Beirut
No longer a name solely belonging to Lebanon’s capital but also to the fantastic, relatively new American New-Age World “garage” band. I won’t begin to try to explain their music in words. You end up with ten words hyphenated together and sound like a music critic with a vocabulary shared only by others of the same breed. Simply put it’s amazing, truly innovative music in a global society. But, as always the music speaks for itself. Might I also add that the guy who brought the band together writes the music and plays trumpet among other instruments is 21 years old. Innovation at a young age, now that is really incredible. But if you read his bio, you’ll understand that his innovation probably comes from his rather unusual experiences.
A couple of their tunes:
It is in this direction that I see music headed. This music is accessible but complex enough to be interesting. It derives its complexity not from harmonies, there is nothing new harmonic in this music, rather the different sounds and layers used and the different layering of styles adds an amazing dimension. It brings to mind another amazing, and very prolific, musician who writes much of his music in the same idea (although the harmony in his music is most definitely complex) Pat Metheny. Check out the section of this blog, accessed from the menu at the very top of the page called “The Soundtrack” to hear some Metheny among other things.
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Speaking of “the Soundtrack”, I don’t know if those of you who read this blog are aware that it is there or not. Feel free to put on some tunes from the limited selection there right now to listen to while you read. I will try to get that section updated with the bios and a few samples of music I have talked about recently. The idea behind “the Soundtrack” is a place to accumulate all the information about and samples of the music I talk about in this blog. So rather than having to search for a post I wrote 6 months ago to listen to a tune and read about the musician(s) you can click on Soundtrack search the page for the musician you’re looking for and listen away.
Happy listening!
I like it. However, I hate to say this, but it sounds like music from a Cirque du Soleil show…not that that is a bad thing, just an observation and it is the first thing that came to mind when I heard it.
PS… Also there are hints of Klezmer in there
The accordeon is a much maligned and under-rated instrument. Very nice stuff - thanks for sharing