Beirut

So what would you do if you were an 18-year-old A-student in Albuquerque, New Mexico? That's the question that faced Beirut's Zach Condon a few years back and, luckily for the human race, he chose to bugger off across Europe and fill his head with Eastern European harmonies which on his return he melded with his pop upbringing to form Gulag Orkestar, possibly 2006's standout album.

A sojourn in France inspired follow-up album The Flying Club Cup, while EP March of the Zapotec took influence from Mexican music. Condon is now considering which culture to rip off next.

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