Style : World
Released : 2007
Label : JDub Records / The Orchard
Size : 70 mb
Audio : 192 kbps

1. Keep ‘em Straight (Intro)
2. Hermetico
3. Habibi Min Zaman
4. BBBeat
5. Digital Monkey
6. Balcasio
7. Pachima
8. Quan Est-ce Qu’on Arrive
9. Mexico City
10. Delancy
11. Joro Boro
12. Gypsy Queens
13. 20$ For Boban
14. Baharim

Don’t be put off by the title - Balkan Beat Box are far more varied than their name suggests. This is an all-purpose, world-music electro band from New York who attempt a bit of everything. There are Balkan gypsy influences here, to be sure, with some rousing brass playing matched against beats and hip-hop.
But then there’s a strong Arabic influence on songs like Habibi Min Zaman, and there’s the sturdy brass and reggae of Quand Est-ce Qu’on Arrive? Just to broaden the mix still further, there’s a dash of Manu Chao, mixed in with Balkan influences and Jamaican toasting on Digital Monkey, and a quirky good-time singalong on Balcasio. So it goes on, from cheerfully slinky pieces through to the more straight-ahead bluesy hip-hop of Mexico City and a rousing work-out on Gypsy Queens.