Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
Encyclopedia
"Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" is the fourth single by indie rock band, Vampire Weekend
, released 18 August 2008. The song was rated 67th best song of 2007 by Rolling Stone
magazine.
):
Digital Download (Rhapsody
):
travelled through London en route to India and said that the trip got him "thinking a lot about colonialism and the aesthetic connections between preppy culture and the native cultures of places like Africa and India." This inspired Koenig to write a short story exploring those connections, and called it "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa", from which the song was named. "Kwassa kwassa
" refers to a dance rhythm from Congo (DRC)
.
Koenig told The Daily Mail "The beats make this one of our most African sounding songs, but I think it also sounds Irish. I was listening to accordion music when I wrote it."
comedian Richard Ayoade
(who had also directed the band's video for "Oxford Comma
") and set in the 1980s, was filmed in Spring Lake, New Jersey
at Kaitlin Files' shore house. It is the first video where Vampire Weekend consciously decided to use a narrative with the band becoming characters, unlike previous videos which were "fairly abstract [with] no narrative". Koenig said he felt there was "a Tim Burton
element" to the video, in which the band reinvented their image as goths, "with white faces, spiked hair and black outfits". The characters were created in 2007 by Koenig, who came up with rough ideas and images, and was helped by Ayoade to create a story from them.
Bass guitarist Chris Baio said that the band devotes a lot of time to touring, so "when [they] do something different like this, it is an exciting thing." Keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij said that the band is "interested in visuals, and it's a treat for [them] to get to do this."
expressed interest in covering "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" after being introduced to the band by a member of Vampire Weekend's record label, XL Recordings. He said of the song, "I actually do like that song a lot and they've asked me to sing a version of it now which I may well do". In an interview with BBC 6Music, when asked about part of the lyrics which reference him ("This feels so unnatural, Peter Gabriel, too"), Gabriel responded, "Well I haven't quite worked that out whether I should be doing that or substituting it with a name".. He ended up replacing one of the lines with "And it feels so unnatural to sing your own name" when the cover was released with Hot Chip
providing the instrumental.
Koenig said, "that's an idea that's been floated around before 'cause it seems so perfect. But yeah, it looks like it's happening" but stated that the band didn't want to confirm the cover version until it appeared on iTunes Music Store.
Swedish artist Lykke Li
also often performs the song during concerts.
commented that the beginning of "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" sounds "as if imitating 1950s calypso" and described the opening hook as having "innocence [that] adds charm to the track, built on by the breezy vocal." Pitchfork Media
said that the song's "instrumentation and bubbly beat evoke Paul Simon
's Graceland
and "transforms the buoyant spirit of "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" to a cheaply (but cleanly) recorded, stripped-down, no-fuss context." Pitchfork Media
also said that "the unassuming nature of the production works in Vampire Weekend's favor, allowing subtle pleasures like that sunny falsetto vocalese at the end and the purity of the guitar
tone to shine through."
" and "Oxford Comma
", Vampire Weekend decided to release "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" as the fourth single from the album. Originally released in 2008, the song failed to make much of an impact on the UK Singles Chart
, peaking at #178. The single was not released in America, meaning along with Mansard Roof
, the single was rather unsuccessful.
Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend is an American indie rock band from New York City that formed in 2006 and signed to XL Recordings. The Band has four members: Ezra Koenig, Rostam Batmanglij, Chris Tomson, and Chris Baio. The band released its first album Vampire Weekend in 2008, which produced the singles "Mansard...
, released 18 August 2008. The song was rated 67th best song of 2007 by Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine.
Tracklist
Digital Download (iTunesITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
):
- "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" (Radio Edit) - 3:32
- "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" (The Very Best Remix) - 3:26
Digital Download (Rhapsody
Rhapsody (online music service)
Rhapsody is an online music store subscription service, launched in December 2001, and available in the United States only. On April 6, 2010, Rhapsody officially declared its independence from RealNetworks. Downloaded files come with restrictions on their use, enforced by Helix, Rhapsody's version...
):
- "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" (live) - 3:35
Background
In 2005, vocalist Ezra KoenigEzra Koenig
Ezra Koenig is the lead singer and one of the guitarists of New York-based indie rock band Vampire Weekend.-Background:...
travelled through London en route to India and said that the trip got him "thinking a lot about colonialism and the aesthetic connections between preppy culture and the native cultures of places like Africa and India." This inspired Koenig to write a short story exploring those connections, and called it "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa", from which the song was named. "Kwassa kwassa
Kwassa kwassa
Kwassa kwassa is a dance rhythm from the Democratic Republic of the Congo that started in the 1970s where the hips move back and forth while the hands move to follow the hips. It was very popular in Africa in the late 1980s. The words kwassa kwassa may have come from the French quoi ça?...
