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Tag: Hungary

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

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

Gábor Lazár’s additive synthesis

Another release on the Hungarian scene is something different than the traditionally more club friendly output of the Budapestians spearheaded by the likes of Norwell or S Olbricht. But still, the connection is there, as Gábor Lazar is graduate of the Faculty of Music and Visual Arts in Pécs, which is an institution also attended by S Olbricht in the past, one of the rising artists of the Farbwechsel collective with a handful of releases on internationally acclaimed labels.

Published April, 2014

Alley Catss & S Olbricht (Opal Tapes, 2014)

Following in the footsteps of the SicSic Tapes Alpár/Carla Under Water/S Olbricht split, is another proof of the healthy state of Budapest’s electronic scene, the numerous impromptu collaborations and happenings, improvised sessions or heavy analogue synth abuse hosted by the splendid Ballacid studio housed in the concrete housing estate of Új Pest. After Martin Mikolai released his well-received solo album on Opal Tapes last year, he has shunned ego-masturbation in favour of introducing further talent from the Hungarian capital, the Magyar Zodiak Club, as they say.

Published April, 2014

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

S Olbricht – Deutsch Amerikanische Tragödie /Opal Tapes, 2013/

Martin Mikolai, S Olbricht, is one of the staples of the burgeoning new Budapest electronic scene, which manages to thrive inspite or thanks to the alarming political and societal situation in this country, as the label head of the Farbwechsel imprint, that has been championing and releasing several noteworthy musicians since its inception a couple of years ago. Martin studies electronic music and media at the academy in southern Hungary in Pécs.

Published June, 2013

Raketa Mixtape 001 / Č! WYSZUKANA KOMPILACJA

Do artists who live in one geographical area have more in common than those across borders but with stylistic affinities, especially at times when anything confined to the national level seems obsolete? This is the question we also have asked numerous times during our travels. Two compilations are trying to prove that there is still place to highlight local productions, especially if there are certain parallels in their sonic output and a shared physical interaction and context.

Published December, 2012

The synths of SILF

The Budapest-based duo of Silf is a new project by experimental electronic producer Martin Mikolai aka Stephan Olbricht and his Farbwechsel co-founder and label boss Bálint Zalkai aka Alpár, exploring leftfield territories of acid, Chicago and Detroit house, with a blend of Eastern melancholia, tropic daze and vintage nostalgia. Their self-titled first EP premiers here today /insert smug smile/, stream the record in its entirety before it will be released on 1st of January 2013 via Farbwechsel.

Published December, 2012

Zomblaze – Machinstruments Vol​.​1. (2012, Chi Recordings)

For fans of the deeper spectrum of abstract hip-hop and zombieish bass music, we present three splendid cuts courtesy of Chi Recordings that showcase the production of our Budapest-based friend Zomblaze (his track 21 was included on our first compilation). Balkan Kannibalizm by Zomblaze Coming from the realm of hip-hop, his production uses sampling, scratching, heavy bass and hip-hop’s pulse, but moves further into industrial and experimental sonic territories, never without a catchy sample or vibe.

Published August, 2012

Models Can’t Fuck

Hungary seems to be in thrall of all things dreamy, lo-fi and fuzz (just check out Piresian Beach and her work, she’s also on our compilation). Another case in point is the Hungarian dreamy lo-fi fuzz project Models Can’t Fuck is inspired “by the "impotence” of the Hungarian music scene (hence the name), both mainstream and underground, and the general public’s out of date thinking about contemporary music and their indifference towards new exciting acts and young bands,“ says its heart and brain Árpi Szarvas.

Published January, 2011