The series features double A-side singles - one in English the other in Louisiana French - released as a pair.
Today the New Orleans-based sextet Sweet Crude shared two songs as part of the second installment of the band's Dualité series. The series features double A-side singles - one in English the other in Louisiana French - released as a pair. The second installment includes "Saint Patrick Park" and "Vertige."
"This song is named after the greenspace and baseball field in Mid-City, New Orleans," says singer Sam Craft on "Saint Patrick Park," "which has served as an outdoor escape from confinement for so many in the neighborhood over the last year and change. With a nod to 60's and 70's orchestral pop, Saint Patrick Park deals with the so-close-but-so-far-ness of COVID and is entirely in English. Alexis leads you in with 'Is it just me or is there a wall where a window should be?' and takes you on a bittersweet journey from there."
"Vertige is French for 'vertigo' or 'dizziness', as in what happens to you when you are blindsided by crimes of passion," explains Craft. " In the chorus, I sing: 'C'est pas ma faute, c'est bien la vot' si je vous garroche dans le bayou' which is a little bit of local vernacular French for 'It's not my fault, it's yours, if I toss you in the bayou.' Vertige is a gritty, minor-key rhapsody and has a home in a Bond film based in Louisiana."
"Tours? Nope. Money? Broke. Launch a blitz of bilingual bangers in 2021 because we can? Putain ouais (hell yeah, and pardon our Louisiana French)," says Craft on the origins of the Dualité series. "Through confinement and a lack of gigs, we've steadily built up a loyal Patreon following with whom we've been streaming and chatting on a regular basis. They've been inspiring us to keep going and to write like crazy. We show them brand new ideas, they give us feedback, and we are now self-producing and self-recording a whole new body of work for approximately zero dollars. Dualité is the result, or really the start, of this new frontier. We remain dedicated as ever to creating new avenues to celebrate our Louisiana roots."
Sweet Crude announced the Dualité series in February in celebration of Mardi Gras and featured singles "La Rêveuse" and "Under New Moons." The band's critically acclaimed debut album, Officiel//Artificiel, was released last year. The band has been featured on NPR's All Things Considered and praised by NPR Music, who said, "Sweet Crude sports a brightly booming pop sound and Cajun influences that extend to its bilingual lyric." Billboard called the band, "Cajun pop at its best," while American Songwriter called them "as eccentric as their city." Prior to the COVID 19 pandemic, the band toured extensively, supporting fellow New Orleans artist and Queen of Bounce Big Freedia.
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Photo Credit: Augusta Sagnelli
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