Black Sea Hotel's album, The Forest Is Shaking and Swaying, is out now

Black Sea Hotel: Delightfully Dissonant A Cappella

Soundcheck | Sep 3, 2014

When you hear the term a cappella, quirky college concerts, inventive pop covers, or famous television theme songs may be the first things that come to mind. But Black Sea Hotel shatters these expectations. The Brooklyn trio 's 2013 album, The Forest Is Shaking and Swaying, showcases the group's haunting, reverb-drenched harmonies, recalling the Gregorian polyphony of the Catholic church. Yet the group credits another exotic influence in helping to shape its sound: Balkan folk music.

No matter the creative source, Black Sea Hotel's music is ethereal, and oftentimes, dissonant, creating a swirling sonic palette that skips around nimbly. It's a sound that expertly plays with melody and harmony, fashioning a musical world equally familiar and fantastical.

Black Sea Hotel performs tonight at Joe's Pub.

WNYC is funded by sponsors and member donations

Top Stories

One Refugee’s Journey Through ICE Detention

In 2025, ICE began detaining people at immigration hearings, an unprecedented step. The staff writer Jonathan Blitzer shares the story of one detainee whose life was turned upside down.
The New Yorker Radio Hour |

How an Empire of Craft Stores Pushed an Agenda of Christian Nationalism

All Of It with Alison Stewart |

Flood Watch issued for NYC as rain and storms move in after picture-perfect weekend

Spotty rain showers and a potential thunderstorm are expected to begin Monday afternoon before several days of rain and storms.
Gothamist |

Exploring an Olympics Bid for New York

NYS Assemblymember Robert Carroll talks about his vision for a joint upstate/downstate bid for the Winter Olympics.
The Brian Lehrer Show |
YOU ARE ONLINE