| Gulag Orkestar | |
| Type: | Album |
| Artist: | Beirut |
| Cover: | Gulag Orkestar (Front Cover).png |
| Released: | May 9, 2006 |
| Genre: | Balkan folk |
| Length: | 37:25 |
| Label: | Ba Da Bing |
| Next Title: | Lon Gisland |
| Next Year: | 2007 |
Gulag Orkestar is the debut album of Beirut. It was recorded in 2005 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Gulag was a Soviet government agency administering criminal justice, while orkestar is the Serbo-Croatian word for "orchestra".
It is written in the booklet that the front and back photos were found in a library in Leipzig, torn out of a book. The original photographer was unknown to the creators of the album while it was recorded, but has since been discovered to be Sergey Chilikov.[1]
The album has received great critical acclaim and was later re-released to include the Lon Gisland EP.
As of 2009, sales in the United States have exceeded 79,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[2]
Many song titles are named after toponyms in Europe, such as cities, states and neighborhoods. Prenzlauerberg is a locality in Berlin. Brandenburg and Rhineland are geographical areas in Germany. Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia.