Gabriel Evan Orchestra Premiere Their Playful “Boychick Calypso” Music Video

There’s an innocent, almost juvenile charm to Gabriel Evan Orchestra’s new album and video. Today, he debuts the music video for his latest single “Boychick Calypso.” It comes from his new full-length album Island Hopping, due for release on June 7th. That innocence is obvious in this new music video featuring all of our childhood friends from Disney, including Mickey, Minnie, Donald Duck, and more.

The video works well in conjunction with the song’s melody and its title. In Yiddish, “Boychick” translates to “young boy.” The melody is meant to conjure up a childlike energy. This is the first original track off of the record and its energy speaks to the grander flow that’s evident throughout Island Hopping.

Elaborating on the song and its inspirations, Gabriel Evan shares with us:

“I originally came up with the title for this due to its childlike melody, and as a child, my folks used to call me ‘Boychick.’ So I thought it was perfect! But on top of that, I’m a diehard New York Islanders fan and at the time, they had a player named Johnny Boychuk. So naturally, I first recorded the song as an Acapella in my Boychuk jersey and Isles hat. You can see it here.”

Island Hopping comes at the perfect time of year. It’s fully designed to be a summer listen, to get the vibes going and the fun expanding. Whether you’re familiar with old-time Caribbean revue or not, you’re in for some good times.

There’s a warm, breezy feel to Island Hopping that is entirely by design. As Gabriel Evan Orchestra’s third album, it acts as a continuation of his exploration of Caribbean jazz and folk music of the mid-20th century. He began to further explore this subgenre in his last record, Global Entry. Evan looked to many old-time influences when recording this record. Some of these inspirations included The Lecuona Cuban Boys, a popular Cuban orchestra of the 1930s and 1940s. Also, the Venezuelan composer and bandleader Lionel Belasco of the early 20th century acted as a source of inspiration. There are some really fun moments strewn all throughout this record, with lots of danceable grooves and free-flowing moments. But there are also more delicate numbers that really balance the record out and show that Evan is no one-trick pony.

Tour Dates:

05/30 – Pitanga, Brooklyn, NY
06/13 – Only Love Strangers, New York, NY
07/16 – 54 Below, Manhattan, NY
*Each Tuesday at Ferns, East Village, New York, NY between 5 pm and 7 pm

Gabriel Evan Orchestra “Boychick Calypso” single artwork