Creative duo morphs from jazz to pop music in front of our eyes making music videos interesting again

Pomplamoose Single Ladies

Bob Lefsetz introduced me to Pomplamoose two days ago and I can’t get enough of them. Thankfully, they have dozens of videos posted on YouTube.

Pomplamoose are Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn from San Francisco. They started performing in 2008 and have a decent following on the internet. Their cover of Lady GaGa Telephone has more than 5 million hits.

Using what looks like a home recording setup they are creating some very interesting music, both originals and covers.

Their videos seem so effortless – and they show you almost everything – it makes you want to jump in and create your own music videos.

I will admit that Nataly’s voice may be too chirpy at times but she is attractive, a key ingredient in watching videos, and talented. Both she and Jack are multi-instrumentalists but not seemingly wizards on any instrument.

It is like they have absorbed Brian Eno’s response to Daniel Lanois that great music is made up of little bits and pieces of music picked off the studio floor.

“What would be really interesting for people to see, is how beautiful things grow out of shit…You know everybody thinks Beethoven has his string quartets completely in his head, and all he had to do was write them down and they would be manifest to the world. But I think what’s so interesting and what would really be a lesson that everybody should learn is that things come from nothing. Things evolve out of nothing…And I think this would be important for people to understand because it people confidence in their own lives to know that’s how things work…you can say ‘I know that things come from nothing very much and start from unpromising beginnings and I’m and unpromising beginning and I could start something.'” Here Is What Is

We watch Jack snap the brushes on the snare. Then he hits the foot pedal on the kick drum. She plucks a simple bass line. They record hand claps. He plays a few notes on a child’s xylophone. They are creating music by layering simple musical parts one on top of the other.

I don’t know whether I am amazed more by the process or the music. In any event, they are captivating.  Pamplamoose are very talented. You don’t create these songs without tons of talent.

I found myself actually watching the video again. You know how it is – you start the video of your favourite artist and switch to another web page, check Facebook and Twitter while they play. 30 years after MTV, music videos are boring. Not Pomplamoose.

For another opinion, check out this post on Supreme11 (warning contains the “f” word)

“I FUCKING HATE THAT STUPID TWEE BAND PAMPLAMOOSE

Okay?!? The internet seemed to think they were the best thing ever when they covered “Single Ladies” and then they started doing other covers with their oh-so-precious voices and instrumentation!

I know I’m the only person who thinks they’re irritating, and everyone else thinks they are geniuses for being white and singing black people songs in an ironic, saccharine tone.

LOOK HOW ADORABLE WE ARE they seem to hint, through their vacant eyes. LOOK AT HOW WE ARE SO FUCKING CUTE. THAT IS THE POINT OF OUR MUSIC WE TOOK SOMETHING UNEXPECTED BY BLACK PEOPLE AND WE ARE WHITE PEOPLE SINGING IT LIKE LITTLE ANGEL CHILDREN ISN’T THAT FUCKING ADORABLE!?? ALSO OUR NAME MEANS “GRAPEFRUIT” IN FRENCH BUT WE SPELLED IT PHONETICALLY INSTEAD OF CORRECTLY ISN’T THAT GODDAMN PRECIOUS.

I hate you, Pamplamoose.”

What a sourpuss!

See the commentary on Gearslutz on their recording techniques.

Jack and Nataly were interviewed in the San Francisco Examiner Pomplamoose interview: reaping the benefits of the internet 101 where they explore their “internet band” ideas. They actually make a living selling their music on iTunes.

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