Over the past few months we have been very fortunate to become bff amigos with some of the finest acts in music. This month, we bring you 4 new Lomo LC-A+ "Music" Amigos. We are proud to present the first of these brilliant bands, the one and only Beirut.
Beirut is the brainchild of Albuquerque native, Zach Condon. Most of the tracks from the first Beirut album Gulag Orkestar were recorded in his home studio while skipping school in Albuquerque, before he moved to Brooklyn and finished the record at Sea Side Studios in Park Slope. The record was revered worldwide, and shortly after Zach released another EP and the follow up Beirut album with the band he had assembled to tour with, 2007’s The Flying Club Cup. Beirut’s sound is a mix of horns, violins and cellos, ukuleles, mandolins, glockenspiels, drums, tambourines, accordions, organs, clarinets, all swaying to exotic beats.
Check out this LC-A+ gallery shot by Zach, and then read the punchy interview below.
Enjoy!
REAL NAME Zachary Francis Condon
CITY New York
COUNTRY USA
How long have you been Lomographers (or are you new to this whole thing?).
ZC: I had a Holga as a sixteen year old, when i fancied myself a budding photographer.
Describe the LC-A+ in five words.
ZC: The little camera that could.
The strangest, funniest, or hands-down greatest photographic/Lomographic encounter that you have ever had.
ZC: I took a photo class right around the time i got surgery on my arm. I tried to go back to the darkroom too soon after the procedure and i passed out in the dark.
If your photos shown here could have a soundtrack of three songs, what would they be (song title & artist please).
- The Tracks of my Tears- Smokey Robinson
- Something From Radio Algeria mixed by Alan Bishop
- Anything from Wong Kar Wai’s soundtracks…. maybe Siboney by Xavier Cugat?
We can see from that Eiffel tower shot that you were in Paris. Where else did you shoot during the LomoAmigo project?
ZC: We were at a house party that practically stared up at the crotch of that there tower. I was just surprised i would ever meet someone that lived so close to it. I believe those rolls started in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, then ended up back in New York, then on to Paris where we used to live, all over Morrocco, and then i passed them off to you guys right before we left for outerspace.
If you could be anywhere, doing anything, right now > where would it be and what would you do?
ZC: Driving around Miami beach, petting a donkey. Actually i could go for sipping mescal in Teotitlan in Mexico. Those hammocks were beautiful.
The absolute best bar in Brooklyn, and why (name & address please).
ZC: You’re not supposed to give away this kind of stuff… best bar = my rooftop. Address withheld. Watch the trains, planes and ambulances go by with a breeze and whatever you bought at the cornerstore…
The one person (living or deceased) who you would most like to photograph.
ZC: Sasquatch
Your music features a huge range of different instruments. What’s the one instrument that SHOULD be in every band – but rarely is?
ZC: The best instrument any band could ever have is a healthy falsetto, like “In The Jungle”.
Your advice to future LC-A+ shooters.
Find a good camouflage to catch folks unawares like…
24 comments
paper_doll
omg i love beirut so much...
pantsuitugggh
Beirut is amazing!
Next, you guys should hit up LIMBECK (myspace.com/limbeck)
because I know their guitarist Patrick Carrie owns and is always shooting with his LC-A.
nanuth
so good!!! i liked a lot beirut, listenning that he used ukulélé i liked him a little bit more, when i saw that one of his song was untitled Cherbourg ( the unknown and commun city where i lived and where nothing happens) i liked him more and more and now i learn that he uses lomo camera i loved him !!!! lomo music on!! ciao and as usual sorry for my english!!!
krabbpojken
it´s incredible that you manage to bring together two of my favourite things in life:
beirut and lomography. Brilliant.
makeyuu
when listening to gulag orkestra, ive always thaught it is very lomographic. and now this!!
stouf
Beirut is one of the best artists ever... By the way, you can see some great videos on "La blogotheque.com"...
superlighter
soooooooooooooooogooooooooooooodgallery!
paper_doll
by the way, i heard that the (11?) videos of beirut on "la blogotheque" were coming out as a dvd, i wish i knew if that's true...
vicuna
Just listened to the songs on the official site, really great songs!! Thanks, I discovered a new great band!! :)))
tupiniquim
oooh, beirut is absolutely amazing! elephant gun is by far my favourite song.
and the lc-a+ pictures, gorgeous!
rater
Loooove Beirut, greatest band!!!!!! They where in concert in Quebec a month ago, and went there with my LC-A... I still have to scan those blurry shots...
ukaaa
Awesome! I like this new section! :)
nation_of_pomation
Beirut has been one of my favorite acts for years, it makes me so happy to see Zach Condon using a LC-A+! He's a hero of mine, so it just instills me with confidence in what I'm doing. I think that's probably the goal of these things anyway, but heck if it ain't working. I really loved his new double EP he came out with last, especially his old Realpeople tracks he released. My Wife, Lost in the Wild and My Night with the Prostitute from Marseilles are both incredible tracks.
bincabonca
Beirut, for lack of a better word, is a beautiful band. I almost cried when I saw them live.
nina_ska
amo Beirut !! me encanta su musica y ahora aun mas!!
crazyunclejoe
YES!!!
brixwillbeshat
Wow, I love pictures #45, 82, and 94. And this is a great interview. I had a lot of fun reading it. :)
mikahsupageek
Beirut is gread indeed !
leahbog
juligut
thalitakumi
FINALLY :3
worried_shoes
Wow, Great!
julia_adele
just lovely. I love their EP Lon Gisland.
hayleyhillis
Excellent reading. Thanks