Boogie Balagan

Formed in France in 2004 by the Israeli musicians Laurent Stupaj, known as Azri, and Arieh Sztantman, known as Gabri, Boogie Balagan develops a guitar- and-voice duo that blends rock, world music and klezmer or Middle Eastern traditions in a deliberately hybrid aesthetic. The group moves between several languages, including French, English, Arabic, Turkish and Hebrew, and builds pieces where the energy of rock crosses with popular melodies, festive rhythms and humor often tied to questions of identity, borders and cultural circulation. Boogie Balagan emerged in the mid-2000s with the album Lamentation Walloo released in 2007, then continues this work with Idiot Bravo in 2014. The duo also co-signed the soundtrack of Le Cochon de Gaza by Sylvain Estibal in 2011, an important waypoint in its career. On stage, Boogie Balagan has been programmed in varied contexts, from the Trans Musicales of Rennes to the Jazz’n’Klezmer festival, via Babel Med, reflecting a presence as much in rock circuits as in scenes linked to mixed-musical genres.