About
Gogol Bordello built their sound by crashing Romani and Ukrainian folk music headfirst into punk and dub, layering in accordion, violin, and enough raw energy to make their live shows feel like a runaway carnival. Formed in New York in 1999 by musicians from across the globe, the band was originally called Hütz and the Béla Bartóks until frontman Eugene Hütz realized almost nobody in the US knew who Béla Bartók was. The name shift proved fitting: Gogol, after the Ukrainian born writer who smuggled his own culture into Russian society, and Bordello for the deliberate chaos of it all. Beyond the music, Hütz turned up as a co star alongside Elijah Wood in Everything Is Illuminated, and the full band appeared in Madonna's film Filth and Wisdom. Their 2010 major label debut Transcontinental Hustle, recorded for Rick Rubin's American Recordings, drew on Hütz's time living in Brazil. They have toured relentlessly and shared stages with Primus, Flogging Molly, and Cake, citing Jimi Hendrix, Parliament Funkadelic, Manu Chao, and The Clash as key influences.
