Beirut (band)

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Beirut

Zach Condon of Beirut
Background information
Origin Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States
Genre(s) Balkan folk
World music
Indie folk
Years active 2006–present
Label(s) Ba Da Bing
Associated acts Alaska in Winter
A Hawk and a Hacksaw
Owen Pallett
Website www.beirutband.com
Members
Zach Condon, Perri Cloutier, Hari Ziznewski, Jason Poranski, Nick Petree, Kristin Ferebee, Paul Collins, Jon Natchez, Kelly Pratt, Tracy Pratt and Lucy Blyth
Former members
Jeremy Barnes, Heather Trost

Beirut is an American band. It began as the solo musical project of 23-year-old Santa Fe, New Mexico native Zachary Francis Condon, and later evolved into a band led by Condon. Their first performances were in May 2006, to support the release of their debut album, Gulag Orkestar.[1][2] The music combines elements of Eastern European and folk with Western pop music.

Contents

[edit] History

Zach Condon was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico on February 13, 1986.[3] He was brought up in Virginia before moving back to New Mexico. Condon attended Santa Fe High School, where he was a student until he dropped out at the age of 16. He later enrolled in community college, which he attended for a short period before traveling to Europe for four months with his brother Ryan at the age of 17.[4] He stayed most of this time in Paris where he became aware of Balkan folk music, popular with Parisian students. He then lived three years with local gypsies where he studied music and became heavily influenced by their instruments. This discovery and Condon's subsequent exploration of world music proved to be instrumental in the development of Beirut's sound.[1]

On his return from Europe, Condon enrolled at the University of New Mexico, where he studied Portuguese and Photography.[5] Condon recorded the bulk of the material used for Gulag Orkestar by himself in his bedroom, going into the studio to finish the album with the assistance of Jeremy Barnes (Neutral Milk Hotel, A Hawk and a Hacksaw) and Heather Trost (A Hawk and a Hacksaw), who became early members of the band Beirut.

On the strength of the recordings, Condon was signed under the name of Beirut to Ba Da Bing! records, and Gulag Orkestar was given a May 2006 release. Condon recruited some friends to play the music live and Beirut was born.

Beirut's first official music video was for the song "Elephant Gun". The video was directed by Alma Har'el. The second video, which was for the song "Postcards from Italy", was also directed by Alma Har'el, and was released later. Lauren Tafuri was the costume designer for both of these videos.

Beirut's second album, The Flying Club Cup, was recorded largely at a makeshift studio in Albuquerque and completed at Arcade Fire's studio in Quebec. The music on the album has a French influence due to Condon's interest in French chanson during its recording.[6] Condon has cited French and Belgian singers Jacques Brel (Belgian), Serge Gainsbourg and Yves Montand (Italian/French) as influences.[7] He also expressed interest in French film and culture, claiming this was his original reason for travelling to Europe.[8] The Flying Club Cup was leaked onto the Internet in August 2007 before being officially released in October 2007. In September 2007 they did a Take-Away Show acoustic video session shot by Vincent Moon.

On April 3, 2008, Beirut canceled a previously announced summer European tour.[9] Condon explained the cancellations in a post on the official Beirut website, stating that he wanted to put the effort into ensuring that any shows would be "as good as humanly possible".[10] Soon after, The Stranger reported that Condon was working on a third album tentatively scheduled for a fall release.[11] This album materialized as the double EP March of the Zapotec/Holland EP, containing an official Beirut release based on Condon's recent trip to Oaxaca (March of the Zapotec), and electronic music under the "Realpeople" name (Holland), to be released February 16, 2009.[12] However, the album became available for purchase on iTunes on January 27, almost a month before the projected release date, and was leaked onto the internet on 23 January.

In December 2008, Capitu, a TV Globo miniseries based on Machado de Assis' Dom Casmurro used "Elephant Gun" as its theme, making the band popular in Brazil.[13]

On February 6, 2009 Beirut made their debut television performance in the United States on the Late Show with David Letterman, performing "A Sunday Smile".

[edit] Guest Appearances

Zach plays mandolin, trumpet and ukulele on A Hawk and a Hacksaw's album A Hawk and a Hacksaw and the Hun Hangár Ensemble.

He also appears on Alaska in Winter's album Dance Party in the Balkans, playing trumpet and ukulele; notably, the song "Close Your Eyes, We are Blind" sounds like it could be a Beirut song.

He also appears on the Get Him Eat Him album Arms Down, on the song "2x2".

Zach appears on the Bark Cat Bark song "Benque Viejo"

[edit] Realpeople

Realpeople is the electronic side-project of Beirut bandleader Zach Condon. It was under this name that Zach made his first (unreleased) album, The Joys of Losing Weight, and the name to which the Holland EP is credited. The Joys of Losing Weight, which was made when Zach was fifteen, can be found only on certain blogs and websites to download, as it was never released for general sale.

[edit] 1971

Condon has also released an EP, Small-Time American Bats, under the name 1971.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] EPs

  • Small-Time American Bats (unreleased) (under the name "1971")
  • Calexico/Beirut 7″ split single – "The Guns of Brixton"/"Interior of a Dutch House" (November 13, 2006)
  • Lon Gisland (January 30, 2007)
  • Pompeii EP (February 28, 2007)
  • Elephant Gun EP (June 25, 2007)
  • March of the Zapotec/Holland EP (February 16, 2009 - Unofficially released onto iTunes on January 27) #87 US
  • Bark Cat Bark/Beirut 7″ split single – "Verona"/"Benque Viejo" (March 19, 2009)

[edit] Personnel

Condon plays the trumpet and the ukulele as his main instruments, having been unable to play guitar because of a wrist injury that prevented his hand from reaching fully around the neck of a guitar.[1]

Live, Beirut's shifting roster generally consists of Condon accompanied by Perrin Cloutier (cello/accordion), Jason Poranski (guitar/mandolin/ukulele), Nick Petree (drums), Kristin Ferebee (violin), Paul Collins (organ/keys/tambourine/ukulele), Jon Natchez (baritone sax/mandolin/glockenspiel), and Kelly Pratt (trumpet/euphonium).

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/37080-interview-beirut
  2. ^ http://nymag.com/arts/popmusic/features/18856/
  3. ^ "Beirut". New Musical Express. http://www.nme.com/artists/beirut. Retrieved on 2009-01-21. 
  4. ^ http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2006/06/an_interview_wi_3.html
  5. ^ http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2006/oct/19/zach-condon-returns-home-land-red-and-green/
  6. ^ http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2007/10/beiruts_zach_condon_young_succ.php
  7. ^ http://www.myspace.com/beruit
  8. ^ http://www.miscellanynews.com/2.1579/exclusive_interview_with_beirut
  9. ^ http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/49738-beirut-cancel-summer-european-tour
  10. ^ http://beirutband.com/
  11. ^ http://lineout.thestranger.com/2008/05/greetings_from_beirut_an_interview_with
  12. ^ http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/146890-beiruts-zach-condon-discusses-new-eps-time-off
  13. ^ http://www.badabingrecords.com/index-2.php

[edit] External links

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