“She’s wearing her favourite dress, the one that he bought. And she’s put on her dancing shoes, she’s put on her rouge…”
Looking for something to fight the February blues? Here it is, our brand new, self-made music video for our ballad “The Captain and the Widow”! It’s a sad and romantic song full of longing, and so is the video, shot in September in two beautiful locations: In the deserted villas of Kruunuvuori and at Laura’s grandparents. It took us a while to finish, but here it is now, just in time for Valentine’s Day:
Take care of your Valentines and Valentinos, sweethearts! We are working hard on our first show KAMMERKABARETT, which premieres in Savoy-teatteri, Helsinki in May. Soon we’ll tell you all about it!
It’s here! The Finnish National Broadcasting company’s Omatuntoklubi documentary features a live take on La Beauté, along with some extremely beautiful material shot in the studio. The song starts at 1:05, and there’s some merry babbling at the end by a songbird who’s just come off the stage. Easy, the spoken word is not.
As the days grow short and the nights grow cold, thoughts turn inwards and backwards. This is the time for silent contemplation rather than rowdy merrymaking – and an excellent time for reading poetry. Our cocktail of the month is a warm, spicy blend of Mediterranean delicacies, perfect for those quiet evenings and secret tête-à-têtes. It is inspired by our song Cynara! which is inspired by Ernest Dowson’s poem “Non sum qualis eram bonae sub regno Cynarae”, which in turn borrows its title from Horace’s Odes.
In other words, here’s a healthy dose of intertextual merriment in a glass! If you’re looking for something to impress the ladies with, look no further. If you’re a real Casanova, you memorise the final stanza of Dowson’s poem and deliver it with suitable panache. We guarantee that the night is thine.
♦ Cynara! ♦
4 parts Samos Nectar* 1 part Brandy 5 parts Hot water 4 Cloves Orange peel, freshly grated/cut Grated nutmeg
Heat the wine and the brandy with the water, but do not bring to a boil. Add the cloves and the orange peel to a wine glass. Pour on the heated wine mixture and the and grate a little nutmeg on top. Summon all the memories of your lost loves. Read the letter you never sent. Cry for madder music, for you have stronger wine.
*(You can use any white dessert wine, such as Sauternes or Tokaji. We tend to stick to Samos Nectar for the sheer joy of quoting Lord Byron as we toast: “Dash down yon cup of Samian wine!” is a line that simply cannot be yelled too often.)
I stumbled upon an excellent introduction to Dowson’s original poem in the Guardian, explaining the connection between Horace’s line and Dowson’s ode to lovesickness. Do read it, and the poem below it, as you’re waiting for your ingredients to heat. Then listen to our song here:
There are many similarities and direct Dowson quotes in Cynara!, but the woman answering the “faithful” lover is not the pale, lost lily the poet remembers. Dowson seems to suggest that Cynara has died an early death, but I pictured a Cynara more advanced in years, contemplating the wound that has bound the poet and the muse together in spite of time and distance.
Cynara!
Do not resort to stronger wine, my love
Under my reign superbly you shall bloom
You may well refuse,
But should you refuse
Then what is it you’re proving, and to whom?
The orbits do their dance, and here we are
The music stops, the dawn is gray again
Insufferably close
Insufferably far
I never was so hungry for the pain.
How could you say that you loved me
When you were my fate
And how could I say that you’ve hurt me
When I was your fatal flaw?
Are you and I as worthless as before,
All charm, and talk, and pride, and sleight of hand?
Our new loves are faint
All sweet, mild restraint
But ours has fetters neither can withstand.
So marry and make merry as you please
Be faithful in your fashion, your design
But when lamps expire,
Oh, when lamps expire,
This prickly thistle sings, the night is mine!
How could you say that you loved me
When you were my fate
And how could I say that you’ve hurt me
When I was your fatal flaw?
here’s a new video for (I’d teach you how to) Fly, shot on the way from the island of Thasos to the Greek mainland a few weeks ago as we were going to visit the Roman site of Philippi on the Via Egnatia. A flock of seagulls followed our ferry, circling around it to a hypnotic, inaudible rhythm. It was beautiful, I was fascinated and captured the gliding birds. Beauty is often so very simple.
This is not really a music video, more like a postcard: It’s a moving photograph, a mindscape, a meditative moment I want to share with you. If you like it, feel free to spread it.
Well, technically it’s not March anymore, we know. The reason for our tardiness is that originally we wanted to do something quite different for March, but couldn’t find a single bottle of Kirchwasser in all of Helsinki. Perhaps we’ll get some on our tour, and can supply you with some unaccurate historical reproductions in May!
Stepping on Roses is a variation of both the Mimosa and the Bellini. Drinks like these are often served at weddings, or as hair-of-the-dog drinks at other daytime parties. For us, it’s a staple welcome cocktail and a salvage for less agreeable sparkling wines. The rose fragrance is luxurious, and if you can find jam with petals, it gets even better.
♦ Stepping on Roses ♦
2 parts Rose petal jam 1 part Fresh orange juice 6 parts Dry sparkling wine
Place the rose jam and orange juice in a tall champagne flute. Stir well to mix the two. Pour in the sparkling wine, and stir very gently, not to lose the effervesence of the sparkling wine. Take your shoes off. Have a ball.
