Balkan Beat Box (BBB) is an Israeli musical group. Founded by Tamir Muskat and Ori Kaplan in 2003, BBB was later joined by Tomer Yosef who became a core member. The group plays Mediterranean-influenced music that incorporates

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, Southeastern Europe (mainly

Balkan The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

) and

Middle Eastern The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

traditions,

Gypsy punk Gypsy punk is a hybrid musical genre that combines traditional Romani and Eastern European folk music with punk rock, and is considered a subgenre of the wider label of folk punk. One of the first rock groups to incorporate elements of punk a ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

and

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

. As a musical unit they often collaborate with a host of other musicians both in the studio as well as live.

History

Co-founders Ori Kaplan and

Firewater Firewater may refer to: Liquid * High-proof beverages, particularly illegal moonshine * Firewater (fire fighting), the polluted water remaining after fire fighting * Fire water, water stored in tanks for wildfire suppression Art and entertainment ...

's member Tamir Muskat both met in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, NY as teenagers. Both had grown up with music; Kaplan had been a

klezmer Klezmer ( or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for listening; these wou ...

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

ist, while Muskat was a drummer in a

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band. They established their own unique sound by fusing the musical styles of Mediterranean and

traditions (mainly helped by Teo and the Chalga masters at the time) with

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

and

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

beats. Balkan Beat Box’s goal was to take

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient h ...

and traditional musical traditions and fuse those with hip hop in order to create a new mix of musical styles out of the traditional world music context that would appeal to listeners in a club or a dancehall. As children, they had felt that traditional music was outdated and felt as though it did not adequately reflect their experiences of the growing world culture, so hoped to bring new relevance to these old traditional musical forms. They cite

Boban Marković Boban Marković ( sr-cyr, Бобан Марковић) is a Serbian trumpet player and brass ensemble leader from Vladičin Han. Work He is of Romani background. The Boban Marković Orkestar is a Balkan brass band from Vladičin Han, Southe ...

Rachid Taha Rachid Taha (, Latn, ar, Rashīd Ṭāhā, ; 18 September 1958 – 12 September 2018) was an Algerian people, Algerian singer and activist based in France described as "sonically adventurous". His music was influenced by many different styles in ...

Fanfare Ciocarlia A fanfare (or fanfarade or flourish) is a short musical flourish which is typically played by trumpets (including fanfare trumpets), French horns or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion. It is a "brief improvised introduct ...

Manu Chao Manu Chao (; born José Manuel Tomás Arturo Chao Ortega on 21 June 1961) is a French-Spanish musician. He sings in French language, French, Spanish language, Spanish, English language, English, Italian language, Italian, Arabic, Catalan language ...

, and

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

amongst their musical influences. The group was also influenced by

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

n dub. In December 2006, the acclaimed artist from Tel Aviv Tomer Yosef became frontman for the group. Balkan Beat Box’s self-titled first album (released in 2005) and their 2007 follow-up album '' Nu Med'' both received global acclaim. While their first album focused more on Mediterranean sounds, their second album included

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

influences. The song "Bulgarian Chicks" from their first album became popular in clubs and dancehalls in 2008. The group released '' Blue Eyed Black Boy'' in 2010 and '' Give'' in 2012. Regarded as the "godfathers of global bass" by MTV Iggy, the band continued to expand their sound incorporating electronic dance music, reggae, cumbia, and brass bands into their tracks. ''Blue Eyed Black Boy'' was recorded in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

with the Jovica Ajderevic Orkestar brass band, and at Vibromonk East in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. Key tracks are " Dancing with the Moon", "

Move It "Move It" is a song written by Ian Samwell and recorded by Cliff Richard and the Drifters (the English band that would later become the Shadows). Originally intended as the B-side to "Schoolboy Crush", it was released as Richard's debut single ...

", " Blue Eyed Black Boy", and " War Again" as harbinger of things to come. The album '' Give'' was influenced by the Arab Spring, Occupy movements, and the spirit of change around the world. ''Spin'' Magazine dubbed the band "a global peace-keeping mission you can dance to".

Samplings and adaptations

The band's song "Bulgarian Chicks" was sampled by

Mac Miller Malcolm James McCormick (January 19, 1992 – September 7, 2018), known by the stage name Mac Miller, was an American rapper. He began his career in Pittsburgh's local hip hop music, hip hop scene in 2007, at the age of 15. In 2010, he signed ...

in the

Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer; a member of the supergroup LSD (group), ...

-produced track " Goosebumpz". Later "Bulgarian Chicks" was also sampled in "Sis: Trompeta". The album '' Nu Med'', already famous internationally became more popular when in August 2013 the song " Hermetico" taken from the album was sampled by

Jason Derulo Jason Joel Desrouleaux (born September 21, 1989), known professionally as Jason Derulo (; formerly stylized as Derülo), is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Since the start of his solo recording career in 2009, he has sold over 250 m ...

in his international hit " Talk Dirty" featuring

2 Chainz Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (formerly Tity Boi), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip-hop duo Playaz Ci ...

