Caravan Palace: Electric Meets Swing
French artists entering the international music scene.
I feel the energy pulsating through the crowd.
We are a living, breathing mass of energy ready to explode. The electronic music is pumping, winding up to the bass drop. The band tells us to all get down on the ground. Yes, to literally lower our whole bodies into a sitting position. In a packed concert venue.
So we all go down, with hesitation at first. When everyone is on the ground, we hold our breaths as the music accelerates. It’s coming. “And on the count of three we jump!” the lead singer yells.
The singer counts down and chaos ensues. The room explodes as everyone jumps ensemble, the bass drops, and we all go wild. We’re screaming and dancing like madmen, jumping up and down to the rhythm. The lights are flashing multicolored and leave me in a daze.
I feel like I’m on some crazy drugs: that’s how wild the energy is.
It’s high energy, fast paced electronic music combined with swing dancing. Name a better combination.
The group’s name is Caravan Palace. The French are taking the D.C. music scene by storm.
This modern day twist on a classical swing genre will transform your idea of music. Electric meets swing. Grab a partner and dance!
This music will make your body move in ways that you didn’t think was possible.
How can I describe this music? It’s you’re going on a journey on a spaceship. You are departing the Earth and entering a new realm. This is some weird shit.
With images of robots, alien invasions, tribal women controlling bodies, anything is possible when you listen to this band.
This is a band that dictates: get up and get moving and let your body react without thought. There are not many bands I can think of where 100% of their songs require my body to dance, even if I am sitting down.
This is the kind of music that inspires action.
When swing meets electric and we have flappers dancing with robots? Who wouldn’t want to hear this?
Seeing them live was an absolute treat.
They’re playing a billion different instruments that — all combined together — create this beautiful organized chaos. We’re throwing together bass, electronics, saxophone, trombone, guitar, percussion, clarinet, and violin. Hot damn.
All the while lead singer Zoé Colotis is the main vocalist, but she does much more than just sing. She performs: she knows how to swing like no other. Zoé gets down and moves, her legs flying and her entire body engaged.
During the set there’s an instrumental moment when the band is in full swing. Zoé and other band members bust out into a jaw dropping swing choreography. The whole band is engaged, you can see individual members bopping up and down as they’re playing their instruments.
And just like that, she pulls out of a dance step, throws microphone, and hits her next verse without missing a beat. Incredibly impressive.
The crowd’s loving it. We’re going wild. It’s sensational.
They conquered France, keeping their album on the charts for 68 weeks in 2009. And now they are taking the world by storm, as they have been on nearly non stop tours every year since 2008.
They are Caravan Palace.
Electronic swing, with one message: dance.
