Album
Gulag Orkestar
2005 · Rock, Folk, World, & Country
14 collectors on Gatefold own this
Gulag Orkestar is an Alt/Indie album by Beirut, originally released in 2005. On Gatefold: 12 pressings tracked, owned by 14 collectors.
About
Zach Condon, the twenty year-old songwriter and multi-instrumentalist behind Beirut, voice steeped in harsh kvass and Prima tobacco, delivers a highly idealized take on Eastern European musical culture over a theatrical musical backing. Cracked brass, wailing violins and distressed accordions, it all sounds like the soundtrack to one of Emir Kusturica’s cinematic fever dreams. Still, Condon’s unapologetically ersatz brand of gypsy folk does not deserve the ire of musical purists. Far from being a po-faced ethnomusicologist, Condon is a musical fantasist of the highest order who maniacally attacks gypsy music with an eye to sublimity over authenticity. The exotic musical forgeries of Tom Waits and David Byrne are his true touchstones. Yet for all of its borrowed gypsy attire, <i>Gulag Orkestar</i>’s star struck romanticism hints that not all of Condon’s influences hail from the far side of the iron curtain. “Postcards From Italy” stumbles skyward on a shambolic chord progression borrowed from Bowie’s “Man Who Sold The World”, while “The Scenic World” is an exercise in unabashed Stephin Merritt worship. With <i>Gulag Orkestar</i> Zach Condon has charted a fantastical musical landscape where Gypsy bards and Morrissey acolytes meet to compare compositions.
via Apple Music
The Clerk says
The Clerk knows this whole record — the pressing quirks, the credits, the take.
Tracklist
- 1The Gulag Orkestar4:38
- 2Prenzlauerberg3:46
- 3Brandenburg3:38
- 4Postcards from Italy4:17
- 5Mount Wrociai (Idle Days)3:15
- 6Rhineland (Heartland)3:58
- 7Scenic World2:08
- 8Bratislava3:17
- 9The Bunker3:13
- 10The Canals of Our City2:21
- 11After the Curtain2:54
Sound DNA
- Alt/Indie
- Indie Rock
- lush
- wistful
- bohemian
Credits
The people behind it.
Performers
- Hari ZiznewskiCLARINET
- Heather TrostVIOLIN
- Jeremy BarnesPERCUSSION, ACCORDION ACCORDION PERCUSSION
- Perrin CloutierCELLO ACCORDION
- Zach CondonTRUMPET, UKULELE, PIANO, ORGAN , VOCALS, PERCUSSION, ACCORDION, MANDOLIN TRUMPET, UKULELE, PIANO, ORGAN, VOCALS, PERCUSSION, ACCORDION, MANDOLIN WRITTEN-BY, VOCALS, UKULELE, PIANO, TRUMPET
- Jason PeranskiMANDOLIN, UKULELE
- Jon NatchezUKULELE, BARITONE SAXOPHONE , CLARINET UKULELE, BARITONE SAXOPHONE, CLARINET UKULELE, SAXOPHONE , CLARINET
- Kelly PrattTRUMPET, EUPHONIUM, FLUGELHORN
- Kristin FerebeeVIOLIN
- Nick PetreePERCUSSION
- Paul CollinsUKULELE, PERCUSSION, ORGAN
14 collectors on Gatefold own this · 12 pressings tracked on Gatefold
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