Balkan Beat Box

As we walk through the plush interior of the venue, up the stairs and into the main performance room, my first impressions of the Islington Academy are all good. It's clean and new and the interior is well thought out. The dance floor is huge, and funky Latino jazz is pumping out through the crystal clear sound system. Things are looking set for a good night.

While we settle into our new surroundings with a beer (Carling naturally), there's a bit of a commotion to the left of the stage. It sounds as if a one-man band has fallen down a flight of stairs. As the sound becomes clearer, we see it's the Balkan Beat Box. Rather than making their way onto the stage, they form a procession through the crowd, drums pounding and saxophones belting out delightful sounds that would coax snakes from baskets.

A ring formed around the players and they continued to wow us with their unexpected jam session for a couple of minutes before making their way back onto the stage. What a great way to kick off a show.

The Balkan Beat Box colourful sound is difficult to describe. Founder members Tamir Muskat and Ori Kaplan have been involved with Firewater, Big Lazy and Gogol Bordello. Other equally energetic and enthusiastic band members from Israel, Palestine, Bulgaria, Morocco, Romania and the Yemen ably assist them in producing what seems a very unique sound. The output of this rich heritage is a blend of gypsy punk borrowing from Latin, hip-hop, dub, folk, rock and electronica.



The band's MC, singer and percussionist Tomer Yosef with his toned frame seems to have eaten more than the prescribed number of Weetabix today. He whips the eager punters up into a frenzy, spitting out the words to 'Digital Monkey' at a speed that impresses and astounds. As I look around, it seems that no one in the room is able to resist the rhythms, wonderful saxophone sound and pounding bass line.

'Pachima' is another stand out track. Bass heavy and pumping and an accompanying middle eastern guitar. Electronic sound effects are added and a dub layer added. Foot stomping is the minimum requirement but most are pulled into the electrical atmosphere that has been engineered. The band on stage is all working really hard. Their commitment doesn't end at producing a wondrous soundscape, they entice the audience into dancing with them.



As I look around, I spot a few people belly dancing to 'Hermitico', some are stomping and there are many hands raised in the air clapping along to the beat. The 2 tones produced from the sax players are delicate and perfectly in time "here we go go" chants Yosef. The academy is really in full swing and this is probably the best gig of the year so far for me. The demographic is really varied with a wide age range and from the people that we have spoken to, quite an international appeal.

As the band head off for a well-earned break, we are just catching our breath when they come back on stage. I didn't catch the name of the song that followed but it sounded like a Middle Eastern Rage Against The Machine. With Tomer Yosef balanced precariously on the monitors at the front of the stage, belting out to a hungry and appreciative audience, it's a shame that the evening has to end. I would gladly have missed the last train home and slept in a doorway to experience more of the Balkan Beat Box. As they left the stage, they switched the laptop on to play something that sounded very similar to their style but at a greatly increased BPM.



Great news if you are going to Glastonbury or Beautiful Days festivals this year, they will be there. I strongly recommend you are too if you can be. More of their work can be found on their MySpace page. Check them out!

FUTURE GIGS

sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.