18 May 2012

Indie pop from Beirut

21/12/2011 9:50:00 a.m.

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American band Beirut, pop with accordion. Photo: Kristianna Smith.

American band Beirut, pop with accordion. Photo: Kristianna Smith.

AMERICAN  indie rock band Beirut are set to play Wellington for a second time in January.
Formed in early 2006, Beirut’s style is a mixture of world music and indie pop.
“We’re a pop group really at our core,” explains bassist Paul Collins. “We just happen to have accordion, ukulele and trumpets and a singer who sings like Morrissey.”
Famed for their energetic shows Beirut view their live performances as a chance to communicate with their audience and feed off their enthusiasm:
“When you’re on stage you have to keep things exciting constantly. You need a crowd to be constantly engaged. If we don’t feel like the audience is feeling it… if you do get that physical response, that’s when we play harder and the audience brings more, then we get this loop, that’s when great shows happen.”
For music that is so stylistically scattered, Beirut has a wide fan base. Collins sees the band’s core sound of pop partly responsible for this, as well as their openness to many influences.
“I love music in New Zealand, I love The Clean and I like Flying Nun stuff. Beirut has a lot of influences… they come from places such as Algeria, Lye, Tom Petty even. I think what really helps focus us is Zach (Condon) and his melodies. That tends to focus all of your influences.”
When exploring new music, Collins says preconceived notions of musical styles and audience are often the most damaging.
“When I first met Zach (Condon) he said ‘I like world music’ and we were living in Santa Fe at the time and I thought world music sucked, it was a joke to me… but once you start talking to the (musicians) you start opening up and realise there’s a whole other world out there.”
Collins urges music listeners to try out music and to appreciate the stylistic complexities of each genre.
“It’s really important in this day and age where you can listen to something for 30 seconds and, decide you don’t like it, you need to be patient with things”
Beirut’s band philosophy is centred around that idea: “Really,” says Collins, “It’s to make music that lasts.”
Beirut, Opera House, January 14.
- Elizabeth Beattie
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Cover Story

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Briefs

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