Featured MP3 Artist - Balkan Beat Box

There's no sense in really trying to give a solid name to the sounds made by the guys in Balkan Beat Box, but I conveniently try to slip them into the fast-evolving "Gypsy Punk" genre, a wide-ranging bunch of bands that includes such diverse names as Kultur Shock, Outer National, Golem and Gogol Bordello.

Like all of those others, Balkan Beat Box is a mishmash of their influences, including Jewish, Gypsy, Arabic, and American sounds, mixed with hip hop, dub, and electronic music... if you can name it, odds are it may rear its head at some point.

It gets easier to sidle them up to Gogol Bordello once you know that the core of the band includes former Gogol Bordello member Ori Kaplan, and GB's producer, Tamir Muskat. These two, along with Israeli vocalist Tomer Yosef, team up with a host of other musicians to make big world beat sounds tempered with punk swagger. If you really want to come up with a another name for the sound, you can always call them a "turn up the volume and dance like nobody's watching" band. That fits too.

Check out this MP3 from Balkan Beat Box's new album NU MED:

Digital Monkey (MP3)

While you're listening, you can check out more on Balkan Beat Box here, courtesy of About.com World Music writer Megan Romer:

A profile of Balkan Beat Box

Live review: Balkan Beat Box and Golem

Once you're thoroughly sucked in, you can click here to pick up a copy of NU MED: Buy the CD

What do you think of this week's artist? Let us hear about it!

Or do you want to suggest a favorite band for MP3 of the week? Send me an email! I'd love to hear your ideas.

Photo (c) Miao Wang