Irresistible . . . infectious . . . inspired . . .
In an alternative universe, one where American radio isn't dominated by a tiny number of cautious corporate giants, one where music need not come from NYC, LA, or Nashville to be considered acceptable for airplay, in that universe you'd see teens and geezers alike from Portland to Peoria to the other Portland wearing (BUB) tee shirts. As it is, I can only turn to you, a music savvy GMR reader, and suggest that you surf on over to (BUB)'s web site or the site of their label, Wild Boar Music and order your own t-shirts, baseball caps or (better yet) CDs. You'll need a Belgian translator to help with (BUB)'s site, but it's worth it.
The Wild Boar home page includes a note by Green Man's own John O'Regan from Irish Music Magazine that deserves being quoted in its entirety:
"Capturing the multi-ethnic thread of the Belgian market, Wild Boar Music has answered a need and provided a launching pad for some superlative talents. With established names such as Shantalla, Kadril . . . and exciting new acts like Brussels urban jazz/folk crossover (BUB) and legendary Flemish ethnic traditionalists 't Kliekske involved, the Wild Boar Music success story has only just begun."
So, (BUB) is an "urban jazz/folk crossover" based in Brussels. Given the evidence on BUBINGA, Brussels must have one incredibly happenin' music scene! One moment (BUB) sounds like they found and reconstructed a lost Frank Zappa gem, the next they're channeling a late night Fairport jam session. The final tune, "Duck & Cover" reminds me of French, Frith, Kaiser, and Thompson (the absolute 'final track' is actually some kind of folky 'hidden track', but whatever).
The second track, "Scottisch Voor Olle", serves as a good example of (BUB)'s diverse musical vocabulary and strengths. Within its 3:35 length it neatly showcases nearly all of the group's multifaceted charm. It begins with a martial drum beat and keyboard vamp that could be sampled to show up on the next dance hit, then the accordion enters and layers a folk melody on top that every so often seems to go to a note just off from where you might expect it to go. About a minute in, they're joined by saxophone and bass. Near the two-minute mark there's a sudden uptick in intensity and the proceedings take on an overall rock sound which quickly mutates as most of the group drops out while the sax player (Frank Van Overstraeten -- who also gets a guitar credit) shifts his sound to more of a late-night jazz feel before (BUB) brings it back to the folk melody, but skewed and manic this time, then it ends. Whew! Three and half minutes and this Belgian sextet has managed to connect the dots from European folk to international rock to chamber jazz and back again. Pretty cool.
The fifth track, "Dreaming So Fast" contains the sole vocal, sung in English. It has a slight prog-rock flavor, bouncy but with a dark edge. The guitarist (Winter Lavigne) does a nice solo on this one.
Most of the material is credited to Kim Delcour who provides 'Doedelzak / Blokfluit / Klavier / Stem / Banjo' ( I leave it to you to figure out what, besides piano & banjo he plays). Three tracks are credited or co-credited to Janpieter Delcour (Basgitaar/Hommel). The remainder of the sextet consists of Tim Somers (Drums/Percussie/Paulken) and the marvelous Pierre-Yves Berhin (Diatonisch Accordieon). I recently used (BUB) as a counter-argument in a discussion with someone who asserted that the accordion can't or shouldn't be used as a rock lead instrument. I used the eighth track "Gazpacho Kiss" to say, here you have an accordion-dominated lead on a funky (folk-) rock rave. Some of the guitar's long leanin' notes blend seamlessly with the accordion wail while the bass and drums kick everything along. (BUB) fans, break out those BIC lighters!
BUBINGA hasn't been removed from our changer for the past month. It's been kept company by a wide variety of CDs from Phish to Bill Frisell, from tango music to Scandinavian fiddle tunes, and (BUB) always seemed comfortable in the mix. If you like folk, jazz, rock, or world music, you can't go wrong.
