Music abroad

Like its namesake, Beirut is a melting pot of cultural influences. Front man Zach Condon, 22, was inspired by the European travels he took at age 17 to create “Gulag Orkestar,” an album that sounds as though it might have been lost beneath the former Iron Curtain.

At the time of his travels, Condon was still making electronic music under the moniker Realpeople, an effort inspired by the Magnetic Fields.

Two albums and three EPs later, Condon has reinvented his sound with a visit to Oaxaca, Mexico, and the introduction of his electronic talents to the traditionally Balkan, gypsy-influenced songs.

“March of the Zapotec/Realpeople Holland” is a double-sided EP that plays like two sides of the same coin. The first half draws strictly from Condon’s time spent in Mexico, relying heavily on trumpets and the wedding and funeral music of the culture.
It is an exercise in innovation for Beirut, showing the band’s ability to adapt to new music styles.

“The Akara,” a song that comes halfway through the album, is easily the most established track on the first part of the EP.

It sounds as though street performers had been pulled straight from their stages in Oaxaca and placed in a studio with Condon.

While “Zapotec” might be the musical personification of South America, Beirut returns to its roots in the later half of the EP. “Realpeople Holland” sounds as though Boards of Canada remixed Beirut’s second album, “The Flying Cup Club.”

Complete with traditional Eastern European sounds, Condon introduces electronic elements to his music, effectively changing the basics of what the band sounds like.
While not a coherent album, this double EP does offer more diversity and ingenuity than anything released recently.

The pairing of traditional Mexican music with electronic elements might seem puzzling, but when listened to offers a complete biography of the band.