Vintage music from across the ocean

A shot of Martini, please! Make it Pink and entertaining!

The founder defined the band in a simple, yet quite full of implications way, as a 'little romantic Hollywood musical of the 1940s or 1950s' ". But, whoever listens to them realises that there is more to this than is said and that is what creates the mystery behind the band's success: underneath the layer of music which one can easily identify, there are hidden sounds and instruments which are barely recognizable at the first listening


By ROXANA CIUPARIU
from Bucharest, ROMANIA


On the American stage, more than on other stages, there have always came up and remained in the memory or faded away quick, different sorts of bands with different genres of music. Among these multitude of bands, there is one whose name resembles a popular drink, Pink Martini, which is like a chameleon, because, to define its genre is probably one of the hardest tasks to do after listening to majority of their songs and following their evolution in time and throughout their albums.

Beginning of defining a style

The band was formed in Portland, Oregon by pianist Thomas Lauderdale and has ever since been recognized as one of the few bands eager to have concerts with the same orchestra all the time. They are known for their multitude of instruments used in all songs, with predominance of some of them, such as the piano and violin.

Over the years their desire to have the same orchestra with them has decreased due to problems such as no accommodation for all members and not always being able to hold a concert in a spacious place which can accommodate and entire orchestra. Ever since, the band agreed, more or less, to the idea of having a different orchestra in each place they have a concert, preferably a native one.

This band harmonises very good different types of music, transcending from jazz to classical on the same album, from Japanese lyrics to Italian ones, with each song giving the impression that this is indeed their real style and they are natives from the respective country. They are truly chameleons in music, with lyrics not only in English, French or Italian, but also Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese and even Arabic or Greek. They manage to switch from one genre to another without even putting too much effort into that, while keeping their originality. In the end, you have to be amazed at what comes from that, and one would really wonder what is it that they actually play: jazz or classical, lounge or trance, vintage or some strange and impossible to define genre?

The founder of the band defined the band in a simple, yet quite full of implications way, as a 'little romantic Hollywood musical of the 1940s or 1950s' ". But, whoever listens to them realises that there is more to this than is said and that is what creates the mystery behind the band's success: underneath the layer of music which one can easily identify, there are hidden sounds and instruments which are barely recognizable at the first listening. But, there are those which create the originality and the charm of the band. There is rarely a band which can make the transition from one style to another, from dancing to slow motion, from sadness to joy, in less than five minutes and can have such an impact on all those present at the concert or those listening at home.

Songs, Albums and recognition

China Forbes, the band's lead singer enchants the listeners on all three albums released so far (with a DVD released early-2009 and a fourth album scheduled for release in October 2009), even thou her voice is missing in some songs. This is another characteristic of the band: if there is the feeling a song will sound better without a voice, then it will be left this way. This is why a first-time listener might be surprised and confused that he got the wrong CD, since some songs lack China's contribution (or anybody else's contribution, as a matter of fact). However, her presence on stage is also a delight: being the only female in a team of men, she is always the one which draws attention and makes sure the public is not bored and sings and dances in the same rhythm with the respective song.

Their first album, Sympathique, released three years after the band was formed, is famous for songs such as "Amado Mio", "No hay Problema", "Andalucia" (which is the first and perfect example of just orchestra and no voice) and "Song of the Black Lizard", which became famous for two reasons: the strange beginning, which makes one think there is an Alien Invasion happening (just like in some genre-related movies) and for being featured in the film with the same name, "Black Lizard".

Their second album, Hang on Little Tomato was perceived as funny from the start because of its title and the very good choice of cover: a man lifting a child who laughs. Appearing years after their debut in Europe, at the Cannes Film festival of 1998, at a seven years distance from the release of their first album, it features songs in six different languages, of which famous are "Una Notte a Napoli", "Aspettami" and "Song of the Black Swan", and was Number 1 on Amazon.com in the first weeks of release.

Their third album, Hey Eugene!, released in 2007, got its name from a fan that was present at almost all of their live concerts and features a song in Arabic, "Bukra wba'do", famous for its danceable rhythm, which can make one, who is not accustomed with the language and has no idea of the Arabic music genre, believe this is closer to Greek music. Other famous songs are "Mar Desconocido", "Taya Tan" (in Japanese) and the rhythmic and more danceable "City of Night".

Their songs appeared in successful TV shows like "Dead Like Me" and "The Sopranos", as well as in movies such as "Shangai Kiss" and "Mr. & Mrs. Smith", while their popularity is continuously growing.


(Published: 20.08.2009.)