Exclusive Zach Condon (Beirut) interview courtesy of gigsinparis.com

There aren’t many bands who can sell out L’Olympia in the space of two days but one suspects Beirut could do it a few times over. Zach Condon, the heart and head of the band, first travelled to Paris as a teenager with his older brother after growing tired and frustrated of New Mexico. Whilst here, Zach encountered Balkan brass bands, Serge Gainsbourg, and started composing a number of pieces which would later become his debut record Gulag Orkestar. The frontman shares a great affinity with this city and the city with him. Ahead of Beirut’s show at L’Olympia on 12 Sep and the release of the bands’ third album The Rip Tide, local indie music blog Gigs in Paris met up with the man himself. Here, in the first segment of their three-part interview, Zach talks of his early encounters with music, composing in his bedroom, leaving for Paris, and finding Beirut’s sound.
http://gigsinparis.com/