Balkan Beat Box

One of the most exciting bands on the line-up for WOMADelaide 2015 is Balkan Beat Box (BBB). Combining various influences into their music, the sound that Tamir Muskat, Tomer Yosef and Ori Kaplan create is distinctly unique and a cross between gypsy punk, electronica, funk and world music. Speaking from the middle of the street in Tel Aviv in Israel, saxophonist for the group, Ori Kaplan, begins to reveal to me that at the moment the band is working on piecing together their sixth studio album, and the follow-up to 2012’s Give.
“We are currently working on the new album right now in Tel Aviv. Although I don’t live here and haven’t lived in Israel for many years, it’s good to be back in my home country laying down some new tracks. I’ve spent most of my adult life in New York, which was very inspiring as a musician.
“The new record I’d say is 70 per cent there, but once the initial recording is complete there is a lot work to be done. We are currently working away on it and we hope to have it ready for the world to hear in June or July. We are not in a hurry right now. We want to create the best sounding record we can … Perfection takes time,” Kaplan said.
Living in New York in the mid-2000s was a very influential time for Balkan Beat Box. The group was formed when Kaplan met Tamir Muskat after playing around live with other bands including Firewater and Gogol Bordello. As luck happened, it was Muskat’s involvement with a Firewater tour that led to Balkan Beat Box forming. “We started to work on some New York jazz album that we were doing with Firewater and Tamir became an essential member of the albums that we were making at the time. It was a very successful time for us and it’s different to what we are doing fifteen years later in BBB.”
Staying true to the BBB philosophy of always reinventing the sound to keep the listener on their toes, this record will be the most ambitious for the band. “We don’t want to become frustrated with creating new material … Each of us brings in something different to the table courtesy of our musical backgrounds. If you listen to our albums consecutively, you are able to hear the link and changes to the music as we made them.”
Having never toured Australia or New Zealand before, BBB is getting ready to head to our shores to play some incredible shows. Having topped the ARIA Dance Charts courtesy of Jason Derulo, Kaplan cannot wait to come Down Under and play his music to a different audience.
“Jason Derulo used a sample of our song Hermetico in his song Talk Dirty that song went to the top of the ARIA charts. It’s pretty cool to have a #1 having not actually toured there yet,” Kaplan laughs.
Working really hard to get the new album out, the upcoming debut Australian tour for BBB is sure to feature some of the new tunes. Having heard about the world-class WOMADelaide festival, Kaplan can’t wait to hit the stage. “We will be playing a mixture of old stuff and new material and we hope that the Australian audiences come out and show their support”.
When&Where: WOMAD & Prince Bandroom, Melbourne – March 12
By Tex Miller