Gogol Bordello: A multicultural musical melee

The 'gypsy-punk' band is garnering buzz, and fans, for its fiery blend of rock and gypsy music. Even Madonna is smitten.

from the August 3, 2007 edition

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The band has more in common with an international artist such as Manu Chao, not because they share a specific sound, but because both acts experiment with unpredictable stylistic juxtapositions. "The whole idea of culture," says Hütz, "is the ability to understand another culture."

Besides Hütz's mix of Ukranian and Romany blood, Gogol Bordello members are Russian, Israeli, Ethiopian, American, Taiwanese, and Chinese. "All members bring their own beauty," accordion player Yuri Lemeshev says in Russian.

Because his dad was a musician, Hütz always had a guitar in the house. He listened to his dad's tapes of The Doors, The Rolling Stones, and Russian bard Vladimir Vysotsky. He also developed a deep love for punk – bands like The Clash and The Stooges. After leaving Ukraine with his parents as a teen, Hütz spent two years in refugee camps in Poland, Hungary, Austria, and Italy. When the family arrived in Vermont in 1992, he pursued punk rock with a "doubled passion." Six years later, he moved to New York and formed Gogol Bordello.

The frontman's lyrics are mostly in English, but he occasionally throws in Russian and Romany. Rousing tunes intertwine aggravation about mindless consumerism with anecdotes of immigrant life in New York and world travel. "Zina-Marina," for instance, a song from the new album, initially seems like a rowdy party banger. But the track is about sex trafficking, told from the point of view of an Eastern European cop who's letting it happen. "The point was to make it scary," says Hütz.

Material like this is part of the band's unique allure, although Gogol Bordello's reputation is mostly one of stage prowess. Live shows draw a diverse crowd primed for boisterous, sweaty danceathons.

Hütz, referencing the gypsy tradition, says, "We not only preserved its fire. We made it more extreme."

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