After two years of cancelled shows across the world, it’s exciting to anticipate the visits of Swiss-German ice queens, Oscar-winning composers of film scores and legendary UK DJs to these shores. Here’s hoping all can make it – and that many more might follow in the summer.
1/10
Sasha
The UK has a number of legendary
spinners from the acid house days, one of which is DJ Sasha, aka Alexander Paul
Coe, a veteran of the Haçienda daze back in 1988. Teaming up with John Digweed, the
pair ruled the superclubs either side of the Atlantic. Sasha became known for his
classic remixes and marathon sets. The Welshman comes to Budapest’s Akvárium Klub
to offer a relatively restrained three-hour session.
2/10
Gojira
That rara avis, a French
metal band big in the States, Gojira perform at the rock barn of Barba Negra down
in south Buda. This classic four-piece features the Duplantier brothers and two
mates who played in their garage in the French Basque Country 25 years ago. Originally
named Godzilla, the band were forced to change it to Gojira for copyright reasons.
They come to Budapest to promote seventh studio album, Fortitude, released in
2021.
3/10
Christian Löffler
This is not the first time
that this talented German electro musician has come to Hungary, but when he does
– usually organised by Pure Lust – it’s always an event. Also recognised as a
visual artist, Löffler blends the sounds of the environment with those of machinery
in an entirely original fashion, acoustic and electronic. Think of it as storytelling
without words. You can see and hear it for yourself in early February when he passes
through Budapest from Kallithea in Greece, en route to a cathedral in
Luxembourg, then churches in Johanneshov, Sweden, and Hackney.
4/10
Efterklang
Previously
signed to 4AD and now to Berlin’s City Slang, Copenhagen indie band Efterklang
comprise three childhood
friends who last played in Hungary almost ten years ago. Now they return with
their sixth album, Windflowers, released in October 2021. Described by their label
as ‘inventive and inclusive’, Efterklang somehow manage to be coolly restrained
and distant yet full of emotion.
5/10
Hans Zimmer
Today’s number one film
composer has picked up every prestigious award going, including an Oscar, a
Grammy and a Golden Globe. Zimmer brings his well-known melodies to Budapest again
from films such as The Lion King, Gladiator, Crimson Tide and The Dark Knight. More
recently, the Frankfurt-born, California-based composer provided the score for James
Bond film, No Time to Die.
6/10
Metronomy
Playing the Akvárium Klub
on the national holiday of 15 March, Devon electro pop band Metronomy embark on
what must be termed a major European tour, as it involves shows in Kiev,
Moscow, Mallorca and Paris. The group, perhaps best known for Mercury-nominated
album The English Riviera back in 2011, release seventh studio album Small
World in February.
7/10
Kerala Dust
Three-piece London band Kerala
Dust are still relatively fresh, having come together in 2016, and since played
some 150 shows from the Dominican Republic to Tel Aviv. They have built a reputation
on a particular kind of electronica, psychedelic rock and blues, working on material
in their studio in Berlin. Recently, the band created a mini-movie set around a
performance in the desert of southern Spain, Live, West.
8/10
Lebanon Hanover
Formed by Swiss-German Larissa
Iceglass and Englishman William Maybelline, this duo can perhaps be described
as a musical version of a post-punk Bermuda Triangle. Bauhaus and the Banshees
may provide inspiration but so do, apparently, William Wordsworth, ghostly forests
and Berlin urbanism. Album titles include The World Is Getting Colder, Tomb For
Two and Besides The Abyss. You get the picture.
9/10
Nouvelle Vague
Nearly 20 years on, the concept
created by French music producers, Olivier Libaux and Marc Collin, of reworked chanson
and bossa nova versions of touchstone punk and new wave numbers continues to
resonate and launch solo careers for a string of female vocalists. After Libaux’s
death in September 2021, Collin carries the torch.
10/10
Shawn Mendes
Canadian heartthrob Mendes, annoyingly
still only 23, returns to Hungary with his extensive catalogue of self-penned numbers
as part of a 64-date world tour. His fourth and most recent album, Wonder, spawned
three hit singles, one written with Justin Bieber.
