|
|
 |
Feature / Concert Preview
|
| Click Here to go back. |
Pitt News, Feature / Concert Preview >>
Balkan beats come to Pitt this Sunday
Sunday, 8:30 p.m. William Pitt Union (412)648-7814 Free with student ID
LINDSAY BLAZIN
There's a new sound emanating from the New York underground these days. It's not the garage rock of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs of even the clas sic punk that made CBGBs the stuff of legend. Instead, the newest prod uct of the city's thriving indie scene is Mediterranean-flavored electroni- ca, and it's making its way to Pitts burgh.
This Sunday, the William Pitt Union will open its doors to the trav eling sextet known as Balkan Beat Box. The event is sponsored by the Hillel Jewish University Center as part of this weekend's welcome back festivities and is free with a valid stu dent ID.
Though the touring band consists of six multi-instrumentalists, Balkan Beat Box began as the vision of just two men: Tamir Muskat and Ori Ka- plan. The project started a few years ago, when Muskat and Kaplan played together in the band Firewater.
A collaborative project with Gogol Bordello got the Israeli duo thinking
about a partnership of their own, and Balkan Beat Box was born.
"It kind of started as a fun thing to do for our PJ nights and it evolved into a full, encompassing life project. It's who we are and where we came from relating to the Mediterranean and the Middle East and the political education," Kaplan said in a recent interview with The Pitt News.
With roots steeped in the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, it is almost as sumed that the efforts of Balkan Beat Box must have political undertones. That, however, is not its main agen da.
"First of all, we're musicians," contested Kaplan, "we're not politi cians." That said, the music they make and the people with whom they make it send a serious message. "With the music we can create this Utopia. We wish for peace anci we wish for dia logue. And we do it ourselves in our daily lives with our guests, with our musicians."
Clearly, the music Balkan Beat Box creates has definitive, far-reach ing goals. As for the creative process, Kaplan describes the method as being anything but definitive.
"There's no set way. It's a very non-traditional way pf working.
Balkan Beat -Box, page 7
Spreading message of peace and love through international music
Balkan Beat Box, page 5
Tamir [Mirekat] is on the computer and we shift things. But everybody's come from such an organic, acoustic background that the end result is that people think the record is almost live show."
It's this organic vibe that earned the band a slot at this summer's Bonnaroo music festival, a melting pot of musical talent and variety.
In a sense, Balkan Beat Box repre sents a microcosm of the same musi
cal diversity. Their influences range from Arabic pop to North African tribal beats to American hip-hop.
"I love Missy Elliot. I like Scan Paul," Kaplan said. Despite tak ing inspiration from such dissimilar
sources, the final product of Balkan
i"
Beat Box proves to be far greater than the sum of its parts.
While the distinct influences can be heard on each track of the band's self-titled debut, the sounds have way of melding together to create
an eclectic yet cohesive high-energy sound.
By collaborating with an interna tional assortment of musicians, Bal kan Beat Box is able to add a worldly flavor to both studio work and live shows. But that's not the only perk of engaging in the global music com munity. In fact, Kaplan admitted that the best part of Balkan Beat Box had less to do with the music than with the people creating it.
"We have a lot of amazing friends,
all over the world. From Japan to Tur key to Brazil to Australia, we have a lot of fans and work with a lot of great artists. It's not a band in a box. It's like an extended family of artists, with a similar idea," Kaplan said.
So what should students expect from this Sunday's family reunion? In short, a good time. "The live shows are very exciting. It's kind of a circus vibe to it, and a party atmosphere," Kaplaft saidfl adding, "It's very excit ing, very wild."
09/01/06
|
| Click Here to go back. |
|
 |
|
|
|
