rupa & the april fishes

Line up

Aaron Kierbel (drums)
Ed Baskerville (cello)
Eliyahu Sills (bass, bansuri flute)
Isabel Douglass (accordion)
Marcus Cohen (trumpet)
Rupa (songstress, voice, guitar)

country:
USA
region:
North America
style(s):
Folk Latin
label:
Cumbancha
type:
Band
gender:
male, female
instrumentation:
instrumental, vocal
artist submitted by:
Smog - Produções Culturais

With songs written by Rupa during her time as a physician in training at UCSF, the music tells tales of love in the face of uncertainty, stories of people in motion finding common ground and hope for a world with dissolving borders. Bringing together different musical languages using cello, accordion, trumpet, bass, drums, voice and guitar, the band invites people from diverse backgrounds to get together and groove.

Rupa & the April Fishes are based in the lotus-eaters land of San Francisco. They have toured in California and Europe where they played to capactiy crowds in Paris, southern France, and Switzerland. They most recently toured down to Tijuana where they stayed with recently deported migrants and learned more about this strange thing called the border that affects so many people. In San Francisco, they have sold out the Independent and most recently played Slims with Aterciopelados and the Power to the Peaceful Festival with Michael Franti & Spearhead. They have shared the stage with opened for Susana Baca and Rodrigo y Gabriela. Rupa has played SF City Hall in honor of the Solar Power Initiative, the Fillmore and her favorite spots...the Revolution Cafe and the N judah.

Rupa & the April Fishes were recently awarded the MASTERMIND grant to artists who are changing the cultural landscape of San Francisco.

"They sing and play together with such wonderful ease and gusto, it's as if they've been playing together for years. Their multilingual music draws from cross-cultural influences and source material -- Indian ragas, tango, French chanson, bossa nova, jazz, not to mention numerous forms of folk music from around the world -- which conjures words like slinky, fevered, hypnotic and intoxicating."--Aquarius Records Review

Discography
"la pecheuse" Rupa solo EP
"extraordinary rendition" Rupa & the April Fishes

*exclusive territories: Portugal and Spain with CODA