DT: JANUARY 23, 2012
FM: MITCH SCHNEIDER/ANGELA VILLANUEVA, MSO
BALKAN BEAT BOX
ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM
‘GIVE’
OUT MARCH 6 ON NAT GEO MUSIC
NEW TOUR DATES REVEALED INCLUDING SXSW APPEARANCES
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The socially conscious, multicultural trio BALKAN BEAT BOX has announced they’ll return with a new full-length album entitled GIVE, to be released Tuesday, March 6 on Nat Geo Music. It marks the critically acclaimed group’s first release in nearly two years. BALKAN BEAT BOX has also revealed new tour dates in the U.S. and U.K. to coincide with the release, including a pair of SXSW appearances. Confirmed dates are below, with more to be added.
GIVE is their most musically intense and lyrically conscious album yet. It’s a reflection of how life has evolved for each member personally and takes an honest and sobering look at current international issues while offering hope in a Mediterranean-inflected, globalized electronica sound, as only BALKAN BEAT BOX can do.
Having earned a worldwide reputation as an explosive, unique and outspoken group, GIVE further sets BALKAN BEAT BOX apart from others. Inspired by last year’s people’s protest movements across the globe–from the Arab Spring, to Occupy Wall St., to Israel’s own massive social protests–GIVE captures the cautious hope and heated spirit of our time.
“It was kind of a crazy vibe in the studio sometimes,” drummer/percussionist/programmer Tamir Muskat laughs. “We were recording some of our most hardcore songs ever but our kids would be there too, running around and playing in the middle of everything. I think it gave things a hopeful vibe…it reminds us that we’re fighting for something, not just against everything.”
That hopefulness emerges most fully on “Part of The Glory,” a meditation on the role of social media and YouTube, which horn player Ori Kaplan describes as “how we all have something unique in us; how we have these glorious talents that we display on YouTube. But how in spite of that we live with this shadow society of migrant workers and ‘illegal aliens’ who run the engines of our world, and how we choose to ignore them in real life.”
Other highlights from GIVE include the previously released “Political F*ck,” of which Rolling Stone South Africa wrote: “The explosive New York-based trio are at their provocative and edgy best again, with their mashup of all things exotic, eclectic and politically sensitive.” (12/6/11) Tracks “Money” and “Minimal” address the fiscal inequality affecting millions around the world while “Enemy in Economy” recounts the true story of frontman Tomer Yosef’s detention by TSA authorities after being mistaken for a terrorist on an Alaska Airlines flight.
BALKAN BEAT BOX Tour Dates:
DATE | CITY | VENUE | |
Thu | 3/8 | Baltimore, MD | Rams Head Live |
Fri | 3/9 | New York, NY | Irving Plaza |
Sat | 3/10 | Chicago, IL | Metro |
Sun | 3/11 | Minneapolis, MN | First Avenue |
Tue | 3/13 | Seattle, WA | Showbox at the Market |
Wed | 3/14 | Portland, OR | Roseland Theater |
Thu | 3/15 | San Francisco, CA | The Fillmore |
Fri | 3/16 | Austin, TX | SXSW |
Sat | 3/17 | Austin, TX | SXSW |
UK TOUR | |||
Tue | 5/15 | Manchester, UK | Band On The Wall |
Wed | 5/16 | Glasgow, UK | O2 ABC 2 Glasgow |
Thu | 5/17 | London, UK | O2 Academy Islington |
Fri | 5/18 | Brighton, UK | Concord 2 |
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Sun | 6/3 | Ozark, AR | Wakarusa Music Festival |
http://www.balkanbeatbox.com
http://www.facebook.com/balkanbeatbox
http://twitter.com/balkanbeatbox
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For more information on BALKAN BEAT BOX, contact MSO:
Angela Villanueva, 818-380-0400 x232, avillanueva@msopr.com