" refers to a dance rhythm from Congo (DRC)
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
.
Koenig told The Daily Mail "The beats make this one of our most African sounding songs, but I think it also sounds Irish. I was listening to accordion music when I wrote it."
Music video
The video, directed by BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comedian Richard Ayoade
Richard Ayoade
Richard Ellef Ayoade is a British comedian, actor, writer and director best known for his role as Maurice Moss in The IT Crowd.Ayoade was born an only child to a Norwegian mother, Dagny , and a Nigerian father, Layide Ade Laditi Ayoade. Ayoade studied at St...
(who had also directed the band's video for "Oxford Comma
Oxford Comma (song)
"Oxford Comma" is the third single by Vampire Weekend, released May 26, 2008, from its debut album, Vampire Weekend.- Song title and meaning :...
") and set in the 1980s, was filmed in Spring Lake, New Jersey
Spring Lake, New Jersey
Spring Lake is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 2,993....
at Kaitlin Files' shore house. It is the first video where Vampire Weekend consciously decided to use a narrative with the band becoming characters, unlike previous videos which were "fairly abstract [with] no narrative". Koenig said he felt there was "a Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
element" to the video, in which the band reinvented their image as goths, "with white faces, spiked hair and black outfits". The characters were created in 2007 by Koenig, who came up with rough ideas and images, and was helped by Ayoade to create a story from them.
Bass guitarist Chris Baio said that the band devotes a lot of time to touring, so "when [they] do something different like this, it is an exciting thing." Keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij said that the band is "interested in visuals, and it's a treat for [them] to get to do this."
Cover versions
Peter GabrielPeter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
expressed interest in covering "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" after being introduced to the band by a member of Vampire Weekend's record label, XL Recordings. He said of the song, "I actually do like that song a lot and they've asked me to sing a version of it now which I may well do". In an interview with BBC 6Music, when asked about part of the lyrics which reference him ("This feels so unnatural, Peter Gabriel, too"), Gabriel responded, "Well I haven't quite worked that out whether I should be doing that or substituting it with a name".. He ended up replacing one of the lines with "And it feels so unnatural to sing your own name" when the cover was released with Hot Chip
Hot Chip
Hot Chip are an English electronic indie band. They have released four studio albums—Coming on Strong, The Warning, Made in the Dark and One Life Stand.-Formation:...
providing the instrumental.
Koenig said, "that's an idea that's been floated around before 'cause it seems so perfect. But yeah, it looks like it's happening" but stated that the band didn't want to confirm the cover version until it appeared on iTunes Music Store.
Swedish artist Lykke Li
Lykke Li
Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson , better known by her stage name Lykke Li , is a Swedish singer-songwriter. Her music often blends elements of pop, indie rock and electronic; various instruments can also be found in her songs, including violins, synthesizers, tambourines, trumpets, saxophones and cellos...
also often performs the song during concerts.
Critical reception
MusicOMHMusicOMH
musicOMH is a United Kingdom-based website which publishes independent reviews, featues and interviews from across all musical genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.-History:...
commented that the beginning of "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" sounds "as if imitating 1950s calypso" and described the opening hook as having "innocence [that] adds charm to the track, built on by the breezy vocal." Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
said that the song's "instrumentation and bubbly beat evoke Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
's Graceland
Graceland (album)
Graceland was Paul Simon's highest charting album in the U.S. in over a decade, reaching #3 in the national Billboard charts, receiving a certification of 5× Platinum by the RIAA and eventually selling over 14 million copies, making it Simon's most commercially successful album...
and "transforms the buoyant spirit of "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" to a cheaply (but cleanly) recorded, stripped-down, no-fuss context." Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
also said that "the unassuming nature of the production works in Vampire Weekend's favor, allowing subtle pleasures like that sunny falsetto vocalese at the end and the purity of the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
tone to shine through."
Chart positions
Following the success of "A-PunkA-Punk
"A-Punk" is a single by indie rock band Vampire Weekend, released on February 28, 2008. The band made their network television debut by performing "A-Punk" on The Late Show with David Letterman...
" and "Oxford Comma
Oxford Comma (song)
"Oxford Comma" is the third single by Vampire Weekend, released May 26, 2008, from its debut album, Vampire Weekend.- Song title and meaning :...
", Vampire Weekend decided to release "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" as the fourth single from the album. Originally released in 2008, the song failed to make much of an impact on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, peaking at #178. The single was not released in America, meaning along with Mansard Roof
Mansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...
, the single was rather unsuccessful.
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
178 |
External links
- Vampire Weekend on XL Recordings - Album page on record label's site