Beirut (Band)

Beirut is the name of the U.S. folk band around the singer Zach Condon.

History

At the age of 15 years Zach Condon took under the name The Real People an oriented at The Magnetic Fields album ( The Joys of Losing Weight), which - as later the track Scenic World on the album Gulag Orkestar - on electronic lo-fi recordings based. A year later, he played a one doo-wop album that was inspired by Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers and has not yet been officially released. He also recorded under the name 1971 on three songs for the EP Small Time American Bats. Although he is described as a very gifted student of Santa Fe High School ( New Mexico), he dropped out of school at age 16 off and travels through Europe, where he took on with great enthusiasm, the influences of Balkan brass band music and folklore of the Sinti and Roma. A special role was played by his contacts with the Serbian Boban Marković Orchestra and Goran Bregović to.

The immediate result of these diverse inspirations was the emergence of up to eleven-member band Beirut, Zach Condon with in a variety of compositions, the album Gulag Orkestar and the EP Lon Gisland Da Bing in 2005 and 2006 for the record label Ba! recorded - both appeared in Europe in extended versions with the British label 4AD. While Condon had recorded most of the songs still at home in Albuquerque, he pulled the end of 2005 in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, where he continued his recordings with the assistance of Jeremy Barnes (Neutral Milk Hotel and A Hawk and A Hacksaw ) and Heather Trost ( A Hawk and A Hacksaw ) revised conclusion. Defined by its unique blend of orchestral gypsy music, melodic pop and Eastern European polka album came across a wide coverage in the music press and the whole indie scene. Directed by Alma Har'el created music video for the track Elephant Gun and Postcards from Italy.

Also, the recordings for the second album, The Flying Club Cup, which in October 2007 - again on Ba Da Bing! and 4AD - appeared, performances have been linked in the public with numerous video. Here Condon also discovered his special liking for France, whose cities and popular culture, he sings in more of their tunes as the orchestral sound Balkans certain songs. In Cliquot the song takes on Owen Pallett of Final Fantasy, who arranged the strings for the entire album.

However, the World Tour 2007/2008, the very successful began in New Zealand and Australia, Zach Condon broke off unexpectedly. In a personal letter to his fans on 3 April 2008, he published on the website of the band, he apologized for this decision and indicated it was the unexpected success of the band and everything so is related outgrown. At the same time he announced a return with new material, which he, however, left open whether the band Beirut will remain.

Zach Condon came back in February 2009 with two new EPs, one was released under the artist name Real People. Published under the name of Beirut March of the Zapotec EP is called while the Real People -EP is called Holland. In 2011, the last date Beirut album, The Rip Tide, on the chanson, polka and Balkan sound mix with elements of pop ballads appeared.

Discography

Albums

• Gulag Orkestar (May 9, 2006)
• The Flying Club Cup (October 9, 2007)
• March of the Zapotec and Real People Holland (16 February 2009)
• The Rip Tide (August 30, 2011)

Singles / EPs

• Lon Gisland (30 January 2007)
• Pompeii EP ( 28 February 2007)
• Elephant Gun EP (25 June 2007)
• March of the Zapotec / Holland EP (16 February 2009)