Balkan Beat Box - Nu Made [2008]
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Israeli-born but based in New York, Tamir Muskat
and Ori Kaplan are the brains behind Balkan Beat Box, one of an
increasing number of Eastern European-influenced bands to have
emerged in the U.S over the past few years, but listeners should be
wary of pigeonholing them as part of a broader movement.
While the self-styled 'gypsy-punks' Gogol Bordello and the more
subtle, restrained Devotchka and Beirut use largely organic
textures, Balkan Beat Box combine live instruments with a riot of
frantic electronica, hip-hop and dancehall. What's more, their sonic
template is much more global than the aforementioned artists, with
Middle Eastern and Mediterranean elements almost as prevalent as the
more frequently cited Slavic horns and klezmer. Like the UK's Asian
Dub Foundation or Belgium's Think Of One, the Brooklyn residents
cook up a bewildering and intense mish-mash of styles to create
something uniquely alive in its own right.
Last year's excellent New Med album earned Balkan Beat Box
widespread attention for the first time, which seems to have
encouraged Muskat and Kaplan to further milk their newfound cash cow
by releasing Nu-Made, a collection of remixes, some unreleased
tracks and two short films, one a live performance of Hermetico, the
other a longer piece following the band’s 'homecoming' to Tel Aviv.
As is invariably the case with this kind of project, Nu-Made has the
unmistakeable feel of a commercial rather than an artistic venture.
Most of the remixes offer few fresh twists to the already musically
disparate, one might even say slightly cluttered original tracks,
although rookie producer Puzzel (who is included here as one of the
winners of a Balkan Beat Box remix competition) gives Digital Monkey
an effective, dub-heavy overhaul. New song Ramallah Tel-Aviv, with
its politically charged lyrics in both Arabic and Hebrew, is a
worthwhile addition to the group's repertoire, as is Red Bula, a
radical reworking of Romanian jazz/folk practitioners Mahala Rai
Banda.
As for the films, Hermetico does what it says on the tin, while Kind
Of Home offers (distinctly unilluminating) interviews with the BBB
guys and some interesting insight into how they integrate local
musicians into their act while on tour. Overall though, unless
you're an obsessive completist there's little reason to buy this
album if you already own Nu Med.
Chris White
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. Originally published on BBC World Review.
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