“Western Europe and the United States don’t differ much,” says Gogol Bordello founder and vocalist Eugene Hutz (shown left), discussing the various reactions to his band’s music before a performance in Paris.
“The reactions are generally wildness, and some people get wilder than others,” he admits with a laugh. “Polish people get wilder than Germans. What can you do about that? Germans think they go as berserk as possible, but it’s kind of minimal. They think they’re freaking out, but they’re just hopping on one leg.”
No doubt, it has been a particularly long and arduous road that has led Hutz from being a refugee of the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe to creating music that can make Germans jump around on one foot.
Now bolstered by the unexpected breakthrough of “Start Wearing Purple” (now the unofficial song of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens) and his starring role with Elijah Wood in 2005 film Everything Is Illuminated, Hutz and his bandmates seem poised to take their pan-ethnic musical melting pot to more listeners than ever before. With Super Taranta (Side One Dummy), they’ve made a convincing summary statement.
“It’s our fifth record, and we’ve done quite different things on the previous ones, from the first one that was very acoustic to gypsy rock and roll records. We had an electronic record with JUF, Jewish-Ukrainian Freundschaft,” he explains, his accent heavy but his English perfect.
“This record, I think it is a bit more completed and advanced and panoramic. It includes all of the sides of the band. It’s more of a representation of the band than the other ones, because over the years I think we figured out better how to put ourselves on a record and channel our energies.
“The plan was to make a record that was going to conquer the motherfucking world.”
“It was brutally selected out of thirty-three possible numbers to give a complete picture and get our political points across, but [it lets] the East European dark humor horse gallop through as well. Let the ballads flow like alcohol, and have some gypsy speed metal innovations like ‘Forces of Victory’ as well.
“For us, it was a complete experience, and we definitely felt like we’ve completed all of the assignments by the time this record was mixed. Pretty much, the plan was to make a record that was going to conquer the motherfucking world.”
Taking its name from a form of Italian folk music that was thought to cure hysteria, Super Taranta is much more likely to cause frenzy than ease nerves. With longtime friend and Nick Cave associate Victor Van Vugt as producer, it’s an album that is designed for maximum impact — from the seize-the-day waltz of “Ultimate” to the reggae-tinged “Tribal Connection” and the punk stomp of “American Wedding.”
As always, it’s an album that sounds utterly urgent, full of the humor and spirit of a band that is now the sum of its combined life and musical experiences — the sound of eight people sharing Hutz’s vision.
“When the band just started, I was a lot more controlling about how the arrangements should be and stuff like that, because it was a new idea and new direction for everybody. It was like, ‘Well, how the fuck do we mix reggae, punk rock, and gypsy music? It doesn’t make any fucking sense.’
“But I said, ‘No. It makes perfect sense in my head. Give me a moment and I will explain it to you.’ We’ve been at it for a long time, and the style developed where people feel very comfortable contributing to it and usually come up with amazing parts that are custom fit.
“From this point, from being a director, I became more of a selector. It first has to be a hit on a guitar, and then I’ll play it at a party or for some friends, and with the corner of my eye, I’ll test their reaction. As soon as I see that it is a fucking hit, I’ll bring it to the band, and then it becomes the Gogol Bordello experience with everyone’s contributions and whipping the beast together.”
But despite the energy and intensity, this beast also operates with a social consciousness, writing songs that are steeped in the struggles of the past but fixated on the hope of the future. And despite their Old World charm, they are songs full of the harsh realities of the world and the need for change, no song more so than “Zina-Marina.”
“It’s about sex trafficking, and Ukraine is the epicenter of that,” Hutz explains. “Six, seven years ago, I used to go to Ukraine, and the streets were packed with hot girls. Now I go, and it’s like ‘Where did they all go?’ They’re all in Dubai and Istanbul working in whorehouses. That’s where they are.
“I initially wanted to write a very frightening song about that, but that song, the tone of it is almost like that of a corrupt, drunk Eastern European cop who is letting it happen. Because I know those guys, and I know how they look and how they sound. Channeling that character — for me — is what actually gives chills.”
Of course, much of Super Taranta consists of far less somber fare, and the chaotic party atmosphere that the band strives to create in live settings ends up dominating the disc as well.
“There are many different layers and many different topics, but it’s all part of the Gogol Bordello world,” Hutz says. “If you’re listening to Bob Marley, it’s quite diverse, but it’s about that one particular struggle.
“You’re not going to expect Bob Marley to suddenly write about astrophysics, because it’s just not his jam. I think that in our band, just because there are so many diverse members and divergent influences, that’s why the topics are so rich. Eventually, I end up writing fucking drinking songs about astrophysics,” he laughs.
“But the main theme is actually perseverance and endurance as human beings. That’s basically the theme — against all odds, perseverance. That’s something that I was infatuated with since childhood. Maybe it’s just the influence of Russian Revolution propaganda or the influence of Russian literature. All of those things are full of examples of that,” he says, pausing thoughtfully.
“But that’s in my DNA, and that’s what I want to sing about.”
– Matt Fink