Blue Eyed Black Boy

Balkan Beat Box’s highly anticipated new set, Blue Eyed Black Boy, is due out April 27 on Nat Geo Music. The album follows 2007’s Nu Med, which earned the band critical acclaim with SPIN calling it “a global peacekeeping mission that you can dance to,” and Entertainment Weekly praising the “Eastern Bloc-inspired techno grooves seemingly fueled by Manischewitz and a big dose of punk ‘tude.” Balkan Beat Box will bring their live show, which the New York Times calls “wild,” to the U.S. with a handful of tour dates in March. See below for details. Blue Eyed Black Boy was recorded in Tel Aviv and Belgrade in the midst of anti-Kosovo riots. “It was a very tense atmosphere, but we were in our studio, away from all that, translating that intense energy into something positive and good,” says Ori Kaplan, saxophone player and 1/3 of the Balkan Beat Box trio. Drummer/programmer/producer Tamir Muskat and charismatic vocalist/MC Tomer Yosef round out the band. Self-produced by Balkan Beat Box, Blue Eyed Black Boy features a variety of musical instruments and guest appearances, including a local gypsy orchestra from Belgrade called Jovica Ajdarevic Orkestar. The album combines the musical elements of Mediterranean and Balkan traditions with hip-hop beats and punk influences, creating a unique sound that the New Yorker calls “ a dizzying array of musical hybrids.”