Rupa & the April Fishes
Encyclopedia
Rupa and the April Fishes is a musical group based in San Francisco, California
and is fronted by Rupa Marya. Their songs are a mixture of international musical styles and the lyrics are sung in multiple languages, primarily French, Spanish and English. Rupa & the April Fishes echoes the roots of San Francisco's Bay Area, flowing its Latino, African American, Yelamu Indian, and Islander pasts together.
Rupa, the lead singer sought out a diverse group of musicians to fulfill her dreams of producing a thought provoking composition while remaining playful and exotic.
The group began as a duet between Rupa and cellist, Ed Baskerville, that played on streets, in streetcars and art galleries reverberating their nomadic spirits. From there the band grew into an eclectic group of talented musicians playing sold out shows in well-known venues around the country. The band came together to create a form of music that would build connections among the diverse population of the Bay Area. The band started off playing in local bars, with influences of street music, exotic Latin grooves, Indian ragas and Romani soul. They played their first show at the Red Poppy Art House, an intimate performing arts venue in San Francisco. Rupa’s vision of blending a mix of languages strives to forge a deeper connection, reaching beyond the boundaries of race and geography. Their music is often described as multifaceted, ever changing, and redefining.
The group’s name derives from an old French saying “les poissons d’avril” related to the English term “April Fools”. It is an April Fools tradition in France for people to stick paper fishes on unsuspecting peoples backs. While the origin of the story is questionable, Rupa remarks “one of the stories is that when a French king changed to the Roman calendar from the pagan calendar that was in wide use at the time some people who still wanted to celebrate the New Year in April. So these are the people who would give the fishes, the April fish, to celebrate the beginning of the New Year. During the Bush Administration, we were feeling like April fishes—people who don’t believe the reality that’s handed to them by some higher order, but instead insist on the reality they perceive in front of them. It’s a political and
social commentary.”
According to Marya, the title of their 2008 CD release of eXtraOrdinary rendition was a reference to the United States policy of Extraordinary Rendition
. "I actually wanted people to Google the expression and then read, oh the first thing that comes up is a Wikipedia article, you know, not an album," said Marya.
The title of the 2009 CD release of Este Mundo means 'this world.' Of this release, Marya said, "este mundo is a collection of sounds and songs highlighting life's accidental beauty and surging joy as well as their inexorable partner: human suffering." Este Mundo was recorded by engineer Oz Fritz with an assortment of artists. Guests on the album included rapper Boots riley of The Coup and other talented artists including Tin Hat’s trumpeter Ara Anderson and Djordje Stijepovic, a Serbian slap bassist. The album encompasses a wide variety of sounds and cultures ranging from Columbia cumbia to Indian ragas.
The group was featured on BBC World Service
's and Public Radio International
s The World
.
The group has toured extensively in North America and Europe, including appearances at Central Park SummerStage in New York City and the South by Southwest Festival
in Austin, Texas.
“Rupa & the April Fishes "GLOBAL AGIT-POP"-TimeOut Chicago
"Combining the sensual lyricism of Latin American nueva trova with the rhythmic punch of cumbia and the theatricality of cabaret, the April Fishes' sound is ecstatic and powerfully evocative." – LA Times
"Clearly the work of a terrorist organization, eXtraOrdinary Rendition promotes dangerous anti-American notions such as multiculturalism, internationalism, and exuberant dancing." -Utne Reader
"French, Latin and any number of Gypsy-adjacent influences course through their mix with a pleasantly 'San Franciscan' kind of flourish. A little like riding with the top down in a double-decker bus, careening through seven or eight crowded ethnic neighborhoods, each on in the middle of a massive street party."- LA Weekly
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
and is fronted by Rupa Marya. Their songs are a mixture of international musical styles and the lyrics are sung in multiple languages, primarily French, Spanish and English. Rupa & the April Fishes echoes the roots of San Francisco's Bay Area, flowing its Latino, African American, Yelamu Indian, and Islander pasts together.
Rupa, the lead singer sought out a diverse group of musicians to fulfill her dreams of producing a thought provoking composition while remaining playful and exotic.
The group began as a duet between Rupa and cellist, Ed Baskerville, that played on streets, in streetcars and art galleries reverberating their nomadic spirits. From there the band grew into an eclectic group of talented musicians playing sold out shows in well-known venues around the country. The band came together to create a form of music that would build connections among the diverse population of the Bay Area. The band started off playing in local bars, with influences of street music, exotic Latin grooves, Indian ragas and Romani soul. They played their first show at the Red Poppy Art House, an intimate performing arts venue in San Francisco. Rupa’s vision of blending a mix of languages strives to forge a deeper connection, reaching beyond the boundaries of race and geography. Their music is often described as multifaceted, ever changing, and redefining.
