BALKAN BEAT BOX
TEXT: Lydia Sprague

The story of how Balkan Beat Box’s song “Adir Adirim” came together sums up perfectly the essence of the band, and why its music sets it apart from almost any other group of musicians in the world today.

The song began with a recording of Israeli vocalist Victoria Hanna singing from a Hebrew prayer book. The band, then, developed the beats and a melody and mixed in both, with Hanna’s vocals turning the ancient prayers into a song that would get any modern dance club jumping and gyrating.

And so goes the story of Balkan Beat Box, a band that, with its music alone, redefines the entire genre of “world music.” Mixing Mediterranean musical styles with those of traditional Balkan, hip-hop, Jamaican dub, Mexican and Middle Eastern with dance hall beats, the band has developed a genre of music all its own. They mix and mash centuries of music, entwining the ancient with the modern. Arabic vocals with surf guitars and electronic beats? Of course.

Balkan Beat Box consists of three core members: Tomer Yosef, Tamir Muskak and Ori Kaplan. They combine their talents and ideas with an ever-changing lineup of guest musicians. Its three albums exhibit a huge assortment of musicians from all over the world.

On Blue Eyed Black Boy, the group’s April 2010 release, guest musicians appeared to play instruments such as: the farfisa organ, bouzouki, wedding organs, accordion and santir. Guest vocalists making appearances included the Mexico City Choir on “Marcha De La Vida,” The Jovica Ajdarevic Orkestar on “My Baby,” “Smatron” and “Kabulectro,” and Serbian vocalist Svetlana Spajic on “Lijepa Mare.”



Each of Balkan Beat Box’s three albums—Balkan Beat Box (2005), Nu Med (2007) and Blue Eyed Black Boy (2010)—feature a powerfully compelling lineup of songs that produce in me an irresistible desire to dance even though, most of the time, I have no idea what the vocals are saying. The music is upbeat and happy; it puts me in a good mood and makes me want to learn more about the music and culture of the people who made it.

The band’s live show is said to be energetic—a huge dance party. It reportedly won over a crowd full of Lady Gaga fans at Lollapalooza this year, 2010.


FREE MP3: “War Again” Brazilian Girls remix (right-click & save)

PRESS

“The lyrics, on the songs that have them, are in several languages, reflecting the music’s transcendence of borders. The instrumentals simply revel in the collision of genres, and are played with a jazzy looseness in spite of their programmed undercarriages. ‘Quand Est-ce Qu’on Arrive?’ even includes a sly quotation from Led Zeppelin’s ‘Immigrant Song’ that brings the album’s primary theme to the fore without saying a word.” —Pitchfork

“The sound of Balkan Beat Box carries a faint reminder of the day the circus came to town, with dancing ladies and big trombones. But the dancers are belly dancers and the saxophones and brass recalls the Klezmer tradition of going from village to village to weddings and funerals.” —NPR



LINKS
+ Official Balkan Beat Box website
+ Balkan Beat Box on Facebook

Balkan Beat Box - "War Again" from Crammed Discs on Vimeo.