. In 2014, the Norwegian comedy duo

Ylvis Ylvis () are a Norwegian comedy duo consisting of brothers Vegard and Bård Ylvisåker. They debuted as professional variety artists in 2000 and have appeared in several countries in variety shows, comedy concerts, television shows, radio sho ...

sampled the song "Adir Adirim" from Balkan Beat Box's eponymous album for the track "Mr. Toot". This track debuted as part of the fourth season of their show ''

I kveld med YLVIS ''I kveld med YLVIS'' ("Tonight with Ylvis") is a Norwegian talk show hosted by Bård and Vegard Ylvisåker, with Calle Hellevang-Larsen as a permanent sidekick. During season 2, Calle was replaced by David Batra due to obligations he had mad ...

''.

Appearances in media

Their song featured in

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) ...

' ''FIFA'' game series twice such as "Ramallah-Tel Aviv" featuring Tomer Yosef and Saz from album '' Nu Made (Remixes)'' in ''

FIFA 10 ''FIFA 10'' (titled ''FIFA Soccer 10'' in North America) is a Association football, football Simulation video game, simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts worldwide under the EA Sports label. It was releas ...

'' and "I Trusted You" from album ''Shout it Out'' in ''

FIFA 17 ''FIFA 17'' is a football simulation video game developed and published by Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., A ...

''. "9/4 the Ladies" was featured in the 2008 film ''

You Don't Mess with the Zohan ''You Don't Mess with the Zohan'' is a 2008 American Satire (film and television), satirical Action comedy, action comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and written by Adam Sandler, Robert Smigel, and Judd Apatow. Sandler also stars, alongside Joh ...

''. "Hermetico" and "Balcasio" were featured in a 2009 episode of the TV series ''

Bored to Death ''Bored to Death'' is an American comedy series that ran on HBO from September 20, 2009, to November 28, 2011. The show was created by author Jonathan Ames, and stars Jason Schwartzman as a fictional Jonathan Ames—a writer based in Brooklyn, ...

''. "Marcha de la Vida" was featured in

Konami , commonly known as Konami, , is a Japanese multinational entertainment company and video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The company also produces and distributes trading card ...

's ''

Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 ''Pro Evolution Soccer 2011'' (''PES 2011'', known as ''World Soccer: Winning Eleven 2011'' in Asia) is an association football video game in the ''Pro Evolution Soccer'' series developed and published by Konami. It was released in 2010–2011. T ...

'' They contributed an original song with production duo

Stargate ''Stargate'' is a military science fiction media franchise owned by Amazon MGM Studios. It is based on Stargate (film), the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin; production company StudioCanal owns the ...

for the 2015 film ''Home'', entitled "Slushious". The David Sisko remix of "Headhunter" was featured in the 2016 film ''

Kindergarten Cop 2 ''Kindergarten Cop 2'' is a 2016 American comedy film starring Dolph Lundgren and directed by Don Michael Paul. It is a standalone sequel to the 1990 film ''Kindergarten Cop'', starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.Orange, B. Alan"First Look at Dolph Lund ...

''. They co-produced and co-wrote a song for

The Lonely Island The Lonely Island is an American comedy trio, formed by Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer in Berkeley, California, in 2001. They have written for and starred in the American TV program ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). The th ...

featured on the '' Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping'' soundtrack, entitled "2 Banditos". "War again" was featured as closing music during broadcasts of the korean e-sports league GSL. "Shushan" was featured in the end credits for the 2016 horror film '' Jeruzalem''.

Band members

;Official members * Tomer Yosef - lead vocals, percussion, samples * Ori Kaplan - saxophone * Tamir Muskat - drums, percussion, programming ;Current live performers *Itamar Ziegler - guitar, bass guitar *Ben Hendler - bass guitar *Ron Bunker - guitar *Peter Hess - saxophone *Eyal Talmudi - saxophone * Uri Brauner Kinrot - guitar, saxophone *Alon Grinberg - Accordion ;Past live performers *Jeremiah Lockwood - guitar *Dana Leong - trombone

Discography

*''

Balkan Beat Box Balkan Beat Box (BBB) is an Israeli musical group. Founded by Tamir Muskat and Ori Kaplan in 2003, BBB was later joined by Tomer Yosef who became a core member. The group plays Mediterranean-influenced music that incorporates Jewish music, Jewish, ...

'' (2005) - released on

JDub Records JDub Records was a non-profit record and event production company that produced Jewish music and cross cultural musical dialogue. JDub, unlike most record labels, derived half its annual income from foundations and individual donors and the other ...

*'' Nu Med'' (2007) - released on JDub Records,

Crammed Discs Crammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released around 400 albums and 300 ...

*'' Nu Made (Remixes)'' (2008) - released on JDub Records, Crammed Discs *'' Blue Eyed Black Boy'' (2010) - released on

Nat Geo Music Nat Geo Music was a television music channel operated as a part of National Geographic Global Networks, which is a business unit of National Geographic Partners (a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the National Geographic Societ ...

and Crammed Discs *'' Give'' (2012) - released on Nat Geo Music and Crammed Discs *'' Shout It Out'' (2016) - released on Digital Monkey

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Indie rock musical groups from New York (state) Gypsy punk groups Gogol Bordello Jewish rock groups