Starting today, Thursday, 14 July, the inaugural Reflektor Festival brings all kinds of alternative music to Budapest. Moving from its original site near Kőbánya, the event now takes place on the various stages of the Akvárium Klub in town. Here we pick out ten acts you shouldn’t miss.
Festival information
Being held for the first time, the Reflektor Festival is now taking place on the various stages of the downtown Akvárium Klub. Tickets and passes are available here.
1/10
Alina Pash
This Ukrainian singer-rapper took third place at the 2016 Ukrainian
X-Factor and almost represented her country at this year's successful Eurovision Song
Contest. The talented, charismatic. Alina mixes folk music with electronica and contemporary hip hop. Her dark, dramatic sounds
have so far featured on three LPs, the latest released in 2021. 14 July,
6.45pm. Small
Hall
2/10
Floex
From Prague, clarinettist, songwriter and media artist Tomáš Dvořák has
been playing under the name Floex for more than 20 years. His
music is both electronic and acoustic, mixing fine contemporary jazz with ambient and downtempo. He not only releases solo records and collaborates
with others, but he also likes to remix himself and has written several film
scores. His live performances can be an exceptional experience. 14 July
11.30pm. Main
Hall
3/10
Crows
Formed in 2010, this four-piece band from London should primarily appeal
to those who like Idles, Viagra Boys or Fontaines D.C.. The Crows also offer raw, angry and merciless rock with an alt-punk attitude. Their
second LP, Silver Tongues was released this year, recorded in darkness and toured
with Idles this spring. Expect more of same here. 14 July, 11pm. Small
Hall
4/10
Temples
Offering psychedelic rock from Kettering, four-piece Temples have
released three LPs so far, but the last was three years ago. The Temples also lace a
little ‘70s’ glam into their sound and have practised a bit too hard to look like rock
stars. 15 July, 9.30pm. Main Hall
5/10
Super Besse
That rare curio, a Belarusian band named after a French ski resort,
Super Besse come to Budapest by way of
doing a charity gig for Ukraine at the Haus der Statistik in Berlin and the
Wrong Festival in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. They deliver post-punk, very tight and
very cathartic. They have released four LPs so far, and like to accompany their
albums with remixes. If they’re anything as overwhelming as they are on record,
this should be a real Reflektor highlight. 15 July, 9pm. Lokál
6/10
Nightmares on Wax
George Evelyn, aka DJ E.A.S.E.,
has brought his Brit electronica and downtempo triphop to Hungary before. He
has been making music since 1988 and his first album was released in 1991, so
he’s a real old trouper. He has released an almost uncountable number of
self-titled albums, remixes, collaborations, DJ mixes, EPs and singles over the
past 35 years. Plenty to choose from, then, for his Reflektor set. 16 July
9.30pm. Main Hall
7/10
Mother’s Cake
Psych-rock from the Tyrol? Yup, Mother's Cake from the tiny Alpine village of Arzl im Pitztal won a talent contest in 2010 and have since gone on to conquer the German-speaking world with their wild version of space rock. Six albums and one pandemic later, and the trio are still gigging consistently, adding no little funk to their prog foundations. 15 July, 6.45pm, Small Hall
8/10
Porridge Radio
Indie exponents from Brighton, Porridge Radio were founded in 2015, and have so far released three crowd-pleasing LPs. The
breakthrough was the second, Every Bad, two years ago, which they managed
to build on this year with their third release, Waterslide, Diving Board,
Ladder to the Sky, also on the wonderful Secretly Canadian label. Fronted by singer-guitarist-songwriter
Dana Margolin, who is always good value. 16 July, 7.45pm. Main Hall
9/10
Moses Boyd
It is rare, but not unusual, for a drummer to go solo but
the UK’s Moses Boyd has done just that. Since he
came here through jazz, there’s a lot of that thrown in, but more future, nu or
electro rather than mainstream. He has so far created two LPs in his sorcerer’s
workshop full of percussion instruments and gadgets, weaving in his experiences
of electronic music, plus hip hop and soul, into his music. 16 July, 8.30pm. Small Hall
10/10
Whispering Sons
This Belgian post-punk band based in Brussels were formed in the first
half of the last decade. Whispering Sons have so far released two LPs, each featuring the two things that make their
music special. One is that they are very noisy, this is a post-punk studded
with experimental elements, while the other is singer, Fenne Kuppens, whose characterful,
almost unearthly deep voice and disturbing style immediately captivates the
listener. These together make their show on the last day of Reflektor a must. Strangely,
they have a song called Sátántangó, after the seven-hour long Hungarian cult film.
16 July, 10pm. Small Hall
