Beirut must not be confused with the capital city of Lebanon as the name suggests. It is really an American Indie pop-folk band formed in 2006 in Santa Fe, New Mexico by Zach Condon's band, a 20 years old multi-instrumentalist and singer that is considered a musical prodigy since his teen years.
One of the most infamous aspects when it comes to talking about Beirut's music is the fusion of style and genres in each of their songs. Ranging from Eastern European gypsy music to classic American pop rock and even Latin rhythms, mariachi trumpets and Southwest folk, Beirut’s unique style can be appreciated in all and every track of the band's debut album "Gulag Orkestar".
Zach Condon was supported by Jeremy Barnes and Heather Trost to put together Beirut for the making of this album that was released on May 9, 2006 on the New Jersey-based Ba Da Bing Records.
Some critics consider Beirut as a one-man band. In fact, Zach Condon has the ability and talent for that. "Gulag Orkestar" features him playing keyboards, saxophone, clarinet, horns, accordion, mandolin, ukulele, glockenspiel, and percussion alongside Jeremy Barnes on drums and Heather Trost playing violin and cello.
Zach Condon declared in an interview that after he dropped out of high school, he left his hometown in Santa Fe to travel to Europe at age 16, the place in which he was in touch with the fascinating Balkan folk from which the gypsy music derives.
While Beirut is an innovative and brand new band, Zach Condon has already released several solo albums previously to this project. "Gulag Orkestar" outburst the charts after being only a regional album from which the song "Elephant Gun" is the first music video of Beirut, followed by Postcards from Italy" both of these songs directed by Alma Har'el.
After the release of "Gulag Orkestar", Beirut went on tour, but it was not completed because Zach Condon was briefly hospitalized in November of 2006. In 2007, Beirut returned to stage in March and the band was invited to play at the Glastonbury Festival in the UK and then released a new album, "The Flying Club Cup" on October 9, 2007, according to the news posted at the Ba Da Bing's web site.
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