| "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Vampire Weekend | ||||
| from the album Vampire Weekend | ||||
| Released | 18 August 2008 | |||
| Genre | Indie pop, calypso, worldbeat | |||
| Length | 3:34 | |||
| Label | XL | |||
| Composer(s) | Vampire Weekend | |||
| Lyricist(s) | Ezra Koenig | |||
| Producer(s) | Rostam Batmanglij | |||
| Vampire Weekend singles chronology | ||||
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| Vampire Weekend track listing | ||||
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"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 2008 by Rolling Stone magazine. [1]
In 2005, Vampire Weekend vocalist Ezra Koenig 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", after which the song was named. [2] "Kwassa kwassa" refers to a dance rhythm from Congo (DRC).
The video, directed by British 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. [3]
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." [3]
In 2008, Peter Gabriel collaborated with Hot Chip on a cover of the song. Vampire Weekend themselves had reportedly asked Gabriel to cover it, on account of him being referenced in the lyrics ("This feels so unnatural/Peter Gabriel, too"). [3] Ahead of the cover's release, Gabriel told 6Music that he hadn't decided whether or not to sing the line that references him verbatim. [4] He ended up replacing one of the lines with "And it feels so unnatural/To sing your own name" when the cover was released. [5]
"Richard Russell [head of XL Recordings] is a dad at my son's school," Gabriel explained to Mark Blake, "and he said, 'I have this young band and they are mentioning you as an influence.' …I could hear a lot of Talking Heads in there… When they wanted to involve me in this remix, I didn't know if it was a bit too weird to sing my own name, so I changed it. But I think Vampire Weekend are very smart songwriters." [6]
Lykke Li and Chromeo have also both covered the song live: the former at a series of shows between 2008 and 2009, and the latter at the 2015 Governors Ball, where they were joined on-stage by Koenig himself. [7]
MusicOMH 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." [8] 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 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." [9]
Digital Download (iTunes): [10]
Digital Download (Rhapsody):
Vampire Weekend
Additional musicians
Technical
Following the success of "A-Punk" 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.
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart [11] | 178 |
Vampire Weekend is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 2006 and currently signed to Columbia Records. The band was formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chris Tomson, and bassist Chris Baio. Batmanglij departed the group in early 2016.
Vampire Weekend is the debut studio album by American rock band Vampire Weekend, released on January 29, 2008 by XL Recordings. The album was produced by band member Rostam Batmanglij, with mixing assistance from Jeff Curtin and Shane Stoneback. Released after a year of building internet buzz, the album showcased the band's unique hybrid of indie pop, chamber music, and Afropop influences.
Ezra Michael Koenig is an American musician, singer-songwriter, producer, and internet radio personality. He is best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of indie rock band Vampire Weekend. Additionally, Koenig is the creator of the Netflix animated comedy series Neo Yokio and also hosts the Apple Music radio talk show Time Crisis with Ezra Koenig. Time Crisis is airing its ninth season, as of 2023.
"A-Punk" is a song by indie rock band Vampire Weekend, released on February 28, 2008 as the second single from their 2008 self-titled debut album. The band made their network television debut by performing "A-Punk" on the Late Show with David Letterman.
"Mansard Roof" is the debut single by indie rock band Vampire Weekend, released on October 23, 2007.
"Oxford Comma" is the third single by Vampire Weekend released May 26, 2008 from their debut album Vampire Weekend.
Contra is the second studio album by the American indie pop band Vampire Weekend, produced by band member Rostam Batmanglij and released in January 2010 on XL Recordings. It was preceded by the 2009 singles "Horchata" and "Cousins."
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Rostam Batmanglij, known mononymously as Rostam, is an American record producer, musician, singer, songwriter, and composer. He was a founding member of the band Vampire Weekend, whose first three albums he produced. He has been described by Stereogum as one of the greatest pop and indie-rock producers of his generation. Rostam also works as a solo artist and is a member of electro-soul group Discovery. He produced his first number-one album, Vampire Weekend's Contra, when he was 27 years old.
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Modern Vampires of the City is the third studio album by American indie rock band Vampire Weekend. It was released on May 14, 2013, by XL Recordings. The group began to write songs for the album during soundchecks on the supporting concert tour for their 2010 album Contra. After a period in which each member explored individual musical projects, they regrouped and continued working on Modern Vampires of the City in 2011. With no deadline in mind, the band brought in an outside record producer for the first time, Ariel Rechtshaid, to record the album.
"Diane Young" is a song by American indie rock band Vampire Weekend, taken from their third studio album Modern Vampires of the City. It was released as the lead single from the album on March 19, 2013. A promotional video of the single, which features two Saab 900s burning throughout the duration of the song, was uploaded to Vevo and YouTube on March 18, 2013. The official video to the single was uploaded on June 3, 2013.
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"Unbelievers" is a song by American indie pop band Vampire Weekend. Written by the band's lead singer Ezra Koenig and multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, and produced by Ariel Rechtshaid and Batmanglij, the song was released as the third single from their third studio album Modern Vampires of the City in August 2013. The band initially premiered "Unbelievers" in a live performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live on October 31, 2012. They also performed the song live on an episode of Saturday Night Live prior to it being released as a single.
"Horchata" is a song by American indie rock band Vampire Weekend. Written by the members of the band and produced by band member Rostam Batmanglij, the song was released as the lead single from their second album Contra on October 5, 2009 via XL Recordings. The single was initially released as a free download on the band's web site. The term "horchata" refers to a traditional beverage often made of ground almonds, sesame seeds, or rice.
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