Markscheider Kunst: Cafe Babalu

Despite the disconcerting complexity of their name, Markscheider Kunst have been around for a long time. That, surely, speaks to the quality of their work: people will line up to experience something they can’t even pronounce.

“Cafe Babalu” is – officially – MK’s ninth album; as ever we have to allow for numerous “versions” that are made by anonymous CD pirates, burning illegal compilations on massed disk-drives. Whenever such operations are discovered by the Russian police, they always seem to be in far-flung barns surrounded by chickens. Note the equally “rustic” transport used to destroy them:

Nine is also the number of members in this St Petersburg combo (well, sometimes eight…). Together they find common expression as a “ska-folk-worldbeat band” or – elsewhere – “a mix of reggae, ska and klezmer.”

Their strange moniker can be translated loosely from the German as “The Art of Mine Surveyors.” When asked (for the millionth time) what on earth that means in terms of their music, the band replies: “Our name has absolutely no special or hidden meaning. Everything and anything we’ve said in the past about its significance or origin has been complete fantasy or deliberate provocation!”

This jolly sense of playfulness is always evident in their music. They do indeed throw together all the genres mentioned, both regularly and with scant respect for tradition. The band’s backbone or “calling card” is reggae – leading to common and useful parallels with Birmingham’s UB40 – but this particular album is a direct reference to Cuban roots.

MK themselves have played on the island with local musicians.

“Cafe Babalu” as a title refers to a particular song from Cuba that has enjoyed unique popularity in the United States. The original song “Babalu” was written before WWII by Margarita Lecuona about one of the deities in the Afro-Cuban faith of Santeria.

It was then recorded by Cuban vocalist Miguelito Valdes in 1941, but the song has considerably more significance for Americans today as the signature tune of Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz) in the 1950s’ sitcom, “I Love Lucy.”

Arnaz was a musician himself, and we really need to see some footage of him in action – as Afro-Cuban percussionist. This is the sunny mixture of styles that Markscheider Kunst both namecheck and strive towards.

As proof of their similar desires, here’s a ringtone that can be downloaded from MK’s new site; the drums are just as intense. There’s no way you’d miss a call with this thundering out of your cell!

Their best-known track of late has been “Kvasa-Kvasa” about the joys of traditional cold beverages on hot days..

…and it sets up nicely the video clip below in which we see the band get ready for a performance, orchestrated to some typically tropical percussion. Then we drop into a low, loose reggae/ska cover of “Dark Is the Night,” the Soviet wartime ballad – from the same year, coincidentally, as Valdes’ recording.

Markscheider Kunst’s MySpace page has a good selection of tracks from Cafe Babalu. We recommend a  listen, especially if the weather outside is looking grim. The massed friendly faces below will help, too, not to mention the insane grin on the CD cover…

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