an internet browser near you. Enjoy!
Gogol Bordello - This punk band is technically from the Lower East Side of New York City, but its core members are immigrants from Eastern Europe, and the Gypsy-music influence is obvious. Their lead singer Eugene Hütz stars alongside Elijah Wood in the film Everything Is Illuminated, and their unique music is featured on the movie's soundtrack. Their bass-heavy tracks are infused with dark accordion and some wicked minor-key violin. Not the most relaxing stuff to listen to, but what's life without a little punk?
Dengue Fever - A combination of Cambodian pop music and psychedelic rock, this band from Los Angeles features lead singer Chhom Nimol, who sings mostly in her native Khmer language and occasionally in English. Nimol, already a famous Cambodian pop star in her own right who frequently gave private concerts for the king and queen, has an impressive vocal range and a gorgeous voice that soars over the mesmerizing swirl of saxophone, organ, and garage band guitars.
Katzenjammer - Mixing everything from bluegrass banjos to ragtime guitar, classical violin to polka accordion, cabaret trumpet to carnival organs, this quartet of Norwegian girls is really hard to classify. Their choice of vocal style, too, can range from sultry to sweet, from soulful to strident -- often within the same song -- and the four-part vocal harmonies are unadulterated brilliance. Surprising, raucous, and highly addicting.
The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - Even though this Danish band's debut album Fruit won't even be released until this fall, they've already enjoyed massive success, having toured with Amy Winehouse and Katy Perry, and having had their track "Around the Bend" featured on an iPod Touch commercial. Lead singer Mette Lindberg has "an incredible, quirky, unschooled voice that's so strange, compelling and cool," says band member Lars Iversen. The band effortlessly layers jangly horns, shimmering guitars, thumping bass-lines, and even cowbell, resulting in a trippy electro-funk vibe. A fresh take on retro-pop that you absolutely must listen to.
Delorean - As much as I hate to do the easy thing and describe music by naming other artists, this band out of Zarautz, Spain reminds me of MGMT mixed with School of Seven Bells and a just a dash of Enya. Irresistibly danceable and perfect for the last golden days of summer.
Movits! - On July 27th, 2009, millions of viewers sat down to watch The Colbert Report and promptly fell in love with Movits!, Colbert's featured musical guest. As they listened, these viewers slapped a hand to their foreheads and groaned aloud in frustration. "A fusion of Cab Calloway-style swing and jazz with Swedish hip-hop lyrics?" they cried. "It's so obvious! Why hasn't this been done before? Why on earth didn't we think of it first?!"
. . . Ok, so maybe that was just me, but the truth of the matter is that so many people liked what they heard that by the time July 30th's episode aired, sales of Movits!'s debut album Äppelknyckarjazz had skyrocketed, jumping from an Amazon ranking of 93,400 to 75. At the same time, the YouTube video of their single Fel del Av Gården went from 100,000 views to almost a quarter of a million. I have no idea what they're saying, but their undeniably catchy sound is as infectious as swine flu and infinitely more clever and original than the simile I just used. Plus, who can resist their adorably dorky glasses and their bow-ties-and-Converse ensemble?
Editor's Note: I'm hoping to make International Invasion a 7-post week (instead of the typical 3), but to do that I'm going to need a lot of people to contribute articles. These articles can be about whatever foreign or foreign-influenced band you like, and they don't have to be anywhere near as wordy or pretentious as this article.
Send articles, questions, concerns, and fan letters to moxieandmayhem@gmail.com.
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