The group’s name derives from an old French saying “les poissons d’avril” related to the English term “April Fools”. It is an April Fools tradition in France for people to stick paper fishes on unsuspecting peoples backs. While the origin of the story is questionable, Rupa remarks “one of the stories is that when a French king changed to the Roman calendar from the pagan calendar that was in wide use at the time some people who still wanted to celebrate the New Year in April. So these are the people who would give the fishes, the April fish, to celebrate the beginning of the New Year. During the Bush Administration, we were feeling like April fishes—people who don’t believe the reality that’s handed to them by some higher order, but instead insist on the reality they perceive in front of them. It’s a political and
social commentary.”
According to Marya, the title of their 2008 CD release of eXtraOrdinary rendition was a reference to the United States policy of Extraordinary Rendition
Extraordinary rendition
Extraordinary rendition is the abduction and illegal transfer of a person from one nation to another. "Torture by proxy" is used by some critics to describe situations in which the United States and the United Kingdom have transferred suspected terrorists to other countries in order to torture the...
. "I actually wanted people to Google the expression and then read, oh the first thing that comes up is a Wikipedia article, you know, not an album," said Marya.
The title of the 2009 CD release of Este Mundo means 'this world.' Of this release, Marya said, "este mundo is a collection of sounds and songs highlighting life's accidental beauty and surging joy as well as their inexorable partner: human suffering." Este Mundo was recorded by engineer Oz Fritz with an assortment of artists. Guests on the album included rapper Boots riley of The Coup and other talented artists including Tin Hat’s trumpeter Ara Anderson and Djordje Stijepovic, a Serbian slap bassist. The album encompasses a wide variety of sounds and cultures ranging from Columbia cumbia to Indian ragas.
The group was featured on BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
's and Public Radio International
Public Radio International
Public Radio International is a Minneapolis-based American public radio organization, with locations in Boston, New York, London and Beijing. PRI's tagline is "Hear a different voice." PRI is a major public media content creator and also distributes programs from many sources...
s The World
The World (radio program)
PRI's The World is a global news radio, audio and multi-platform program created by Public Radio International based on the program's congruence with PRI's mission, and in order to fulfill the critical need for more original global news created for and provided to Americans. This was partly a...
.
The group has toured extensively in North America and Europe, including appearances at Central Park SummerStage in New York City and the South by Southwest Festival
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
in Austin, Texas.
Touring
The band’s current world tour, titled the “April Fools Tour”, began on April first of 2011, introducing new compositions inspired by Rupa’s travels to Chiapas, Mexico. Their new works also include interpretations of the songs of Roma, or “Gypsies”. The Roma, facing a past and present filled with turmoil, continue to struggle with problems of racism and have experienced mass deportation in Europe. Rupa’s tour has served as an aid to improve the hardships of the Roma in Europe as well as to create awareness internationally. The tour stands as a positive celebration of the gypsies nomadic lifestyle and the joining of multiple cultures around the world.Discography
- La Pêcheuse EP (2006)
- eXtraOrdinary rendition (Cumbancha, 2008)
- Este Mundo (Cumbancha, 2009)
Live performances
The group has preformed at music events such as the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Power to the Peaceful Festival with Michael Franti, the Subterranean Art House, El Luger Del Nopal in Tijuana, and the Mission Arts and performance Project in El Garaje de la Folsom.External links
- Official website
- http://www.myspace.com/aprilfishes
- http://www.facebook.com/aprilfishes
- http://rupaandtheaprilfishes.bandcamp.com/
- http://theaprilfishes.com/
Reviews
“If local singer Rupa were a movie, she would be Amélie meets Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown meets Latcho Drom meets Do the Right Thing. She'd be set in India and Berkeley...She would be (and, in fact, is) an instant cult classic among the smart, idealistic, international set.”-SF Weekly“Rupa & the April Fishes "GLOBAL AGIT-POP"-TimeOut Chicago
"Combining the sensual lyricism of Latin American nueva trova with the rhythmic punch of cumbia and the theatricality of cabaret, the April Fishes' sound is ecstatic and powerfully evocative." – LA Times
"Clearly the work of a terrorist organization, eXtraOrdinary Rendition promotes dangerous anti-American notions such as multiculturalism, internationalism, and exuberant dancing." -Utne Reader
"French, Latin and any number of Gypsy-adjacent influences course through their mix with a pleasantly 'San Franciscan' kind of flourish. A little like riding with the top down in a double-decker bus, careening through seven or eight crowded ethnic neighborhoods, each on in the middle of a massive street party."- LA Weekly