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Teenage Beirut front man Zach Condon amazes the indie rock scene with his creative folk music. Experimenting with a great variety of instruments and world sound, he creates truly unique and beautiful songs. Beirut combines a wide variety of styles, from pre-rock pop music and Eastern European gypsy styles, to indie folk, and lo-fi, homemade psychedelic experimentation. Condon's debut album, Gulag Orkestar, has been a hit on the indie scene. After experiencing the music and culture of Eastern Europe, once in Albuquerque, Condon crossed paths with fellow New Mexican Jeremy Barnes, formerly of Neutral Milk Hotel, whose own albums as A Hawk and a Hacksaw share similarly ethnographic interests with Condon's new material. With the help of Barnes and his A Hawk and a Hacksaw partner, Heather Trost, Condon recorded the songs that would make up Gulag Orkestar largely on his own, playing accordion, keyboards, saxophone, clarinet, mandolin, ukulele, horns, glockenspiel, and percussion along with Barnes' drums and Trost's cello and violin. Following the release of Gulag Orkestar in May 2006, critical approbation quickly moved from the smallest blogs to mainstream media outlets that pegged Condon as a one-man cross between Jeff Mangum, Conor Oberst, and Sufjan Stevens. The EP Lon Gisland followed in 2007, leading up to the full-length The Flying Club Cup later that year.

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