Beirut: side-project Soft Landing; New Beirut album in the works
Several members of Beirut have formed a side project called Soft Landing. The band is comprised of Paul Collins, Perrin Cloutier, and Mike Lawless, and their debut album was released on October 12th, via Ba Da Bing (the same label Beirut is signed to). Stylistically it is a pop version of Beirut, heavy on the instrumentation and layers, with catchy melodies.
Due to the band’s side project, a lot of people are wondering about Beirut‘s next album. We were curious and contacted Beirut’s record label, Ba Da Bing, asking them if Beirut was recording. This was their response:
“Indeed, the band is recording. Basically, Zach [Condon] is going back and forth between doing recording sessions in a studio with the whole band, then taking the materials back home and editing them as well as working on vocals. He wants to take the rest of the year to make sure it’s all up to snuff, so there will definitely be a Beirut record next year, but not sure when yet!”
Beirut began as Zach Condon’s project. His story has taken a legendary status, of a teenage kid from Santa Fe, New Mexico escaping to Europe. During his travels he hears a Balkan Gypsy band perform in a bar and falls in love. He spends his time learning about Balkan folk music and returns to the United States. He then records with Jeremy Barnes (Neutral Milk Hotel, A Hawk and a Hacksaw), the two of them performing numerous instruments. The debut album, Gulag Orkestar, blows up around the world and Zach Condon, only twenty years old at this time, finds himself touring the world.
The new Beirut album will be their fourth full-length, following the double-disc March of the Zapotec. Condon now has a dedicated band of musicians, which include Paul Collins, Perrin Cloutier, and Mike Lawless… of Soft Landing.