Gulag Orkestar

Gulag Orkestar is the debut album of Beirut. It was recorded in 2005 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Gulag was a Soviet government agency administering criminal justice, while orkestar is the Serbo-Croatian word for "orchestra".

It is written in the booklet that the front and back photos were found in a library in Leipzig, torn out of a book. The original photographer was unknown to the creators of the album while it was recorded, but has since been discovered to be Sergey Chilikov.

Reception
The album has received great critical acclaim and was later re-released to include the Lon Gisland EP.

As of 2009, sales in the United States have exceeded 79,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Track listing
Many song titles are named after toponyms in Europe, such as cities, states and neighborhoods. Prenzlauerberg is a locality in Berlin. Brandenburg and Rhineland are geographical areas in Germany. Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia.


 * The EP's version of "Scenic World" differs from the first in that it has a slower, stronger sound and is entirely acoustic, with a violin and accordion replacing the original MIDI keyboard.

Personnel

 * Beirut
 * Zach Condon - vocals, trumpet, flugelhorn, ukulele, percussion, mandolin, accordion, organ, piano, recording
 * Heather Trost - violin
 * Jeremy Barnes - percussion, accordion
 * Perrin Cloutier - cello
 * Hari Ziznewski - clarinet


 * Additional personnel
 * Alan Douches - mastering
 * Josh Clark - recording, mixing
 * Ben Goldberg - photography (all cover)