Beirut

Beirut is a project led by American musician Zach Condon, originally from Santa Fe, New Mexico. Emerging in the mid-2000s, Beirut blended indie pop, folk and influences from Balkan brass bands. The first album, Gulag Orkestar (2006), largely recorded in a home studio and later performed live by an expanded ensemble, established an aesthetic built on brass, accordion, ukulele and acoustic percussion. The Flying Club Cup (2007) emphasized the tie to European orchestral chanson, while the EP March of the Zapotec / Holland (2009) opened the sound toward South American and electronic textures. With The Rip Tide (2011) and No No No (2015), Condon tightened his songwriting into shorter formats while preserving string and wind arrangements marked by a gentle melancholy. Based in New York, he toured extensively on the independent scenes of Europe and North America before returning in 2019 with Gallipoli, followed by the compilation Artifacts (2022) and Hadsel (2023), which continue this orchestrated songwriting on the border between folk, chamber pop and travel music.