Beirut (band)

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Beirut

Origin	Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States
Years active	2006-present
Genres	Indie, Folk, Pop
Labels	Ba Da Bing Records
Members	Zach Condon

Beirut is the name of 21-year-old Santa Fe native Zach Condon's one-man band. The first official release under the Beirut name was assisted by Jeremy Barnes (Neutral Milk Hotel, A Hawk and a Hacksaw) and Heather Trost (A Hawk and a Hacksaw), it combines elements of Eastern European and folk sounds. Condon's contemporary influences included the Smiths, acoustic Jonathan Richman records, The Waterboys, U2 and Velvet Underground recordings, especially the LP's with Doug Yule and Billy Yule as sidemen. Condon was inspired to his apocryphal-Europa beer hall sound by the cabaret style of Lou Reed's LP Berlin.

Though young, Condon has already released a few albums. He recorded under the name Real People when he was 15, which was an electronic record admittedly fashioned after his love of The Magnetic Fields. At 16, he recorded an entire doo-wop album that was inspired by Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers. Condon attended Santa Fe High School, where he was a student until he dropped out at the age of 16 to travel Europe where he was first exposed to Balkan gypsy music notably including the Boban Marković Orchestra.

In 2006, Beirut released two Balkan-inspired recordings through Ba Da Bing, Gulag Orkestar and Lon Gisland, both also available as an expanded version of Gulag Orkestar LP through the UK label 4AD. Beirut has also released three other songs, two available on Pompeii EP, and the third on a split with Calexico. While living in Brooklyn, Condon also shot a video for "Scenic World" at the Sweet'N Low factory, and performed several venues in New York and Europe.

Live, Beirut's shifting roster generally consists of Condon accompanied by Perrin Cloutier (cello/accordion), Jason Poranski (guitar/mandolin/ukulele), Nick Petree (drums), Kristin Ferebee (violin), Paul Collins (organ/keys/tambourine/ukulele), Jon Natchez (baritone sax/mandolin/glockenspiel), and Kelly Pratt (trumpet/euphonium).

According to the band's official website, Condon was "briefly hospitalized for extreme exhaustion" in November 2006, resulting in the cancellation of the rest of the tour. The band resumed performing live in March of 2007.