Gulag Orkestar | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | May 9, 2006 | |||
Genre | Balkan folk | |||
Length | 37:25 | |||
Label | Ba Da Bing | |||
Beirut chronology | ||||
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Gulag Orkestar is the debut album of Beirut. It was recorded in 2005 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Gulag was a Soviet government agency administering criminal justice, while orkestar is the Serbo-Croatian word for "orchestra".
It is written in the booklet that the front and back photos were found in a library in Leipzig, torn out of a book. The original photographer was unknown to the creators of the album while it was recorded, but has since been discovered to be Sergey Chilikov. [1]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 80/100 [2] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+ [4] |
The Guardian | [5] |
NME | 8/10 [6] |
The Observer | [7] |
Pitchfork | 7.7/10 [8] |
Q | [9] |
Rolling Stone | [10] |
Uncut | [11] |
The Village Voice | B+ [12] |
The album has received great critical acclaim and was later re-released to include the Lon Gisland EP.
As of 2009, sales in the United States have exceeded 79,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. [13]
Many song titles are named after toponyms in Europe, such as cities, states and neighboorhoods. Prenzlauerberg is a locality in Berlin. Brandenburg and Rhineland are geographical areas in Germany. Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia.
All tracks are written by Zach Condon.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "The Gulag Orkestar" | 4:38 |
2. | "Prenzlauerberg" | 3:46 |
3. | "Brandenburg" | 3:38 |
4. | "Postcards from Italy" | 4:17 |
5. | "Mount Wroclai (Idle Days)" | 3:15 |
6. | "Rhineland (Heartland)" | 3:58 |
7. | "Scenic World" | 2:08 |
8. | "Bratislava" | 3:17 |
9. | "The Bunker" | 3:13 |
10. | "The Canals of Our City" | 2:21 |
11. | "After the Curtain" | 2:54 |
Total length: | 37:25 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Elephant Gun" | 5:48 |
2. | "My Family's Role in the World Revolution" | 2:07 |
3. | "Scenic World" | 2:53 |
4. | "The Long Island Sound" | 1:18 |
5. | "Carousels" | 4:23 |
Total length: | 16:29 |
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DeVotchKa is an American four-piece multi-instrumental and vocal ensemble. They take their name from the Russian word devochka (девочка), meaning "girl". Based in Denver, Colorado, the quartet is made up of Nick Urata, who sings and plays theremin, guitar, bouzouki, piano, and trumpet; Tom Hagerman, who plays violin, accordion, and piano; Jeanie Schroder, who sings and plays sousaphone, double bass, and flute; and Shawn King, who plays percussion and trumpet.
Jeremy Barnes is an American musician. He plays accordion, percussion and other instruments. He has been a member of the bands Neutral Milk Hotel, Beirut, and A Hawk and a Hacksaw, and is a co-creator of the record label L.M. Duplication. Influences on his work include music from Eastern Europe, Turkey, and the Caucasus.
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Sergey Chilikov was a Russian photographer.
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