Kap Bambino: Blacklist (Because Music, 6/2/09)
Kap Bambino: “Dead Lazers”
[audio:https://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/03-Dead-Lazers.mp3|titles=Kap Bambino: “Dead Lazers”]Today, Caroline Martial and Orion Bouvier, of Bordeaux, France, are in Los Angeles. Tomorrow, they play a one-off in San Francisco as electro-rock duo Kap Bambino. Their handful of US tour dates will be followed by one-offs in Mexico, Colombia, and more, which is a pretty sweet tour itinerary for a band that has yet to record outside its own bedrooms. “We are so lucky because we never expected to move like this,” Martial says. “It’s really cool every time we have the chance to do things like this.”
Kap Bambino is a prime example of the adage “do what you love and the rest will follow.” A chance meeting at a party first led Martial, a quirky pop vocalist who performed under the name Kima France, to Bouvier, a multi-instrumentalist who was growing bored with the limitations of traditional rock. After realizing they had much in common, the two agreed to start their own label, Wwilko. “Wwilko releases music from non-commercial artists — indie freaky music,” Martial says. “Now we have 20 releases. We do everything by ourselves — the artwork, the drawings, everything.”
In 2003, they began Kap Bambino, their first joint venture as musicians. Since then, they have self-released a handful of EPs and two full-lengths, and have independently toured the world. Their third album, Blacklist, was released in Europe at the tail end of 2009, finally making a splash stateside in the spring of 2010.
Kap Bambino’s worldwide fan base may be on the upswing, but the band is bent on maintaining its regular DIY operations. “No one controls what we do,” Martial says. “We want to do everything ourselves, and [our label] was up for that. If we start tomorrow to have someone else control our artwork, or our image, or recording, it’s not going to be Kap Bambino. We record in the bedroom. We’ve never been at the studio. We want to try to go to the studio sometime, but we really want to keep the texture that we already have and the artwork. Kap is not just music; it’s a lot of things.”
“We really want to arrive on stage like a computer but give it a human rock side, like rock and punk. Orion is the machine; I am the human.”
In today’s underground climate, few styles of music remain as polarizing as electronic dance music. In recent years, artists have blended styles in increasingly new ways, resulting in hybrids such as acoustic folk with backbeats, hip hop infused with Brit pop, and frat rock with African-influenced rhythms. Though some artists softly introduce listeners to new sounds in subtle ways with variations on already familiar formats, Kap Bambino’s blend is more aggressive and unwieldy.
Blacklist’s title track, for instance, finds Martial’s voice manipulated until it is as sharp as razorblades, creating a piercing sound over pulverizing, heavy synth beats. This brutality is balanced elsewhere on the album with an unassuming quirkiness, distinct pop sensibilities, and Martial’s naturally girlish French accent making it easy to imagine tunes like “Batcaves” and “Dead Lazers” appearing on commercial radio. Due to this versatility, the duo has drawn listeners across what often are very strong fan lines.
“We just want to do what we like,” Martial explains. “Of course, that breaks the rules of electro-rock. It’s bizarre that in our crowd, we have guys from the rock scene, electro scene, metal — it’s a big mix. It’s what we like because that’s what we are. We try our best to stay in the middle of things. We don’t want to have a stamp; [we] just want to create music.”
As a reflection of this attitude, the duo’s tour schedule might include dates at DIY art spaces, elite dance clubs, and metal dives in the same week.
Even if the music isn’t enough to reach new fans, Kap Bambino’s live shows could win over any skeptic. Martial mesmerizes the crowd as she climbs gear, writhes around the stage, and, in true punk-rock fashion, breaks the fourth wall between artist and listener while Bouvier, hair in his face, stands collectedly at his electronics. “We really want to arrive on stage like a computer but give it a human rock side, like rock and punk. Orion is the machine; I am the human,” Martial laughs.
The antics, as well as Martial’s bold clothing choices (she’s as likely to sport a gold lamé bathing suit as a T-shirt and leggings), may appear over the top, but Martial insists that both of these elements are merely an outpouring of her inner self.
“When we first started Kap Bambino, I was really young, and for maybe the first 20 gigs, I was really dressed up. I finally realized that people were just talking about my outfit, like, ‘Look at that girl; she’s wearing a wedding dress,’ and I said, ‘Oh, my god, no!’ I just want people to listen to my stuff. I decide to chill and just concentrate on the music. I’m always wearing my little jacket, but that’s the way I am in life. I can’t stay pretty. Sometimes I try to do good makeup, but after two songs, everything falls down and I just look like a zombie.”
Martial remarks that with all things considered, Kap Bambino isn’t necessarily doing anything that hasn’t been done before. “We are not original,” she says. “Yesterday, I jumped in the crowd four or five times, but I’m not the first one.” Even so, the duo’s sincerity and fuck-it-all attitude harkens back to a time when punk was fresh and daring and anything could happen.
“I don’t come from art school; I come from the street,” Martial adds. “It’s very simple. No bullshit. I think Orion’s music gives me a trance, and maybe that is the reason Kap Bambino is how it is. I hope so, because I don’t understand myself.”