Balkan Beat Box (CD - 2005)

Audio Mixer: Tamir Muskat.

Liner Note Authors: Ori Kaplan; Tamir Muskat.

Recording information: Vibromonk Studios, Brooklyn, NY.

Unknown Contributor Roles: Eyal Talmudi; Tomer Yosef.

Balkan Beat Box's self-titled debut, released in 2005, announced the band's zany fusion of traditional Jewish, Eastern European, and Middle Eastern folk forms with electronic beats influenced by hip-hop and club music. Like contemporaries Gogol Bordello and Kultur Shock, Balkan Beat Box brings old world music boogieing into the 21st century with hard grooves and speaker-shaking energy. The Bulgarian female chorus and brass band that drive "Bulgarian Chicks" is a fine example of Balkan Beat Box's charms, as is the understated snake-charmer groove of "Adir Adirim" and the klezmer-flavored "Gross." As the global community gets more and more cozy, albums like this fun, fusion-oriented debut will provide the soundtrack. minimize