Zach Condon of Beirut to release dual EP
Zach Condon has ended his short break from Beirut and has announced a double EP and the formation of a new record label. The first EP is titled March of the Zapotec, aptly named since Condon “recorded in Mexico with the help of Oaxacan march masters The Jimenez Band.” The Zapotec is an indigenous civilization in Mexico that dates back 2,500 years.
March of the Zapotec was partly tracked with a funeral band of 17 members from a tiny town of Oaxaca, Mexico. Zach Condon had begun working on a soundtrack for a film, but Zach decided to continue the project as Beirut when things fell through. In a similar way that Zach fell in love with Baltic Gypsy music, he grew passionate about the native music of Oaxaca and made it his own. After two weeks in Mexico, Zach continued to travel, recording one song with Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear, and finishing the album in various jaunts.
Zach Condon described the sound during an interview with Pitchfork:
“It’s very march-y in some senses. The songs are longer than I’m used to doing, which is interesting to me. I’m pretty accustomed to sticking to, like, three-minute pop songs. These actually have a few movements in them. Nothing huge and epic, this isn’t an opera. [Laughs] It’s very brass-heavy, very squawky, with these constant churning rhythms.”
The second EP, Holland, will be released under Zach’s original electronic project, Realpeople. Holland will be a continuation of his epic synth-pop exploration. One song was featured on Natalie Porman’s AIDS charity compilation and the positive reaction to his song encouraged him to record the EP.
“I wanted to keep it a secret: different band name, different everything, that kind of stuff. Between Perrin and [Ba Da Bing label head] Ben Goldberg and other people, they kind of thought it would be an exciting idea to have the whole thing together, and I thought that’d be interesting, too. Especially with the packaging, the way it is.” (Pitchfork)
The two albums will be packaged together and released on February 16, 2009 through Condon’s new Pompeii Records. The release will be distributed by Revolver (US) and Forte (Europe).
Since 2006, Beirut has released two full-lengths and three EPs:
Beirut – Gulag Orkestar (May 9, 2006)
Beirut – Lon Gisland EP (January 30, 2007)
Beirut – Pompeii EP (February 28, 2007)
Beirut – Elephant Gun EP (June 25, 2007)
Beirut – Flying Club Cup (October 9, 2007)
Beirut – Fountains and Tramways (Pompeii EP)