Who is April March? Born in NYC, raised in a pre-war apartment perched on the edge of the Upper East Side, she became a singer and animator by gazing into Spanish Harlem drawing while harmonizing over the fire escape with her sister. She soon found her way downtown where Harry Smith, Allen Ginsberg and Wallace & Gromit’s Nick Park mentored her. After hours she sang and wrote songs, opening for The Buzzcocks, River Pheonix and so on. She recorded with members of The Gun Club and REM. Ronnie Spector plucked her to record and perform with her as a Ronette diverting her from the stage at CBGB’s up to Madison Square Garden.
Eventually going the way of most animators, for an animator is actually just an actor who’s acting is done through a pencil, she headed out to the high desert near Hollywood to attend Disney’s Animation Program. From there she veered left to join the team behind Ren & Stimpy. Mid-season they were all fired by the network for pushing their edge an edge too far, only to reincarnate amongst the creators of SpongeBob. Brian Wilson summoned her to record with him, telling her he loved her voice, that he had already recorded her back in ‘62 even though that was a few years before she was actually born. He told her that her voice was so unusual that she would probably go far. He was right. The world was soon introduced to her at the movies via Quentin Tarantino, Gus Van Sant, Alexander Payne and Bertrand Tavernier, all of whom featured her on their soundtracks.

Who are Staplin? Arno Van Colen is the wildly inventive leader of the group Steeple Remove. Norman Langolff is his perfect match, raised in recording studios, couch surfing as a child, with an extra dose of the musical spark of his father Frank Langolff who was composing and producing with Serge Gainsbourg.
Staplin’s first album was released out of nowhere in 2020 to critical acclaim earning them a residency on Radio France’s FIP as well as the badge of: “reinventor of the soundtrack genre”.

That brings us to “April March Meets Staplin” Along with April March, Toby Dammit, Iggy Pop’s drummer as well as a touring member of The Bad Seeds, completes this picture. As Truffaut once said, “It’s a beautiful day outside. Let’s go to a movie” so let the needle drop. “Le Rayon Vert” will lead you across Maupassant’s rain drenched meadows to a fuzz guitar driven Snow White as she lays down before Alfie Solomons. A palomino will carry you through the fog toward the waves off the rocky coast of Catalina to hear Natalie Wood’s last sigh. As the needle nears the run off groove you’ll be far out and away from wherever you happen to be.