Caravan Palace: 'We've got a lot of ideas... but the direction isn't fixed yet'

Effortlessly cool is a phrase synonymous with the French and electro swing band Caravan Palace have the European zeitgeist running through their gypsy veins. Championing live instruments both on and off stage the collectif francais has left the “dirty bass synth and brutal snares” of their self-titled debut behind for ‘Panics’’ old school jazz sound that will have you travelling back in time.

Jasmine Phull speaks to Hugo aka Hugues Payen about the new direction and their past and present influences.

Your sophomore album Panic was released early 2013, what’s one thing you did differently the second time around and why?

Our first album was really gypsy music. This one is closer to old school jazz big band and other North American influences. It is also more electronic, with lot of work on the sound and the beats.

All live instruments have been performed and mixed and sound like samples from the 30s. We like that the listener can't tell if it's a sample, a synth or a real guitar. It creates a cohesive sound. Vocals are also mixed in the same way! Is it an old school jazz vocal sample? Is it the singer Colotis Zoé?

You’ve said single ‘Clash’ didn’t receive a great response in France and were surprised to see how popular it was in the UK. Why do you think your music is better received outside of your home country?

Actually, the response from France was good but some people preferred the more acoustic and gentler sound of the first album. Clash is a bit violent with dirty bass synth and brutal snares and kick, and has a long crescendo ending with dirty synths. The radio did not play it so much. For the second album we wanted more sober melodies with a tighter sound. But indeed the title became more popular in UK and US... don't really know why.

What did that mean for your approach to releasing the album? How did you reapproach the situation?

The first album has been a nice success in France, so it's always difficult for the second one. So to explain how we felt... you can read the title of our new album! (Laughs). Electro-swing is a fairly new ‘genre’, other than London where else have you seen a growth in the sound? In Germany there's a nice electro-swing scene. Also the US and Australia seem to be more and more interest in this genre!

Your musical direction has changed somewhat since the first album, who were your main musical influences while working on Panic?

In term of music, jazz swing from the 30s and 40s were our main musical influences. Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Billie Holiday, Mildred Bailey and Django Reinhardt are some examples. Then we listen to a lot of electronic music! French music, like Daft Punk and German minimal stuff like Isolée or Villalobos. We also really like English with bands Mount Kimbie, SBTRKT, Massive Attack or stuff from Ninja Tune or Warp.

Does the moving image have an influence on your music?

Yes! We're very influenced by old sci-fi movies. Like Forbidden Planet, The Day The Earth Stood Still and of course Metropolis with all of the steam-punk retro futuristic culture. We really like cheap old school robots, as you can see on our album covers.

Was music a great part of your growing up?

Not really, there are no musicians in my family. I know all other members of the band have an academic classical formation but not me. I began music at twelve with the grunge and hard rock scene, bought a bad Stratocaster and began to make lot of noise in my parents’ garage. Then I moved into techno with Daft Punk and Laurent Garnier, then into jazz, trip hop and finally to gypsy swing and house. It’s definitely a weird route.

Last song you listened to?

Kid Cudi - Immortal

First album you bought?

Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygen

What next?

Touring in Europe and the United States this summer! Then back in France in September, and we'll begin to work on the third album. Very excited about this. It will be a real challenge to try to reinvent the genre with new sounds, new forms, new instruments and new voices. We already got a lot of ideas and demos but the general direction is not fixed yet. I think the summer tour will completely change our minds about everything and that's always a good thing.

Words: Jasmine Phull

Tickets are no longer available for this event