Balkan Beat Box
Balkan Beat Box is centered around its two founders: saxophone player Ori Kaplan and drummer/programmer/producer Tamir Muskat. After having been active for over a decade in some of NYC's premier underground bands (including Gogol Bordello, Firewater, Big Lazy, Shotnez), they joined forces with charismatic MC Tomer Yosef and brought together their combined experiences and ideas to create the powerhouse called Balkan Beat Box. Balkan Beat Box blends electronic music with hard-edged folk music from North Africa, the Middle East, the Balkans and Eastern Europe, and have become an underground sensation.
Their name, their personal history and the enthusiastic media & audience reactions suggest a link with the so-called Gypsy Rock movement, but their scope is reaching way beyond that: Balkan Beat Box really transcend categories (pop, electronic dance music, world, rock) by creating a new breed of 21st century music, deeply connected to their folk upbringing yet forward-thinking, which appeals to audiences across the geographical and stylistic borders.
Balkan Beat Box's energetic live shows have become legendary. They've been making crowds go wild at major festivals such as Bonnaroo, Roskilde, Paleo and have become firm Cedar faves by those in the know.
