If music from countries outside North America and England is considered world music, and music by people from English speaking North America is considered popular music, what would you call music performed by a band whose lead singer was born in the States to parents originally from the Punjab region of North India, who moved to the South of France when she was ten, and now lives in San Francisco?
In an industry where an entire band can have been born and bred on the streets of Brooklyn, and still be referred to as world music, I guess the answer is obvious, but it does beg the question - Which "world" are they talking about?
The one Rupa, the lead singer of Rupa & The April Fishes, was born into in San Francisco, the world her parents left behind in the Punjab, or the new world they all discovered in Aix-En-Provence in southern France? With the majority of the songs on their first release, ExtraOrdinary Rendition on the Cumbancha label, being sung in French, the answer seems obvious, yet there's a lot more going on here then what first meets the ear.
It's true that some of the songs contain elements that are associated with French music; the drawn out sound of the accordion, a slightly melancholy air, and a passionate vocalist. Since the days of Edith Piaff, these have been hallmarks of French chancon style of performance, but that's only one of the elements that have gone into the music you hear on ExtraOrdinary Rendition. There's Latin beats mixing with the swing of a gypsy violin while a guitar strums in a style reminiscent of American folk, and a cello dances in the background.
Now there are plenty of bands that combine elements from various styles of music to give their music a transcontinental flavour, but there is something about what Rupa & The April Fishes does that distinguishes their music from others who attempt something similar. It's not obvious at first, but gradually you realize there is a sensibility at work in this music that's not prevalent in others. Others who I've heard combine musical styles seem compelled to attack with their music, as if the only way they can succeed is by breaking down any barriers an audience might have preventing them from accepting it.
Rupa & The Fishes have taken another approach. While some of their music is every bit as high tempo as other bands, there is also a subtlety about it that makes it feel less like a direct assault upon your senses and more like a gradual seduction. With the majority of the lyrics being sung in French, those of us with limited language skills are forced to rely upon the music and the sound of Rupa's voice, the lead vocalist, for our clues as to the nature of each song. However listening to the songs, one gets the feeling that the band has taken that into account. The compositions are such that the sounds of the instruments and Rupa's voice work together to create an overall emotional landscape that tells us enough about each song's nature we can appreciate them without understanding the lyrics.
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