Illustration: Andy Martin

Zach Condon, the 20-year-old wunderkind behind the band Beirut, zones out to Distance Told Me Things to Be Said, by Mapstation. “I’ve been listening to it basically every single night for the last three weeks, before I go to sleep. It’s this kind of trailing electronic music with bounce and rhythm to it—a few trombones, melodica, stuff like that. I listen to music like that, and I realize that I can learn from the subtlety of it.” Condon also recommends Thomas Fehlmann, “Streets of Blah”; Fairuz, “Kamat Mariam”; Kaito, “Inside River”; Ali Farka Touré, “Inchana Massina”; and Tujiko Noriko, “Narita Made.”

Related:

• Archive: “Arts and Culture”
• Articles by Nick Catucci
• Table of Contents: January 22, 2007 issue of New York | Subscribe!