Photography by Christel Escosa
Kap Baminbo have a little whiff of the suicidal about them,
like a remedy to the vague, yet ever present perfume of stinky old
life. But all together, Kap Bambino’s music makes you feel aggressively
glad to be alive. They’re like the bite of alcohol to clean a bloody
slash; a sharp intake of breath at the sting, making you writhe and
thrash and revel in the glorious mess of things. The French duo have
been described as harnessing the spirit of hardcore and punk bands -
minus any live instrumentation – which is true; but above all else, Kap
Bambino is an expression, an outlet for both Caroline Martial (vocals) and Orion Bouvier (laptop wizard) to unleash themselves onto the hungry and wide-ranging masses.
It was the day after the mega-hyped Kap Bambino gig at The Old Blue Last.
Everyone was feeling a little worse for wear after cutting sick on the
moshpit, thrashing about, sweating it out (breaking a couple of the Old
Blue’s antique cinema seats in the process) and generally laying the
crowd to waste. Orion was dying for a cigarette so much that he lit up
in the severe and austere white walled art space we were sitting in.
And
besides coming away from their gig exhausted and exhilarated early that
morning, I also came away from talking to them with a new found respect
– and you know what, I really liked them too. They’re really nice
people. Apparently unlike another duo that they are often put next to,
who are becoming more and more infamous (and unpopular) as they go. I
mean, when your antics on and offstage are being talked about more than
your music, it’s gotta be a bad sign. I know Caroline and Orion hate
the association, but it must be made, particularly in light of the most
recent Crystal Castles debacle (with Vega at the Granada Theatre in Dallas).
Respect
to Kap Bambino. True artists who have continued to do what they do
despite someone else having stolen their thunder; moving through the
world, touring incessantly with their uncompromising (zero life, night)
vision. But whatever, if I’m going to wax metaphorical and call Crystal
Castles the ‘thunder’, then Kap Bambino were most definitely the
lightning before the rumble.
The aforementioned ’thunder’
might’ve made people start at the noise, but the brightest illumination
is definitely Kap Bambino – the ones who truly heralded not only their
American counterparts, but the frenetic, noise filled storm which came
after them.
Check the interview after the break
And exclusively for I M // U R, here's the catwalk mix that Kap Bambino did for Charlie Le Mindu. WERK your way around that!
