Tag: S Olbricht

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

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

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

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

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

Alpár / S Olbricht + Carla Under Water (SicSic, 2014)

The Budapest scene of the last few years has garnered attention, because of its cross-pollinatory nature, specific sound revolving around the Farbwechsel label. Lo-fi house, analogue electronics, vintage techno have become staples of sonic map of the Hungarian capital.

Published February, 2014

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

Techno made in Budapest: Synus0006 – B4CK6ROUNDNO1SE X10

Budapest, as I have experienced over the last year, is slowly turning into a hotbed for offbeat electronics, vintage dance and experimentalism. In spite of the recent politial, economic and societal state of the country /dubbed “Orbanistan”/, much of which has featured prominently in global media as of late, the music scene, especially the dance one, has been thriving.

Published August, 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

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

Střed Světa – Remixes

Our friend Střed Světa released an eponymous debut album earlier this year on our little baby, the Baba Vanga label. The idiosyncratic producer, who prefers to work in his Bohemian seclusion, has recontextualized years of sonic activities into a remarkable journey that bubbles, floats, crackles and hypnotizes.

Published June, 2013

Gloryhole: Heavenly Remixes

Gloryhole is a Hungarian indie garage/pop band, whose songs are perfectly accessible and radio friendly in The Smiths kind of way, even your mum would like them. Enter “Heavenly Remixes”, a collection of beat-driven remixes, mostly by local producers, which have ended up completely recontextualising the original, turning it into at times harrowing, menacing offering.

Published March, 2013