3rd Beirut post in a row

Here's the latest on Beirut. In the interview, Zach explains the Oaxaca inspired music. But more importantly, he says he's "going back soon."

I've been wanting to take E to Oaxaca forever. In fact, we've been mulling a summer trip to who knows where. I know where! I know where! Oaxaca's a small town, and Zach's a tall, skinny boy, so I think we could find him. The ex-pat arts community kind of sticks together down there, too. Holy cow, we gotta go! From The Stranger:

"I'm working on [a new album] right now as we speak. I went down to Mexico to do that, and I'm going back soon, after this tour—finishing what I've started."

Have you been hearing a lot of mariachi or norteño there?

Actually, it's not mariachi or norteño that I've been listening to. The story is this: I was going to do this soundtrack, but I ended up not doing it because they wanted more of a string quartet kind of feel and I couldn't do that. But the reference material they sent me was all from the far south of Mexico, in Oaxaca. It was all these bands that consisted entirely of Zapotec natives and they were all doing these kind of dirgey funeral marches with 17-piece brass bands. There was something so naive and martial in that music that I really fell in love with. It had nothing to do, actually, with mariachi or norteño. To be honest, it sounded more like what klezmer music is supposed to be or something. The raw exposed nerve of the music really struck a chord with me, maybe that will do it some justice."