Pomplamoose? Pomplamoose!

Let's start with an intro. Yes, an artist can have their intro song. 

Do you remember your 'firsts'? Of course you do. I remember the first time I have heard, or have seen this particular musical duo. I'm not exactly sure on which social media platform, probably all at the same time, which led me to clicking on their music video. 

'Pomplamoose?'! I was thinking. I was mind-blown. 

I have stayed away from the typical 'mainstream/pop' music and 'musicians' for a while, for personal reasons such as : 

a.) talent-show products 
b.) auto-tunes 
c.) extreme celebrity status 
d.) TMZ-updates on antics
e.) overpaid divas
f.) any other reason.

Now, the tongue-twisterish name of the band is unheard of on this side of the town, (at least here in England I guess), but what caught me clicking and skipping ads and staying on until it finished was the sheer brilliance of these power duo. (Or double trouble?) 

Youtube has been the haven for underground and unknown artists. I am picky with covers and those who gain fame with just doing covers and nothing else. Until this 'VideoSong' played. It was a Lorde, 2pac, Beck Mashup. What makes it all unique is they played it by their own rules.

I quickly googled and hit on their wiki page, and continued on playing more of their videos. 

Pomplamoose is an American musical duo which feature Californian multi-instrumentalists, real life couple Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn. 

I shared the video on my facebook profile ASAP, marvelled at their genius, suddenly thought of buying a projector, then quickly realised I really need talent to copy their work. I told the girlfriend about them, and she asked 'Why Pomplamoose?' Wow, I forgot about that. I was gushing over them and I just forgot the other important details.

The name of the band derives from the French word pamplemousse, meaning grapefruit.  Pomplamoose is an English-spelling approximation of the French pronunciation.

Well, that explains it. Does it? No. But they are good. They call it 'VideoSongs.' For obvious reasons yes, but here are their 2 rules:

1. What you see is what you hear. (No lip-syncing for instruments or voice)

1. If you hear it, at some point you see it. (No hidden sounds)

Sounds easy? Nope. Some main acts are even known to lip-sync on their live shows. But they put every ounce of effort and creativity on their work, and that scores high on my 'legit indie card.' They could be the couple version of OK,GO in some aspects of artistry and style. 

'So which genre do they fall in?' I hate this question. When you tell people of a new discovery of an artist or a work of art, they want labels. They want category. And as the band itself refuses to label their work, diverse is a simple way of putting it. You really want to know? Their wiki page tried:

Genres	Alternative rock, pop punk, funk rock, jazz-rock, nu jazz,baroque pop, power pop, ska punk, trip hop, blue eyed soul, pop rock, folk rock, indie folk indie pop, indie rock

So you get the idea. And that's the fun part. Being called an 'indie' or independent artist has been an abused term for 'pseudo-indie' artist but is still backed by major labels or contracts. But this duo is as pure as their white cardboards in their videos.

Here's a clip of their talk in TED and you'll get a better glimpse of the beauty of Jack and Nataly, the music industry, and why staying true to your craft really will take you somewhere far and beyond.


Their website is Pomplamoose.com.
So this my friends, is my gift of sharing to you. I may sound like a fangirl over a boyband or a supposed megastar, but if you want a fresh sound with real artists behind the work, then put Pomplamoose on your list.