Estelle Clifford: Beirut - A Study of Losses

In Beirut’s 7th album, Zach Condon returns to a place he had no plans to ever go back to. 

‘A Study of Losses’ was commissioned by the Swedish circus troupe Kompani Giraff, and at first he was hesitant to write a soundtrack for a circus, the idea a reminder of a time he’d been pigeonholed, as he says, “as a whimsical circus waif”. 

However, videos of the troupe’s performances and an abstract of the work upon which the new project would be based changed his mind. 

Estelle Clifford joined Jack Tame to give her thoughts on Beirut’s new album.  

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast
from News Talks at B.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
This is Greki's Unicorn. It's by Beirute. The new album

(00:38):
is a study of losses and a stell Cliffe has
been listening hi Estelle.

Speaker 3 (00:43):
Well, one out of the bag.

Speaker 2 (00:45):
For you, right, I'm just worried that it's going to
be a really bad album and Anyone's gonna go, oh,
it's so Morland's so boring.

Speaker 4 (00:54):
Okay, So that actually get akas Unicorn is one of
my favorite. It starts with that synth rhythm and it
sets it up and it's kind.

Speaker 3 (01:01):
Of off key a little bit. Yeah, you're like, what
am I falling into?

Speaker 4 (01:05):
I actually to this entire album, not really having too
much backgrounds on beow Route, not knowing the style, not
knowing that it was actually composed for a circus, and
I was on a trip thinking what.

Speaker 3 (01:18):
What is happening here?

Speaker 4 (01:20):
The thing to know about them is that they already
had the style of music minus then being asked to
write for a circus. So I love that their style
has kind of grown and developed into something where someone's like,
we can make a whole a whole show.

Speaker 3 (01:37):
With this kind of soundtrack, Like that's amazing, isn't it
to love old music so much that you also then find.

Speaker 4 (01:45):
Because there's sort of this American pop thing behind it too,
like that old school like you'd expect Elvis to kind
of be there or something like this all American kind
of sound to it. You know, there's that quality behind it,
and I guess that's once they start bringing in synth
and keyboard and those kind of sounds. But then suddenly
you're like, what is there and you're like, it's a melodica. Yeah,
you know, like the mouth, you know, organ thing and

(02:07):
you're like that's bizarre.

Speaker 3 (02:09):
Or then there'll be a lot of.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
Like squeeze box accordions and that kind of thing that
get chucked down that's still very yeah yeah yeah.

Speaker 4 (02:16):
Where actually usually it sits on its own in some
sort of folky band, but here it's actually getting used
and kind of like I mean, most of their albums
they've had sort of modern releases of what they're releasing.

Speaker 3 (02:26):
And I think that there's.

Speaker 4 (02:27):
Kind of like these weird like like that one, where
it's got that weird happiness about it, but it's also
a bit off key because it's in that minor tone,
and you're like, this is there's so many layers and so.

Speaker 3 (02:37):
Much I thank you, hey Jack, thanks for finding me.

Speaker 4 (02:42):
You know me, I tell you what finger on the
pulse when it comes to this stuff.

Speaker 3 (02:48):
This is really clever. I I love.

Speaker 4 (02:50):
All these instruments that I would not have thought to
put in sort of a slight modern music kind of context. Yeah,
and there's and I imagine that their live shows would
be absolutely insane because sometimes they could be full orchestral
or just really weird instruments on stage where you get
this real schooling of what the heck is going on here?
And also that he so Zach Condon is the guy.

(03:12):
It actually started as a solo project for him, and
I dare say he's one of those people who can
pick up any form of instrument and he'll find his
way around it. So really clever, really embracing that choir
in our songs sort of music and then finding this
modern kind of twist on it.

Speaker 3 (03:31):
His version for taking this on.

Speaker 4 (03:32):
Board with the Circus because it's about loss, all versions
of loss. But he was like, imagine if there was
a man who was so obsessed with the things we
lost on earth that he collected them and put them
on the moon. So that's kind of a deep layer
of this album that all our losses are getting taken
by someone and he's so fixated on them he's putting
them somewhere else, which I guess then buys into the

(03:55):
performance of the circus kind of stuff. So a lot
of the songs are around the solar system and names
that kind of go along with that, which then ties
into I guess eventually what the circus. I'm fascinated to
see what the circus would be. If we could see
that as well, that would be wonderful. If anyone wants
to seed us to the circus, you know, then that
would be would be I'd give you more points for

(04:17):
your album.

Speaker 2 (04:20):
It is.

Speaker 4 (04:21):
It is just about it either like it's so melodic
and so ah yeah, just the instruments and voices that come.

Speaker 3 (04:27):
It's not it's not a forced sound. It's like this
real unusual.

Speaker 4 (04:30):
Blending of things and it's quite acrobatic, and it's in
its style, which kind of again suits I'm like, yeah,
this is amazing that he's finally been brought in to
make a soundtrack to something.

Speaker 2 (04:40):
Yeah, it's weird, it's weird, but.

Speaker 4 (04:43):
Well, I mean, is it telling about you that you
are the one that's then found us this music?

Speaker 2 (04:48):
It probably is you want to run away with.

Speaker 4 (04:50):
A circus check like it's I would run away with
the circus with this It's it's haunting and beautiful.

Speaker 3 (04:55):
He also loves ukulele.

Speaker 4 (04:57):
So there's some pacifica sort of sounds that come in
through some of the music too, So you're kind.

Speaker 3 (05:03):
Of going to get a lot. There's a lot to.

Speaker 4 (05:05):
Unpack and yeah, yeah, and it might mean you might
go backwards too in some of their catalog, which is
great keeping in mind that some of the earlier stuff
didn't have that sort of American pop synth based to it, Yeah,
but still had a lot of this world folk music
thing going on too. So yeah, God, he's really embraced
all of all what he could do. Yeah, I love it.

Speaker 2 (05:27):
I'm so pleased. I'm so this is the one time
in my life that I could feel like I can
can contribute to introducing you to something.

Speaker 3 (05:34):
You know, Look, you gave me this moment. Yeah, now
I kind of know where.

Speaker 4 (05:39):
You've been at you like, if you're starting to pick
up the flugelhorn or something different, you just please can
you we will like to know your progression with any
of these unusual instruments.

Speaker 2 (05:49):
So what did you give it? A Study of Losses
by Beute.

Speaker 4 (05:52):
Yeah, I'm giving an eight out of ten, but I
think if it was pitched with the circus, I.

Speaker 3 (05:56):
Might give it a ten out of ten. Okay, okay,
I saw the visual too.

Speaker 2 (06:00):
Yeah, yeah, so good. All right, we'll have a bit
more of a few minutes. Hey, thank you so much.
Good on you for digging it out as well.

Speaker 3 (06:06):
Love it.

Speaker 2 (06:07):
Astell the Stelle Clifford is a music reviewer. There A
Study of Losses is Beroots new album.

Speaker 1 (06:12):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
to News Talks ed B from nine am Saturday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio