Tag: Farbwechsel

Budapest’s New Underground

Although the international reputation of the country, whose PM hailed illiberal democracy as his preferred NWO, is not the best (to say the least), there’s a parallel culture that largely operates independently of state-run infrastructure, creating several microcosms with their own audiences and worldviews, implicitly turning against misogyny, discrimination, narrow-mindedness, and reflecting the techno-dystopian times we are living in at the moment. “…The goal of our underground is to create a second culture, a culture completely independent from all official communication media and the conventional hierarchy of value judgements put out by the establishment”, wrote Ivan Jirous, a member of The Plastic People of the Universe, in 1975.

Published April, 2017

Farbwechsel – VA03: Diverse Künstler Drei

The Budapest-based label Farbwechsel has been relatively dormant in the last two years, but that wouldn’t be obvious from their latest opus magnum - a 17 track compilation that gathers producers from their roster, friends and like-minded knob-twisters. Sonically, it’s as diverse as its title promises - from the straighter strains of techno and house of the likes of Imre Kiss and Mike Nylons, through weirder, more quirky endeavours by the likes of 12z and academic and sound artist Zlatko Baracskai.

Published April, 2017

Easterndaze × Berlin

September 28 - October 9, 2016 (Silent Green Kulturquartier, Lichtblick Kino Berlin) Beyond folklore clichés and Cold War discourse, below the radar of the tastemaking music press, DIY, alternative, independent music scenes are thriving in Central and Eastern Europe: from electronics and noise to ironic-deconstructive takes on traditional and marginalized local musical styles like Manele and Chalga. The blog Easterndaze (easterndaze.

Published August, 2016

Easterndazed: DIY Music Topographies @ OFF Biennale Budapest

From April 17 to June 12, 2015 we have tried to encapsulate what we have been doing in the last five years through a gallery exhibition and a series of events, which aimed to highlight the thriving DIY culture that has flourished in this region. Dozens of excellent music videos, which - with a dose of inherent irony - employ and subvert the cliches of “Eastern topography” - the concrete blocks (ghettos, right?), the ostentatious display of consumer goods, and the lo-fi aesthetic (more by necessity than choice) were displayed in the pristine white cube gallery space Higgs Field in the centre off Budapest as part of the two-month OFF Biennále Budapest, which was basically a statement against the current political status quo in Hungary.

Published June, 2015

Farbwechsel goes vinyl: Route 8/Black Mold/Basic House/S Olbricht

Farbwechsel’s inaugural vinyl release aims high. This compilation contains 4 tracks, 2 of them Farbwechsel’s core (Route8/S Olbricht) alongside their likeminded fellows.

Published February, 2015

Easterndaze 2014 mixtape

2014 has been great for music. Many new musicians, albums, labels came to life, presenting adventurous and uncompromising music.

Published December, 2014

Kokum/SZO – Splt (Farbwechsel, 2014)

Farbwechsel’s recent releases are becoming more different, offering a broader range of musical genres. This change is welcome since their lo-fi and dreamy house-driven sound slowly started to become a bit worn-out.

Published December, 2014

Wedding Acid Group – Newpestian Adventures Remixes

There is a thing with remixes, an almost philosophical question. Shall they eclipse the originals, shall they pay homage to them, or rather totally arbitrarily, like the ol’ Aphex Twin used to do, throw in a random track.

Published July, 2014

Východiska Xmas mix

Every week on Wednesday Czech Radio’s Wave station, we try to present a project, label, in a short interview format. Our show Východiska (you can check the archive of the show here) aims to map the latest happenings on the independent music scene in Central and Eastern Europe.

Published December, 2013

Imre Kiss – Midnight Wave /Farbwechsel, 2013/

Farbwechsel has become a staple and a nurturing umbrella for several up-and-coming Hungarian producers, acting as a catalyst for the diverse and noteworthy Budapest electronic scene of the last two years with Martin Mikolai at its helm, who produces music under his moniker S Olbricht. The Opal Tapes artist has also created a specific sound - hazy, dance-oriented and nostalgic, which have also been translated on the output of his own imprint.

Published October, 2013

Exterritory Vol III: from kosmische to distant rave

The Exterritory compilation series strives to present the best up-and-coming music from Central Europe - Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland, aka the V4. It is the third installment of the annual sonic list, focusing mostly on electronics and new forms of the aural underground.

Published September, 2013

From Verdi to Budapest house music: An interview with Imre Kiss

Imre Kiss is a fledgling Hungarian producer, who is currently based in London as a freelance graphic designer. He is part of the burgeoning Budapest dance/electronic scene, underpinned by the Farbwechsel label.

Published July, 2013

Budapest sonics ’13: Rakéta Demo 2013

In spite of the increasingly weird political situation of Hungary, the absurd new laws and changes in constitution, nationalism and other xenophobias, its underground music scene has been blooming, largely unaffected by the cuts in arts funding. Plenty of new ensembles, projects and labels have come out in the last two or three years, most notably imprints and crews surrounding them, like Farbwechsel and Last Foundation.

Published July, 2013

A i w A scares At the Window

Another mysterious project appeared on the roster of Budapest’s prolific synth label Farbwechsel. The latest addition to the imprint is called A i w A, a producer with hidden identity yet strong artistic concept.

Published July, 2013

12z – playful sonic adventures

12z is an improvisational project from Budapest, whose regular weekly sessions in their Buda flat overlooking a park and the famous Gellert hill, have lead to a full-fledged album, recorded not in Budapest, but in a countryside hut. 12z’s Marci Kristof has told me that he doesn’t think music that is aimed at live contexts, should be statified on record.

Published May, 2013

Route 8 – Mental Murder, and his lofi house

Route 8 emerged from the sprawling Hungarian lofi scene that mostly encompassed guitar-driven and quirky electronic acts. Route 8’s sonic trajectory verged towards the dancefloor, the dancefloor of slow, hypnotic tunes made on analogue hardware.

Published April, 2013

András G. Varga on Hungarian underground music 12/13

1. What’s the highlight for you in Hungary’s music scene? Budapest had an eventful year in 2012.

Published January, 2013

Farbwechsel label podcast

The newly established Budapest-based label Farbwechsel champions the more plaintive house territories, verging on Chicago, Detroit and acid. Their first release, by label boss and multi-facetted musician operating under the moniker S Olbricht in this case, is out now.

Published November, 2012