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AboutTo the delirious teenage hordes at London all-ages nights 'Way Out West' and 'All Ages Concerts', Cajun Dance Party are already heroes. With songs whose lucid melodies and strident purpose seem to perfectly capture that giddy sense of youthful lust and adventure, Cajun Dance Party are teenage kicks incarnate. The revelation is that, aged 16 and 17, they're only mid-way through the teenage experience themselves – and yet their delicately-crafted songs speak to anyone who remembers what it's like to be young, bursting with ardour and expectation.
Meet Danny Blumberg, the gangly but self-assured singer whose rich, swooning voice already marks him out as a heroic frontman. Danny had never written words or music before joining Cajun Dance Party, his unconventional melodies an obvious function of his musical innocence. His lyrics now flow fulsomely from his eager subconscious. "I always have nightmares about dying without having fulfilled anything in my life," he reveals – which would go some way to explaining why his voice sounds worldly beyond its years. "That's what our song 'Colourful Life' is about – wanting to make an impact on the world, and the struggle to find the balance between that and just enjoying yourself."
Meet Robbie Stern, the precociously talented songwriter, who's as comfortable performing violin sonatas as he is wringing Johnny Marr flourishes from his guitar. "I don't want to sound pretentious, but we never wanted Cajun Dance Party to be a band of a certain genre," says Robbie. "I don't even think of us as an indie band. I want to make music that draws on influences from classic pop to Britpop, trip-hop, jazz, classical, electronica, whatever, I've always got a strong idea of how I want particular songs to sound, but overall I want the band to be open to possibility."
Meet Vicky Freund, the ice-cool keyboard custodian who was discovered playing Destiny's Child songs on Robbie's mum's piano at a party. Meet Max Bloom, the musical polymath who learned the bass guitar from scratch in a matter of weeks. Meet Will Vignoles, the sturdy presence behind the kit who holds Cajun Dance Party together. Together, these five nascent musical voyagers immersed themselves in records by The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, Portishead, The Rolling Stones, The Shins, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Belle & Sebastian, Radiohead and Blur in an attempt to create a classic pop sound more fulfilling and far-reaching than the simplistic indie-shambles of their peers.
By their fourth ever gig – a jubilant affair at Way Out West underneath Brentford football stadium – they had a proper manager. By their sixth, they were fending off an A&R scrum. In a review of their eighth gig, NME called them "a sensation". Debut single 'The Next Untouchable' and it's accompanying flipside 'Buttercups' – two of the songs Robbie wrote during a month-long trip to the US before assembling the band – form a breathless, beatific document of where this young band are right now. But don't expect those recordings to represent them for long. Robbie is already talking about adding strings and brass to their next session, and he's determined to write the arrangements himself. "We can be ambitious because Robbie knows how to arrange strings properly," says Danny. "It will mean the emotion of the music still all comes from within the band."
When asked if they have any current role models, in unison and without hesitation they say "The Arcade Fire" as an example of a group who have forged a dazzling, singular path. "We're completely in awe of what they do," says Robbie. "It's pure emotion, not at all affected, and there are these beautiful landscapes in the lyrics. They're raw without being messy, technical without being slick."
A young London band who don't want to be New Rave scenesters or sound like The Libertines is rare in itself. A young London band who talk about transporting the textures of classical music into pop, who write about life and love with breathtaking clarity, who infuse their music with genuine youthful wonder and vitality rather than mimicking the moves of a previous generation – well, that's something very special. Cajun Dance Party are a precious band. Treasure them.
Meet Danny Blumberg, the gangly but self-assured singer whose rich, swooning voice already marks him out as a heroic frontman. Danny had never written words or music before joining Cajun Dance Party, his unconventional melodies an obvious function of his musical innocence. His lyrics now flow fulsomely from his eager subconscious. "I always have nightmares about dying without having fulfilled anything in my life," he reveals – which would go some way to explaining why his voice sounds worldly beyond its years. "That's what our song 'Colourful Life' is about – wanting to make an impact on the world, and the struggle to find the balance between that and just enjoying yourself."
Meet Robbie Stern, the precociously talented songwriter, who's as comfortable performing violin sonatas as he is wringing Johnny Marr flourishes from his guitar. "I don't want to sound pretentious, but we never wanted Cajun Dance Party to be a band of a certain genre," says Robbie. "I don't even think of us as an indie band. I want to make music that draws on influences from classic pop to Britpop, trip-hop, jazz, classical, electronica, whatever, I've always got a strong idea of how I want particular songs to sound, but overall I want the band to be open to possibility."
Meet Vicky Freund, the ice-cool keyboard custodian who was discovered playing Destiny's Child songs on Robbie's mum's piano at a party. Meet Max Bloom, the musical polymath who learned the bass guitar from scratch in a matter of weeks. Meet Will Vignoles, the sturdy presence behind the kit who holds Cajun Dance Party together. Together, these five nascent musical voyagers immersed themselves in records by The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, Portishead, The Rolling Stones, The Shins, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Belle & Sebastian, Radiohead and Blur in an attempt to create a classic pop sound more fulfilling and far-reaching than the simplistic indie-shambles of their peers.
By their fourth ever gig – a jubilant affair at Way Out West underneath Brentford football stadium – they had a proper manager. By their sixth, they were fending off an A&R scrum. In a review of their eighth gig, NME called them "a sensation". Debut single 'The Next Untouchable' and it's accompanying flipside 'Buttercups' – two of the songs Robbie wrote during a month-long trip to the US before assembling the band – form a breathless, beatific document of where this young band are right now. But don't expect those recordings to represent them for long. Robbie is already talking about adding strings and brass to their next session, and he's determined to write the arrangements himself. "We can be ambitious because Robbie knows how to arrange strings properly," says Danny. "It will mean the emotion of the music still all comes from within the band."
When asked if they have any current role models, in unison and without hesitation they say "The Arcade Fire" as an example of a group who have forged a dazzling, singular path. "We're completely in awe of what they do," says Robbie. "It's pure emotion, not at all affected, and there are these beautiful landscapes in the lyrics. They're raw without being messy, technical without being slick."
A young London band who don't want to be New Rave scenesters or sound like The Libertines is rare in itself. A young London band who talk about transporting the textures of classical music into pop, who write about life and love with breathtaking clarity, who infuse their music with genuine youthful wonder and vitality rather than mimicking the moves of a previous generation – well, that's something very special. Cajun Dance Party are a precious band. Treasure them.
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