Culte Du Cargo
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Culte Du Cargo

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"Culte Du Cargo"

A lot of bands note David Bowie as an influence. What's there not to like somebody that has appeared in a Jim Henson movie with a character named Hoggle? My point is listing influences and taking that influence and creating a different sound . Vancouver's Culte Du Cargo takes the synth crashing to Ziggy Stardust heights. They create a sound that binds the bridge behind glam rock and synth rock. Quite brilliant indeed! - CAUSE = TIME blog


"Ms Poppins -CBC Radio 3 Song of the day"

Ring a bell? Have I got any die-hard Mary Poppins fans in the house?

When I was a wee lass, I loved Mary Poppins (and Annie, actually). Now, I can't stand musicals, in film or on stage. What happened? Did I over-dose on wholesome goodness? Too many spoonfuls of sugar to help the medicine go down?

I grew out of my sing along to the movies phase, but I continued to enjoy adore music, and want to tell you about a new band with a Mary Poppins connection.

Culte Du Cargo is a collaboration between Alfa Ming and Felix Fung, two musicians with a "common thread of David Bowie, The Rza, and Marc Almond." Nice.

Alfa Ming wrote to tell me more about the project, he says it's really unscripted, and the songs on their album, Image Talk, tend to center around relationships. More directly, he also wrote, "Who doesn't get lit off a cool melody and a groove?"

So get lit with Ms. Poppin - your NMC Track of the Day! - CBC Radio 3


"CDC CD release"

Culte Du Cargo, the newest champions of bold, expressive, indiosyncratic pop music, is the creation of Vancouver artists Alfa Ming and Felix Fung. Inspired primarily by the vanguards of the 70's and 80's — from Bowie to Soft Cell to XTC to Depeche Mode — Culte Du Cargo celebrates music that is both independent and populist; ambivalent and sentimental; obscure and nonetheless strangely familiar.

Alfa Ming and Felix Fung have been active in the Vancouver music scene for over a decade: Alfa as a writer and emcee; Felix as producer and musician. Individually they have collaborated with local hip hop and rock acts such as Birdapres, Moka Only, LP, Factor Glowing Hearts, The Neins, Threat from Outer Space, and Joshua Seth.

Join them for the release of their CD, Image Talk, this Saturday, August 11th. Doors open at 9:30pm. CDC will take the stage at 11pm. Other artist performing are Vera Way and Her Sisters, Eug and DJs. Tickets are $10 at the door. - Yahoo upcoming events


"Who's Gene Pitney?"

http://onlymagazine.ca/music/1461/culte-du-cargo

Until their name appeared on a poster for a show at Library Square’s Casbah!, I had never heard of Culte Du Cargo. And why should I have? They had only played one show prior to that, and it was their CD release. The collaboration between Alfa Ming and Felix Fung that crafted the 11-song Image Talk hints at soul, hip-hop, and largely new wave influences. And I’ll just assume some guy named Gene Pitney.

ONLY: Who’s Gene Pitney?

Alfa: That’s a good place to start. Gene Pitney is a pop artist that influence Marc Almond from Soft Cell. He’s a crooner. When I started talking to Felix [about this collaboration] Soft Cell was one of the first records we put on. And not just like ‘Tainted Love’ or anything.

ONLY: Sex Dwarf!?

Felix: [laughing]

Alfa: Right. I was like, “Wow, I’ve never heard this before.” It was a little more like what I was looking for. Something that was wasn’t so immediate and played out. And once you start digging a little deeper you’re like, “How the fuck did they do this?” And you dig a little more and you find out they love Gene Pitney. So I go and study Gene Pitney, I listen to his stuff and begin to find the thread between him and all these other artists.

ONLY: Was that how Culte Du Cargo started? Listening to records?

Felix: It was a job. I was looking for work.

ONLY: How do you mean? Playing music?

Felix: No, I record other people. I was going to produce and album for Alfa.

Alfa: I was looking for a producer.

ONLY: So it started as a solo project?

Alfa: I had stuff that I had done with other producers as a solo artist, but things weren’t clicking and I wasn’t feeling inspired. I didn’t quite know what I wanted to do. So we met, sat down and thought this could be a good situation. He has a studio, he’s a producer, an engineer, got a good vibe. By the time we sat down and really got things going I just went from there.

ONLY: Those songs you brought, did they they change drastically?

Alfa: Drastically! The songs were all let go.

Felix: I think it was because the other stuff, or at least where I thought Alfa was going anyways, and where I was willing to go, there’s just a point where I don’t want to do a hip-hop album. It’s just not my thing.

ONLY: Is that what you normally do, Alfa?

Alfa: I was into hip-hop pretty heavy.

ONLY: And that’s what you brought to him?

Felix: We were supposed to work on that first, I think.

Alfa: But the music I brought was not necessarily the same as the music I was interested in making. So Felix proposed doing something else.

ONLY: So what clicked in your mind that made you completely abandon making a hip-hop record for something different?

Alfa: Well we sat down, put on some records and both responded to the same thing.

Felix: It was more like hanging out. It seemed like he wasn’t just limited to doing hip-hop and we both got excited about stuff. He didn’t come at me aggressively about doing a hip-hop record, which was good because it was nothing that I really wanted to do. And I convinced him that he didn’t want to do it either.

Alfa: I think that helped. It was a big moment for me. It’s possible to switch over and do something different that you may not have much experience doing.

Felix: During the recording we would just start with an idea, inspired by whatever we were listening to. We just let it happen because it seems everyone tries to exercise so much control over something they essentially have no control over, for instance, whether the listener will like you or not. So why don’t we make decisions based on what we do know, what we like. Another thing we kept saying was “What are people doing now? Well let’s just do the opposite.” That was the easiest decision. Even the Eno cards [Oblique Strategies] were a hassle.

ONLY: When was that first collaboration?

Alfa: April, 2006.

ONLY: And how many live shows?

Felix: Just the two so far.

ONLY: Since you had a fully recorded and manufactured album before you played a show, do you see Culte Du Cargo as more of a studio band?

Felix: Not right now. There is no recording going on and we’re strictly performers.

ONLY: Because most bands will write songs, play live, and then record.

Felix: I don’t think there was any reason for us to get on stage and fumble around. You know, you’re charging five dollars and you really don’t want to rip anyone off.
- Only Magazine Vancouver BC


Discography

Image Talk
released August 11, 2007

Photos

Bio

Alfa and Felix's ambitions are fairly straightforward: to make music that is expressive without obsessing about who, or what, they are. This sentiment is the foundation of Culte Du Cargo's creative process.
After all the studio sessions and the letting go, heading out on a limb by reaching outside their comfort zone, the voice of Culte Du Cargo has taken shape. This voice calls out to us, divining the back catalogues of our musical deities conjuring new life into existence.