Balkan Beat Box - Biography
The dirty, not-so-secret secret about all of our wonderful, cross-cultural, 21-century infused, musical polyglotism is this: Most of the time, when a variety of disparate styles are presented in a forward-thinking mash-up, the results are not greater than the sum of the aggregate parts. Instead, the individual components are simply diluted. Accordingly the appearance of the words “klezmer,” “hip-hop” and “Dancehall” in the same sentence is probably enough to send every hipster from Silver Lake to Williamsburg scurrying for cover. But wait — come back! Balkan Beat Box actually have legitimate merit. Yeah, they know, the whole concept sounds like a gimmicky affectation; that’s why they bust ass in a double-time frenzy, making certain that their horn section executes with military precision; that’s why they let their influences flap around like unbuttoned dress shirts, without making much of an effort to tuck in the tails. If that’s not enough to get you on board, then how about this: Balkan Beat Box can match the Specials drop for drop in rigor, vigor, and sweat, and they’re far less derivative.
Balkan Beat Box were formed in the mid 1990s by Israeli-born Brooklynites Ori Kaplan and Tamir Muskat. Kaplan, the saxophonist, had the klezmer background, while Muskat had been in punk bands. The latter took the lead in Balkan Beat Box as drummer, producer, and programmer, and the two soon added MC and percussionist Tomer Yosef as the third “core” member. The eponymous debut Balkan Beat Box (2005 JDUB Records) was a riotous mix of impeccable horn charts, inventive beats and Klezmer-induced frenzy. The opening track, “Cha Cha” instructs: “Dance!” then lays down an irrepressibly phat, raspberry beat with contrapuntal accordion. If that’s not enough to get the party started, “Bulgarian Chicks” features soaring vocals by Vlada Tomova and Kristin Espeland, and pretty much sets the tone for Balkan Beat Box’s pan-Mediterranean agenda. It’s multi-ethnic, it crosses traditional lines of geographic feudalism and religious animosities, it’s got a beat as tight as a fish’s arse, and you can dance to it until you drop. A’ight? A’ight.
The second album by Balkan Beat Box is even more ambitious. Nu Med (2007 JDUB Records) simply sprawls across world music, incorporating slinky North African undulations, funky Balkan vibes, and joyous Arabic bebops, with some occasional Speak ‘n’ Spell booty calls tossed in for good measure. The vocals range from traditional call-and-response chants to spine-tingling polyphonics, while the raps by MC Tomer Yosef call for unity, tolerance, and, of course, serious dollops of fun. Balkan Beat Box followed with a series of remixes from the Nu Med album: Nu Made [Remixes] (2008 JDUB Records) transforms a variety of tracks from Nu Med, including “Digital Monkey” and “Hermetico.” The DJs include Turntables on the Hudson founder Nickodemus, Dub Gabriel, Soulico, as well as Balkan Beat Box’s Muskat, and the twelve tracks serve as an essential companion to the original album. Balkan Beat Box continue to accumulate a worldwide audience, and as adamant proponents of the value of global citizenship, it’s easy to hear why their message resonates.