Fanfare Pourpour & Lars Hollmer – Karusell Musik
Reviewed by Sadie O., 8/7/07
Swedish accordionist meets Quebecois big band fanfare for some fairly demented circus polka. You could describe it quite a few other ways – iTunes lists it as “Jazz”! Sometimes pretty and folksy, sometimes dissonant and odd. It’s not heavy metal and it’s not electronica, anyway…
If there’s FCCs they’re in Swedish. I like 4 and 14 mucho mucho.
1. **upbeat oompah with what sound like wooden slide whistles.
2. *pretty midtempo folk tune, adding instruments and building sound as it goes along.
3. **rather uptempo and very upbeat dance tune with a bit of a skip – odd little thing. Vocals in Swedish – I think they’re actually intended to make you laugh…
4. ****wonderful dark accordion and tuba tune – calls to mind a bit of “the worms crawl in…”
5. **dissonant intro, dissonant chords, then something that’s between a polka and a tango… Increases wildly in speed – this is the Karusell of the damned! Ayeee!
6. **I think this is 11/13 time or something – but it’s got a lot of swing. Midtempo sashay with flutes and happy things.
7. **karusell waltz with happy vocals. It’s gotta be a drinking song…
8. *somewhat uptempo accordion and string-based polka, adds instruments as it goes along. Ends with a bit of solo banjo.
9. *sounds like pirates mating with clowns? Deep spoken male vocals.
10. *random music noises, Satan’s orchestra forever tuning up… Ah, it’s Satan’s polka! Actually, it’s quite a charming, very fast polka. Whee! Ends with ballerinas being pressed to death, I think.
11. ***fade in to aggressive midtempo swing march with banjo.
12. **uptempo, starts and ends very minimalist and rootsy with tiny drums and violins, adds lots of horns in between.
13. **starts lowkey but fast paced, quickly gets big band – kinda like old-time cartoon music.
14. ****hup della hoop della hup! Upbeat bounce with wonderfully nutted vocals.
15. *sweet accordion, uptempo yet indeed psalmy.
16. **uptempo oompah, quite aggressive. Nice klezmerish clarinet.
17. *perky upbeat polka-a-go-go. Goes through changes in mood.