Balkan Beat Box is a group founded by ex-Gogol Bordello member Ori Kaplan, Tamir Muskat of Firewater and Big Lazy, and Tomer Yosef (MC, vocals, perc, sampler unit). As a musical project they often cooperate with a host of other musicians both in the studio as well as on stage. Their current live crew consist of Tomer Yosef, Ben Hendler, Itamar Ziegler, Eyal Talmudi, Uri Kinrot, Jeremiah Lockwood, and Peter Hess. Amongst their other collaborators are Victoria Hannah, the Bulgarian Chicks, and gnawa player Hassan Ben Jaffar.
Co-founders Ori Kaplan and Tamir Muskat both grew up in Israel, but met in Brooklyn. Both had grown up with music and Kaplan had been a klezmer clarinetist, while Muskat was a drummer in a punk band. They began playing together and had trouble finding a style that they felt represented themselves, so they decided to create one. They established their own unique sound by fusing the musical styles of Jewish klezmer, Mediterranean and Balkan traditions with hip-hop and dancehall beats.