Balkan Beat Box

I'm feeling very happy and energic today after I've thrown the burden of deleting all the filelodge links and fixing older posts' problems along with the redesign. For some awkward reason the search dialogue on the right directed to feedblitz, I've removed the feedblitz subscription on the left and the problem went away. Also there's a feedflare dialogue on the end of every post now so you can add the post to del.icio.us easily or email the posts to your friends (or auntie) traditionally. So to commemorate my energic times 'ere's a band that's giving me lots of fun for a month or so, it's Balkan Beat Box from Essay Recordings, who's also released O.M.F.O.'s great new album "We are the Shepherds", which I played on Radioshow #3. I first heard them on a compilation called "The Rough Guide to Planet Rock" and decided to give them a listen because they're on Essay. Not surprisingly this is a cheerful and energetic album that has Balkan elements in an easy to digest pop style. It's not only Balkan music though it has lots of brass in it, it has the middle eastern & arabic dance rhythms as well. Some great melodies here and there and it's unbelievably catchy although it's more of a Balkan music 101, so if you're heavily into sophisticated jazz or ethnic stuff it might seem a little bit superficial to you. BBX is lead by ex-Gogol Bordello guy Ori Kaplan, and their liveshows seem to be as energic as Bordello. In short they know how to rock a party! Check this video out to see for your own!