Artist Beats Antique

Tilly And The Wall has a tap dancer, Cloud Cult has two painters, and Beats Antique has a belly dancer. That could be the band’s gimmick, except that the sound, a blend of world and electronic music, is designed to complement dancer Zoe Jakes’ movements. With the growing popularity of world music influences in indie rock, it’s not surprising that Beats Antique watched its second LP, Collide, become one of the most downloaded Middle East/World Dance albums on Amazon. On 2010’s Blind Threshold, the group brought in collaborators such as Blues Traveler’s harmonica virtuoso John Popper and hip-hop vocalist LYNX to add even more variety to its sound. This year saw the release of an EP of remixes of their tune “Revival.”

Updated 09/28/2011