How does your background inform your bass playing?
Ethiopian music is largely horn-driven and is traditionally based on a 6/8 groove called “chichika.” Ethiopian music is related to reggae for many reasons, so I’ve always listened to and played a lot of reggae. Aston “Family Man” Barrett from Bob Marley & the Wailers was a big influence. Reggae is very groove based, but the bass also relates melodically to the whole idea. I focus on getting a nice, dub-ish low-end groove that makes sense and really moves people. I learned about keeping the bass tone way down in the low end of the mix from Bill Laswell, but my older brother was my greatest bass hero as a player growing up. He was way into the Motown sound. My playing is a blend of those ideas. I added it to the insanity of Gogol Bordello as they threw gypsy, punk, and metal back at me.

How did you deal with that peculiar blend of genres?
I’ve been aware of the D.C. punk scene—bands like Bad Brains and Fugazi—and how it relates to the reggae scene through a similar social and political message, but I’d never played anything punk. Gogol is all about how gypsy and punk come from the same rebellious place, and much of the music is based on playing a traditional Eastern European two-step rhythm with a punk attitude. That’s fun for me, and they appreciate my influence. Reggae and ska can be broken down to a two-step line, too. We use it to change easily back and forth. It’s funny—if you play gypsy or polka twice as fast it becomes punk, and if you play reggae twice as fast, it becomes ska.

How do you keep up with the shifting pace?
My plucking fingers are up to the challenge. I do not position my thumb for support; I let my hand hang like a loose claw, and I can easily stroke up or down with my thumb, or use it for muting while I play with my first two or three fingers.

You’re a flexible player.
Music should have no boundaries. You should feel free to exploit everything to its last possible place, and be open enough to integrate it. That happens very naturally in Gogol Bordello—it’s not forced. Eugene presents the song idea and the musicians work together to see where we can take it.