BENCE BAKONYI. HARMONIC COMPOSITIONS, WELL-ORDERED SPACES, AND THE MODERATENESS AND ELEGANCE THAT STEMS FROM THE USE OF DELICATE PASTELS [URBANITE, FOTOGRAF]

ERIK SUMO BAND - 'DISCO IN MY HEAD' [THE TROUBLE SOUP, 2010]

At the end
When i find you
There is disco in my head
And now i have an army

It is not because I love Budapest, but the following pop-revolution comes from Hungary.

Hungary; a country where international careers in music are few and far between. However, vibrant signs of life were sighted years ago: back then an all-round musician by the name of Erik Sumo, who in real life is called Ambrus Tövisházi, successfully introduced himself with his debut album My Rocky Mountain (2005).

Back then pop, dub, jazz and Hungarian folk-elements were crossed with extremely catchy melodies.

By now, the Erik Sumo Band is a seven-strong project and their album The Trouble Soup (2010) is a bubbling cauldron of great pop-anthems.

Explosive synthesizers, eastern passages, indie and progressive in three-minute operas, that could have been penned by the Pram, Arcade Fire, Flaming Lips or the B 52's.

It's crystal clear, the Hungarian pop saga has to be rewritten.

GABOR SZABO - THE ARTIST WHO NEVER GOT THE APPRECIATION HE FELT HE DESERVED

Not only Gabor was an amazing guitarist and prolific jazz musician, but first of all, he was an incredible innovator!
He started experimenting with eastern sounds (born in Budapest/Hungary in 1936) and innovating very early on. I got sucked into the Gabor world when I heard Spellbinder (1966). That was the first 'real, but late' Szabo ticket for me.

An LP rich with texture and feeling, stopping throughout the world to pick up varied influences (latino, jazz, funk). It began my 'branching out' into other areas, and I've gotta thank Gabor for that. Time to delve right into a nice Chai tea on a rainy day and peep a Fellini movie, or listening to a Buckley's 'Gypsy Woman'.
It seems like he was alwasy an open door to other worlds...
His eastern influences and Hungarian descent set his path and direction for virtually all of his magnificent career.

This tune 'Galatea's Guitar' (from LP Dreams, 1968) is a major mood setter.
Much of Gabor's music is this way. But, in particular this tune just seems to open up, right into an oasis of head nodding trippy jazz funk paradise. The intro is a bit long, the tune doesn't really start until about 1:44. But, like I said the mood is being set and the wait is well worth it. It is perhaps the closest to a 'dream' tune.

[ HUNGARIAN DANCES - THREE NIGHTS IN BUDAPEST ]

Images include:
Buda Castle, The House Of Parliament, Hungarian Art Nouveau Museum, Applied Art Museum, Corvin, Szent István-bazilika, Gellert Bath, Citadella, Andrassy Ut, Heroes Square, Magyar Nemzeti Muzeum, The statue 'Anonymous', Elisabeth Bridge, RetRock shop

Ruin pubs:
Szimplakert, Mika Tivadar, Lokal, Instant, Puder, Fogas-Haz