The song "Avalanche", Balkan Beat Box's new and fourth single from their new (yet unreleased) album, is about moving to a new place. Or with a new love. Or at a new vantage point, originating from a new connection. Apparently, all the answers are correct in this case because, according to Tomer Yosef, it was inspired by a new love found by a close friend.
But as with everything, the context is king, and it's best not to detach the avalanche described in the poem from where it happened. For several years now he has been hosting various artists in his studio located among the desert landscapes of Kibbutz Tze'elim. There, for the first time in its history and in the history of its band, a BBB album was not inspired by the soot and noise of the volume. Even if her sound until now has been deeply rooted in the big city, for Yosef, Uri Kaplan and Tamir Muscat, that doesn't mean that age, maturity, maturity and urgency can't be quietly replaced by bird sounds and sanity.
"I came to Tze'elim for the first time in 2002 for a performance at a place here called 'The Well,'" Yosef says. "Since then I kept coming and that's how I got to know the kibbutz and fell in love with the place and the people. For close to 15 years I would just come back here all the time. I made a lot of friends here, my children half grew up here. We used to come and visit all the time. Then COVID came along and it felt like the right time to move here. And the city also started to suffocate, and we felt it was a great time to make this move."
BALKAN BEAT BOX - AVALANCHE
City mice will say it's a bold move. Even scary.
"yes, sure. Not just you, many other people. Listen, I moved to Tel Aviv at the age of 16. Since then, I've had some kind of smuggling to New York for three years, but basically I was in Tel Aviv all the time. But I always had something deep inside that really loves the desert and the quiet. And then COVID-<> just hit a very precise point. The place itself is amazing, but what makes the place is the people. The connection with the people was very strong for me."
Still, it requires a very radical change in thinking.
"Yes, and it had a scary element of, 'Wow, I'm going to move to Nowhere now, what about the explosion?' But all this nonsense, it has no relevance in reality. At least for me. It has done wonders and life is much easier and more beautiful. Get up in the morning and see all that green around, live without stress. I don't think there's an element of courage here. Courage is running into the eye of the storm. Here I just fine-tuned the lifestyle I wanted. It also has to do with, of course, my family. I have three children and I think for them moving here is the greatest gift."
Tomer's move to Kibbutz Hadarim also brought the rest of the band members, and together the 20-year-old ensemble created an album inspired by the spirit of the desert, the spectacular views and the quiet provided by a part of the country on whose land no scooters ride from Walt's motors and messengers. The thing is, urbanity has always been an inherent part of Balkan Beat Box music. Stepping out of one's comfort zone does wonders for creation, but it can also alienate the hardcore fan base, which knows what it wants from the ensemble it loves.
Balkan Beat Box, Photo: Orit Pnini
"On a musical level, it's very true, the theme of Balkans and our urbanity," he says. "And if you listen to the new album, you'll hear the talk. It is expressed in the music and also in the state of mind, in the spirit of the texts, of what is said. It's the most different album we've done to date. We've never made an album like this. It's really not a quintessential Balkan album. But we do it in a way that is easy for people to digest. I trust the songs. Come on, it's still Balkan Beat Box. It's not going to be a rock ballad album now. That's really not it."
In the summer, members of the Balkans will take to the Zappa Amphitheater stage for two performances. On June 22, they will host Eviatar Banai – not the first name that comes to mind when you think of musical connections with the band's groove. The guests of the 23rd, Noga Erez and Teddy Neguse, already get along more logically in their heads, when imagining the professional collaboration.
"Working with him is a huge honor." Evyatar Banai, Photo: Coco
"It's a shame that Tamir isn't on the line with us, because he's been working with Evyatar for a long time. I know Evyatar, but we've never worked together. This will be a first time for us, and this constellation excites me. It's not really clear what will happen and it's fun and intriguing. I think Aviatar is in my top list of artists in Israel. For me, as a fan, working with him now would be a huge honor. Teddy jumps on our stages and I sometimes jump on his, too, it's in Familia. And with Noga we've already done things and have the most fun with her in the world."
You and Venus also share some common perspective, given their success abroad.
"Totally. We can see the path Venus is taking today and recognize ourselves. What she's living now we did for 13 years, until a few years ago we said, 'That's enough, we don't want any more of this.' I got to talk to Noga about it, yes, about the feelings it brings."
Which brings us back to the original theme – your decision to stop the monstrous tours and settle down. Can't you still think of something you're missing in your new place?
"Oh, wow. You won't believe it. Nothing."
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