Beirut Announces Artifacts, Shares Unreleased Track "Fisher Island Sound"

BEIRUT ANNOUNCES ARTIFACTS A Double-LP’s Worth of Music Tracing The Evolution of Beirut  Out Digitally January 28th, Physical Release Set For March 4th  Via Pompeii Records

SHARES UNRELEASED TRACK “FISHER ISLAND SOUND”  Zach Condon, the mastermind behind Beirut, has announced today Artifacts, a double-LP’s worth of music that traces the evolution of Beirut from a 14-year old Condon’s first attempts at bringing the music he heard in his mind to life, to the fully formed Beirut we know today. Artifacts began humbly as a means of compiling a few early Beirut EPs for a proper physical release. However, as Condon explains in the album’s excellent liner notes, reconnecting with old recordings through fresh ears turned a simple re-issue project into something much more expansive. “When the decision came to re-release this collection, I found myself digging through hard drives looking for something extra to add to the compilation. What started as a few extra unreleased tracks from my formative recording years quickly grew into an entire extra records-worth of music from my past, and a larger project of remixing and remastering everything I found for good measure.” See full tracklisting below. Artifacts will be released digitally on January 28, 2022 and physically on March 4, 2022 via Condon’s Pompeii Records. Pre-order is available HERE.   To celebrate the announcement, Condon is sharing the never-before-released song “Fisher Island Sound,” found on Side B: The Misfits. Of the song, he says, This song was written while staying in band member Ben Lanz’s old family cottage on the coast of Connecticut, on the Fisher Island Sound. I played with the lines for years before trying to record versions of it in Brooklyn with the band. Perrin Cloutier had taught himself how to play a new button accordion beautifully, and the band was really sounding their best. I however, struggled in those years to put vocals on the songs and ended up scrapping a lot of the music from that era in this part of the collection due to fear, stress and self-doubt. I’ve come to rediscover some of these old songs in a different light since then, but they do remain a heavy reminder of unsteady times. Listen to “Fisher Island Sound” HERE.

(photo credit: Lina Gaisser)

Beirut’s Zach Condon discovered Balkan brass music whilst travelling Europe in his youth, it became a sound he embraced when making his accomplished debut album, Gulag Orkestar, a record that belied his years and quickly put him on the map. Marking a fervently creative period for Zach, both an EP, Lon Gisland, and celebrated second album, The Flying Club Cup, followed just a year later. His double EP, March of the Zapotec and Real People Holland (one recorded with a 19-piece Mexican group, the other six electronic tracks made under the pseudonym Realpeople), offered a slight departure in sound before third full-length, Rip Tide, came five years after his debut and was noted by critics for showing a new maturity in his songcraft. Zach worked with producer Gabe Wax for both his fourth album, No No No, and his 2019 release, Gallipoli, which is named after the town in Puglia, Italy near where the record was made and “a distillation of the best of the Beirut sound and by far their best record yet”(The Line of Best Fit). Artifacts tracklisting:  SIDE A - Lon Gisland, Transatlantique, O Leãozinho 01 - Elephant Gun 02 - My Family's Role In The World Revolution 03 - Scenic World 04 - The Long Island Sound 05 - Carousels 06 - Transatantique 07 - O Leãozinho   SIDE B – The Misfits 08 - Autumn Tall Tales 09 - Fyodor Dormant 10 - Poisoning Claude 11 - Bercy 12 - Your Sails 13 - Irrlichter   SIDE C - New Directions and Early Works 14 - Sicily 15 - Now I'm Gone 16 - Napoleon On The Bellerophon 17 - Interior of a Dutch House 18 - Fountains and Tramways 19 - Hot Air Balloon   SIDE D – The B-Sides 20 - Fisher Island Sound 21 - So Slowly 22 - Die Treue zum Ursprung 23 - The Crossing 24 - Zagora 25 - Le Phare Du Cap Bon 26 - Babylon

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