Karaba F.C. is making a name for themselves in the French indie/post-hardcore scene with their signature blend of 90s emocore vibes, 2000s indie rock, and a hint of post-rock. After the success of their debut EP “Empty Rooms” and a string of electrifying performances, the band is back with an interesting new offering, the 6-track EP “April Dancer,” a testament to their dedication to capturing their raw, heavier sound from their live shows.
Recorded at Serge Morattel’s REC Studio in Geneva, Switzerland, the EP showcases Karaba F.C.’s post-hardcore roots with forays into noise and even screamo. We have teamed up with the band to give you their special track by track rundown for the EP, including some interesting facts about each song.
“April Dancer” is set to release on vinyl with the support of record labels A La Derive Records, Araki Records, Clever Eagle Records, and Ripcord Records (digital version on the 14th of April, vinyl on the 21st).
Coming up as a great showcase of their dynamic range and unbridled passion, “April Dancer” is a must-listen for fans of blending different infuences withing the wide genre of edgy rock and anyone looking for a fresh take on melodic post-hardcore.
Roundabout
Roundabout is one of the oldest tracks on April Dancer, and evolved quite a bit through live shows. The intro, which we often use as an opener on stage, shifted from a simple one-guitar riff to a growing soundscape of reverb trails, breaking suddenly into the main riff. At the time we composed the demo for this track, we were playing a Lana del Rey cover at soundcheck , and thought it would be cool to have very pop vocal lines in an overall angry and sad song. This led to the hushed lines of the pre-hook. Still, we wanted the song to end up in a very heavy, cathartic way, with nu-metal bands like Deftones and Korn in mind. It led Clément to propose a rapped build-up which has been hyping people up live, pushing us to select the track as the first single out of April Dancer.
Medication
The second track of the record is probably one of the easiest to grasp at first listen. Our goal with this one was to blend our 00s indie, pop-punk and emo influences into a catchy track that would trigger people to dance around at live shows. Something like a Blink 182 meets Lysistrata kind of track. Despite its simple structure and melody, it was actually one of the hardest tracks to record live, as the hook riff only hits hard enough if everyone is exactly on the same tempo.
My Demise
This track is probably our favorite on the EP, as it really is a blend of all our influences. The intro was inspired by heavy post rock bands such as PG.lost or If these trees could talk, while we gave the verse a very indie, Bloc Party feel, before a hook of big 90s emo chords and vocal harmonies. The lyrics and singing melody of the first verse were re-written just a couple of weeks before the recording. On the first version they were angrier, closer to the “I dream of the day I’ll put my foot through your mouth” that comes at the end of track. After playing it live a few times we felt like going full-on indie in this part would actually sound better, and decided to re-write it. It’s a track on which the production work by Serge Morattel really shines, as we hoped when we booked the session with him after falling in love with Ventura’s Ad Matres.
Pain & Pleasure
The demo for this track was named “Screamo”, and included only the second part of the track, which is probably one of the most aggressive pieces of music we’ve written yet. We then added a first part to the track with a completely different vibe in mind, thinking of it as a very groovy build up that would emphasize the harshness of the second part. The live at slane castle version of Venice Queen by the Red Hot Chili Peppers was a big influence for this first part. Despite all members of the band being into Screamo bands like Constante or Naedr, it is a genre that did not transpire at all on our first EP. Even if the final version of Pain & Pleasure could hardly be considered pure Screamo, we hope that people will feel the emotional rage that we tried to put in it.
Pictures of Us
Pictures of us is an emo ballad that sits right with songs like Help Me or Dead Inside from our first EP. It was Serge’s favorite track among the demos we sent him. It reminded him of some of the falsely calm Ventura songs ending up with many layers of guitars and voices building up. Our idea was that each part of the song should sound heavier and more emotional than the preceding one, and Serge really helped reach that by allowing us to work on textures and layers on top of the live-recorded track. We believe the result really fits the emotions from the lyrics, which are about splits in families and the pain they induce.
In the violence
Probably the punkiest track on the record, In the violence still remains heavily influenced by indie bands like foals or early-DIIV, with jumpy lead patterns. In that sense we feel it matches the idea of sad and angry dancing music, which we find and really appreciate in bands like Casey or in the latest album from Birds in row, for example. It’s a track we particularly enjoy playing live, as the build up often ends up with people dancing, or in a mosh pit, or both ! It thus felt natural to put it at the end of the EP, using it as a strong yet dancey closure to April Dancer.
