Beirut

Beirut, a diverse collective spanning indie rock and pop, draws from vocal traditions of the pre-rock period, Eastern European Romani sounds, introspective and playful indie folk, and lo-fi psychedelic explorations. American multi-instrumentalist Zach Condon originated the endeavor, which first appeared in 2006 through Gulag Orkestar. Over the following albums the group refined its approach without narrowing its expansive range until the fourth release, 2015’s No No No, became the first to enter the Billboard 200’s upper half. Continued commercial traction both domestically and internationally arrived via later wide-ranging projects such as Gallipoli (2019) and the compilation Artifacts (2022). Titled after the Norwegian island where much of the material was captured in isolation, 2023’s Hadsel centered on Condon’s prominent use of a church organ, baritone ukulele, modular synths, and brass to shape its singular texture.

Counting the Magnetic Fields and the Smiths among his touchstones, New Mexico-born Zach Condon started producing D.I.Y. bedroom recordings during his early teenage years. Following his departure from high school he journeyed through Europe, encountering the Balkan brass music that would anchor his Beirut debut. Back in Albuquerque, Condon briefly attended the University of New Mexico, where he studied photography and Portuguese before returning to Europe. There he met fellow New Mexican Jeremy Barnes, a former Neutral Milk Hotel member whose A Hawk and a Hacksaw recordings shared Condon’s ethnographic leanings. Assisted by Barnes and his A Hawk and a Hacksaw collaborator Heather Trost, Condon tracked the songs for Gulag Orkestar almost entirely alone, performing accordion, keyboards, saxophone, clarinet, mandolin, ukulele, horns, glockenspiel, and percussion alongside Barnes’ drums and Trost’s cello and violin.

After Barnes passed an early mix to Ba Da Bing! Records head Ben Goldberg, the newly named Beirut secured a deal with the label. Condon relocated from Albuquerque to Brooklyn and assembled a rotating cast of part-time musicians modeled on Broken Social Scene for live shows. Following Gulag Orkestar’s May 2006 release, acclaim moved from niche blogs to major outlets. The EP Lon Gisland appeared in 2007, preceding the full-length The Flying Club Cup later that year, which marked Beirut’s Billboard 200 entry at number 118.

Beirut issued the double-EP March of the Zapotec/Holland in 2009. Holland contained six electronic pieces cut at home under the Realpeople alias, while March of the Zapotec featured six tracks recorded in Oaxaca, Mexico, with the 19-piece Jimenez Band from Teotitlán del Valle. Both the EP and the 2011 full-length Rip Tide, released on Condon’s Pompeii Records imprint, reached the Top 100. Beirut then moved to 4AD, which put out No No No in 2015. Partly shaped by health struggles and divorce, the album became the band’s highest-charting effort, peaking at number 46 on the Billboard 200 and inside the alternative Top Ten. Still reflecting Balkan brass influences, Condon delivered Beirut’s fifth LP, Gallipoli, in 2019. Co-produced by Gabe Wax, who had worked on No No No, the album was tracked in Puglia, Italy, New York City, and Condon’s adopted home of Berlin, Germany. Despite lifestyle adjustments made in anticipation of touring, recurring health concerns including throat problems led to the cancellation of major tour segments.

Seeking rest and recovery, Condon traveled in early 2020 to a cabin on Hadsel, a northern Norwegian island offering dramatic mountain vistas yet perpetual winter darkness. He brought substantial recording gear, among it a borrowed pump organ, two modular synthesizer setups, an antique tape machine, and his trumpet. A local resident also granted access to a 17th-century church organ. By the time Condon returned to Berlin, COVID-19 lockdowns had begun, so he completed the Norway-initiated album in his attic studio with additional instruments on hand. In the interim he released Artifacts, a 2022 double LP on Pompeii Records compiling unreleased material, B-sides, and several of his earliest recordings; that year also brought a reissue of the 2007 Lon Gisland EP. Hadsel itself appeared on Pompeii Records in November 2023.