If you are not from the Balkans and have not heard Balkan Beat Box, I recommend you check them out. The duo, which consists of Ori Kaplan (formerly of Gogol Bordello) and Tamir Muskat (Firewater), incorporates traditional Balkan, Jewish, and Mediterranean sounds into modern styles like electronica and dancehall pop. Unfortunately, whenever I play their music for my friends who are actually from the Balkans, the conversation invariably goes something like this:
Nat Towsen: Balkan Beat Box is great!
Marjan Stojnev: Nat, this may be new to you, but I’ve been hearing these sounds my whole life.
Nat Towsen: Then perhaps you should try my new band, American Rock Group.
American Rock Group is a duo consisting of Jeff Tweedy (formerly of Wilco) and myself that incorporates traditional blues, country, and folk sounds into modern styles like rock ‘n’ roll. We are steadily gaining popularity in Eastern Europe, where American music has never been heard before.
Balkan Beat Box Tourdates:
Also, in case any of our American readers were curious, this is where the Balkans are:
