Rapskallion

Everyone loves a band of maddened vaudevillians that hatch brilliant theatrical live shows and then lay it down on record as an aural taste of such shindigs. No? Well no, I suppose they don’t. It’s not for everyone you see. It’s niche. There lies the beauty and allure of this meandering, narrative-ignited, bluesy folk jam from Rapskallion.
Vagabond King is the second LP from Melbourne’s colourful coven. It’s an album for vagrants, those rascals who desire to get out of their skins and throw down with the freaks. Embrace your inner carny and appreciate the fine musicianship, diverse and decadent vocals, piano accordions, eerie mandolins, horns a-plenty and strings of another realm.
Rapskallion are an atmospheric band. This accomplished recording sounds live; it’s rough around all the right edges and very sensory. With Vagabond King as soundtrack, you smell the fire, sense tempranillo in your veins, taste the Romani mouths, and ignite your unstretched muscles as you feel the need to grind and rave.
Destiny and Marlene showcase the sultry ramblin’ from the divine Sara Yael, while Cat Thief is snappy yet sinister, with soul stripping horns. Captain Crow is a scurvy narrative, with sorrowful nautical violins, snaking piano accordion and a bountiful fable.
You hear menacing, delightful chants on Devils, while Flappers has the scent of a Spanish fiesta, heaving with strings that would do Warren Ellis proud. Secret winds down the album with a jovial, sing-song finale.
Few bands can really penetrate music of the by-gones and deliver their inspired creation with authenticity. Sown with a similar weft as Mojo Juju & The Snake Oil Merchants or Gogol Bordello, Rapskallion do.
- The Inpress Magazine, Melbourne

Rapskallion win BankSA award "Best Music" by The Adelaide Fringe Festival

Those inimitable buccaneering troubadours”Rapskallion”, are proud to announce the release of their brand new album “Vagabond king’, this April, on cd and vinyl. Spawned in the back alleys of Melbourne’s bohemia 5 years ago, the Skallions have been peddling their mixture of rustic romanticism, junkyard blues, pikie polkas, whirling waltzes, and vaudevillian rock n’roll vignettes, internationally and Australia wide, at far flung festivals, Spiegel tents, National galleries, and roguish soirees beneath bridges. Most recently Rapskallion were awarded “Best musical act”, at the Adelaide fringe festival for their three rebel rousing shows at the”Idolize Spiegeltent” in the Garden of unearthly delights. - Rapskallion

Rapskallion win BankSA award "Best Music" by The Adelaide Fringe Festival

Those inimitable buccaneering troubadours”Rapskallion”, are proud to announce the release of their brand new album “Vagabond king’, this April, on cd and vinyl. Spawned in the back alleys of Melbourne’s bohemia 5 years ago, the Skallions have been peddling their mixture of rustic romanticism, junkyard blues, pikie polkas, whirling waltzes, and vaudevillian rock n’roll vignettes, internationally and Australia wide, at far flung festivals, Spiegel tents, National galleries, and roguish soirees beneath bridges. Most recently Rapskallion were awarded “Best musical act”, at the Adelaide fringe festival for their three rebel rousing shows at the”Idolize Spiegeltent” in the Garden of unearthly delights. - Rapskallion

In the seven months or so since they packed out ‘The Majestic’ stage at this year’s National Folk Festival, RAPSKALLION have covered a lot of ground. Which is no surprise, really, considering the type of rag-tag, gypsy cabaret-cum-travelling carnival outfit that they pride themselves on being. After only recently returning from an extensive European tour and about to embark on their own ‘When the Wine Kicks In’ national tour, Fingal Capaldi (accordion, guitar, vocals, mandolin, general mischief maker) reflects on the months that have just passed. “It was amazing, and Berlin was especially incredible,” he says. “We played the Fusion Festival, which is held on an old Russian air force base. The stages are set up in the underground air force hangers, and so it’s like a cabaret at the end of the world.”

Fingal explains that, as could be expected for any type of music, the reception the group receives differs between countries “depending on their particular cultural bent,” but that overall, their type of music lends itself to a fairly predictable audience response. “The music we play is fun music and it’s party music. People go a bit crazy wherever we are, especially if there’s a bar. So yeah, generally speaking, people are up for a party no matter where you are in the world.”

The ‘skallion’s music could be described in many ways – cabaret, gypsy, punk, oom-pa, polka, blues, tango and almost any other type of music renowned for getting people on their feet and dancing, coupled commonly with a sideshow of circus performers and vaudeville theatrics. So although the group hardly appears to be in want of creative flair or dramatic inspiration, Fingal explains that Europe nonetheless proved to be the flirtatious muse that musicians of all inclinations find her to be. “Our inspiration does come from particular types of music, but it certainly is improved by new places and experiences. I really improved my French accordion sound while we were over there. As well as that, it’s a really established scene they’ve got, especially in terms of the theatrical stuff and the street performing, and that certainly made an impression on us.”

With so much time on the road, the group has found precious little time to write or record a new album. After returning from Europe, the group split up and went camping separately, each to write and create some tunes to bring back to the group. After their national tour comes to a close, they plan to head back to Melbourne to crack on with the new album. “It’s been almost two years since the last one,” explains Fingal. “It’s along similar lines for sure, but a lot more rhapsodic. It’s evolved into something way more interesting than it originally was. We want to make it way more bent and left-field.” - BMA magazine