The name comes from our song The Mascot Moth, of course:
Why don’t you
Stop dangling from the chandelier, don’t go
Stepping on roses if your feet are bare, silly bear
Make no mistake, I am the hunter and you are the deer
Here’s the deal: If you sink to despair, search for me.
Listen to the song here:
Mimosas and Bellinis are usually served without garnishes but they are a festive detail. The function of the garnish in a coctail is not purely visual – with Stepping on Roses you might try decorating the drink with either rose petals or strips of orange peel, and see how the different garnishes affect the senses.
Ah, and we have just the cocktail in mind for April: The beautiful Maja with all the grace of a Polish belle! Be back soon!
Oh joy! Pertti Avola of Helsingin Sanomat, the biggest newspaper in Finland, has reviewed Mascot Moth for today’s paper, and he likes it! This is very good news, and a pleasure to see a printed review in such a distinguished paper. Here is a link to the text in Finnish: Helsingin Sanomat
Because I am busy sending concert inquiries to Germany and Jere has a broken internet, it might take us a while to whip up an accurate English translation. But then, we are a Finnish band with a Spanish name making music in English and French. We are, therefore, happy to be able to present to you a translation direct from Andalucía. Enjoy!
El crítico Pertti Avola en “Helsingin Sanomat, el periódico principal de Finlandia:
Café de Abejas, el dúo de Laura Reunanen y J.W. Ralli, no suena a ningún artista actual en Finlandia. La más cercana podría ser Aino Venna. Pero cuando Venna usa en su música elementos de retro solo para sazonarla, Café de Abejas es puro retro, un viaje a la atmosfera de cabaré, chanson y películas viejas en la época de entreguerras. En su primer disco, sus canciones nos llevan a un mundo sombrío, erótico y irónico, donde huelen a absenta y cigarro fuerte, donde las fotos son de blanco y negro y los romances no tienen un final feliz. Se han sacado influencias tanto de la escritora Dorothy Parker como el compositor Kurt Weill. El disco es un conjunto armonioso, sofisticado en una manera romántica un poco gastada. No se puede llamar innovador, por su influencias y estilo tan claros, pero sí, muy fascinante.
What a busy month! We’re organising concerts in Finland and in Europe (more info on this once we get some dates sorted out) and promoting Mascot Moth in the hopes of reaching more people who are sure to like it but don’t know about it yet – because that’s what promoting is all about, isn’t it?
We want to thank all you sweethearts who have sent us lovely feedback – we love to hear your thoughts, sentiments and impressions! You can drop us a line to contact(at)cafedeabejas.net, our Facebook or Twitter, or leave a comment below. If you’re shy, speechless or pressed for time, here’s an easy way to give us a word. Just because we’d love to know:
If you don’t know your favourite yet, you can listen to the entire album here:
And to those who wish to help, yes you can: Share your favourite song, tell a Film Noir cabaret -loving friend about us, write about us in your blog, tweet about #MascotMoth or @cafedeabejas, ask your radio station to play a song. We raise our glasses to your health and take pride in our fabulous sweethearts!
Ah, it was Valentine’s Day! To celebrate, here’s the recipe for Strawberry Gin from our new cocktail booklet. This one is named after one of our songs, which came about as we were modelling for a portrait painting course last Winter. We were sitting motionless for over a week, Jere posing with his guitar, so we had plenty of practice and time on our hands – and no cocktail in sight!
The resulting lamentation can be heard here:
Since the cocktail plays such a prominent part in the song, it simply had to become reality. I think Strawberry Gin was the reason we thought of making a cocktail booklet in the first place: The word combination was simply too scrumptuous to let pass. So here’s what our heartbroken heroine is ordering:
♦ Strawberry Gin ♦
3 parts Gin 1 part Cointreau 1 part Fresh lemon juice 1 part Strawberry juice or purée
Shake the ingredients and strain into a cocktail glass. If you wish to make an impresion on a certain someone, dry marascino cherries in the oven on a low temperature, crush them into powder and decorate the rim with it.
Sip for Byronesque heartache.
Strawberry and gin is a suprisingly smooth combination, and this is a potentially perilous drink. The savviest cocktail concocters will notice that it is a variation of the classic White Lady, which in turn is a Sidecar made with gin instead of brandy. You may have to adjust the recipe slightly depending on your strawberry ingredient: We’ve been using slightly sweetened juice, but Bar Suola’s version with strawberry purée was equally delicious.
Strawberry Gin has a solid fan base after it was served in our album release party. Drink a solitary glass for Valentine’s blues or order a couple to share with your sweetheart!
Great news! You can now listen to the entire album on Bandcamp. Enjoy!
The digital download is now available at the same place, and you can order both the physical copy and our beautiful cocktail booklet and postcards to accompany it. They make a nice gift set too!
The cocktail booklet is here! That’s One Man’s Sweetheart and Another Man’s Whore on the cover. Birds of a feather!
The cocktail booklet includes 12 delicious recipes by Jere and Laura.
This is Cynara! The beautiful pictures are by Laura.
The physical album includes a 16-page booklet with lyrics.
The beautiful cardboard Jakebox mechanism is eco-conscious as well.
The album and the cocktail booklet are the same size.
Café de Abejas 