Eastern Haze: May 2014

Photo taken in Budapest by Marci Kristof

In her monthly report, Lucia Udvardyova tracks the movements in and from the best of the Central and Eastern European sonic underground, distilling the best of her Easterndaze blog.

A diary is a memory device, a personal narrative of a present that has irrevocably become the past. A deeply personal expression that usually remains private, a self-reflexive reminiscence of the development of the self. An audio diary shifts the rather self-centred nature of a written account into a more communal experience, or rather, diverts the attention onto others, or the environment. Captured by the recorder (“directed” by the one who is holding it) it selects aural situations and sounds that create a sort of sonic play. “In the first few minutes we just started to record noises, we continued by capturing audio phenomena using other sound equipment. We were brainstorming about the possible follow-ups and an overall conception,” says Marci Kristof of the 12z collective about his Budapest audio mixtape. “Also, we got stuck in conversations about the past and future of music, then we went out to different places in Budapest and met a lot of people.”

Lutto Lento is one of the most active figures on the Polish underground scene, running his acclaimed Sangoplasmo label for several years now, with the likes of Ensemble Economique, Aranos or Burial Hex under its belt. His own musical output increasingly focuses on—in contrast to his label—dancefloor friendly material, though of a cerebral rather than functionalist nature. The 4/4 tempo is injected with mangled samples and enough strangeness to suggest a sound emanating from speakers placed in a bucket full of lysergic acid.

And this brings us nicely to Piotr Kurek, with whom Lubomir Grzelak—Lutto Lento—is currently on European tour. Kurek doesn’t need to prove much more with his artistic creations, his acclaimed album Heat has appeared on Foxy Digitalis and he remains one of the most noteworthy characters of contemporary Polish music scene, with his idiosyncratic sound signature which varies from odd to the apparently more “customary”. His latest sonic incarnation is called ABRADA.

Triple Sun is a relatively new addition to the sprawling Bratislava electronic music scene, whose vibrancy is confirmed in release after release. When I attended a local festival in February, which featured approximately 16 (!) local live acts, mostly inaccessible to the “untrained” ear. Triple Sun is one of the staples of this community, its members being active in various outfits and collectives. Their latest release Overture is out now on the recently established Forum Absurdum label, associated with the haven of Bratislava’s underground scene, the Fuga club, located in an old industrial complex encircled by signs of merciless urban development. ~

Published May 27, 2014. Words by Lucia Udvardyova.