Kerekes Band - When folk starts doing the boogie

Once upon a time there were lived a handful of hungarians, who due to some curse that was laid upon them at the dawn of time, picked up folk instruments, and devoted time and energy into mastering them. They did this because they loved the ancient sound of hungarian music, from the areas Gyimes and Moldva. However they soon learned that unless you have a relative or a contact that owns a TV channel or the Operahouse itself, you're going to die of famine - so they had a better idea.

Why not throw in some electronics?

The outcome hit the musical scene in 2006 with their album 'Pimasz'. Their finesse at playing those weird instruments which you won't hear even from the popular, so called world music playing bands stood as the fundament for everything else thrown into the mixture. The flute, lute and viola meet the keyboard, the drums and some really rad beat-patterns. The sound is laid-back psychedelic funk, the never-loved child of jazz and rock. All of this is dipped deep into the ancient soul that still lives in rural parts of Hungary, making their work well worth of the word extraordinary. They received numerous awards, and it's safe to say that our culture has never sounded this awesome.

These five guys haven't stopped there though: in 2008, they released their second album, titled 'Fel a kalappal!' (Up with your hat), shooting a video for the song 'Ethno Funk' in the meanwhile. Right now they're throwing gigs around the country, but they have set afoot in other countries, mainly in folk- or world music oriented festivals. With one half of the populace in their awe, and the other half not knowing about them yet, they continue to preserve our culture in a loud and fashionable way, but no one's complaining - because they're just that badass.

Ethno Funk video
Csángó boogie [live footage]

Official website
Myspace
Last.fm

Download 'Pimasz' (2006)
Download 'Fel a kalappal!' (2008) [pass:zsola400]

Marionette ID

Marionette ID roots from Tatabánya, a city with mighty gray flats blocking the sky since the socialist era. In '96, a couple of high school friends got together, and in between skipping classes, socialising with the old alcoholic miners and trying to survive what we call an education system, still found time to play their favourite songs, but over time they grew and grew, until the final lineup formed. Dumping their previous style, a new age started for them as they accomodated to the more buzzing life of the capital, Budapest. In 2006 they made a name for themselfes with the album Light Is Shining Brighter, even though the recording quality was sub-par (or if you want to phrase it better, almost lo-fi).

Their sound is hard to define, as Marionette ID struggle against the well known labeling and categorizing of modern day music. The songs often build up from a post-rock-esque mellow, only to be broken down with a swift rift, all accompanied by steady drums and a voice you could picture singing a lullaby just as smoothly. The recipe, as odd as it may be, works swell, and it fulfills their stated goal of going for the freshness of the original indie bands. The website soundaslanguage.com coined them as melodic post-hardcore, which as dodgy it may sound, is not all off-target.

In 2008 they released Emptiness will change your mind through the internet, and it's definitely something worth hearing. They are something unique in the big block of hungarian music, as they're not giving in to the ever so popular alternative stream, whilst pioneering in a whole different direction then our other metal bands. Right now they're doing gigs as headliners for the 'bigger' names (they opened for Russian Circles and These Arms Are Snakes), sometimes doing a stand alone session here and there, spreading the word within our borders, but gossip says they might be heading to tour in different countries soon, in hope that some major label will pick them up.

Within time they could get worldwide recognition, and we'll be sure to keep you tuned in with news and whatnot about them, with tour announcements and album news.

Download 'Emptiness will change your mind'

Last.fm
Myspace
Website