Song Premiere: Karikatura “Ghost Town” feat. Akil B. Strange

February 16, 2016

On April 15, Ropeadope Records will release an new EP from Karikatura. Speak Now draws together four songs from the spirited, socially conscious group. These tracks “address the ‘ghosts’ in our society directly: racism, white privilege, gun violence, war and identity.” Today we premiere “Ghost Town” a hip-hop/cumbia re-imagination of The Specials’ “Ghost Town,” which finds the group teaming up with Queens rapper Akil B. Strange.

Karikatura vocalist Ryan Acquoaotta tells Relix, “We started playing ‘Ghost Town’ in the midst of the Great Recession, and it felt pretty literal to say lines like ‘No jobs in this country’ or ‘My people getting angry’ in reaction to that. Over time, though, the meaning of the song for me has evolved, and the words capture more of a mood than an issue. Sometimes ‘All the clubs are being closed down’ felt like the most relevant line when I reflected on our band’s history and how many or most of the spots we’ve played in NYC don’t exist anymore due to gentrification. In recent years I look around the subway as I sing and I wonder who’s missing from my view. Who’s been displaced from their home, or locked away in a prison, or murdered by police? Who is no longer riding these trains? How many ‘ghosts’ are wandering through this station as I sing?”

Bassist Eric Legaspi adds, “Whenever we play ‘Ghost Town’ in a live the set, something unique would happen. They called the cops on us during a rowdy show in Antwerp, Belgium and the cops showed up right in the middle of it; we blew out the power in a club in Prague and the fans lit us up with their phones and lighters so we could finish the tune acoustically; These kinds of experiences mirror the message of the song; that in times of struggle, the very people we need – artists, the youth, the marginalized – are excluded from the process of growth and kept out of the conversation, to the detriment of the greater good. The fact that this song is still relevant after twenty years shows that we need to lift up the people who society might usually ignore and defy the fear and caution of austerity and close-mindedness in the face of challenges.”

The group will begin a national tour later this month and the dates appear below the track.

Karikatura Tour Dates:

2/26 New York, NY – Subrosa w/ Juanita Ca$h
2/27 Cleveland, OH – Packy Malley’s
2/28 Chicago, IL Reggie’s w/ The Limbos, ESSO
2/29 St. Louis, MO – 2720 Cherokee
3/01 Kansas City, MO – Davey’s Uptown Ramblers Club
3/03 Steamboat Springs, CO – Schmiggity’s
3/04 Carbondale, CO – Black Nugget
3/05 Telluride, CO – Fly Me To The Moon
3/09 Aspen, CO – Chair 9 at Little Nell (early show)

3/09 Aspen, CO – Justice Snow’s (late show)
3/10 Aspen, CO – Chair 9 at Little Nell
3/11 Huntsville, UT Snowbasin
3/12 Huntsville, UT Snowbasin
3/13 Huntsville, UT Snowbasin

3/16 Taos, NM – KTAOS
3/18 Austin, TX – SXSW
3/19 Austin, TX – Sahara Lounge
3/20 New Orleans, LA – Hi Ho Lounge w/ Batebunda
3/24 Gatlinburg, TN – Sugarlands Distilling Co.
3/25 Greenbelt, MD – New Deal Cafe

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