Euroconnections: For the Musically Diverse

The Euroconnection concert series, which has become the trademark of French and Hungarian cultural cooperation over the past two years, is a series of musical and artistic shows organized primarily bythe French Institute in Budapest. The event usually brings a Hungarian and a French performer to a stage to compare talents and simply to throw a stormy party for dance-happy Budapest dwellers.

This month it will be the turn of alternative Hungarian band Masfel to face France-based Sayag Jazz Machine at a Trafo party that promises to get your bootie shaken. Masfel have been labeled as Hungary's alternative weirdoes for some time, a band that doesn't shy away from intertwining the surreal with the down to earth, such as the monotonous rattling of a tram or the sneezing fits of a flu-ridden Chinese man waiting for the bus. Ever since their first album arrived in 1994, Masfel has continuously come up with challenging musical productions, amalgams of different genres raging from ethno and jungle to classical and spiced with the most incredible sounds the surrounding world can possibly produce. Trying to pigeonhole musical genres these days when borderlines have faded or have just been washed over, is like bringing water to the sea, but Masfel's music is as close as Hungarian bands have gotten to musical originality lately.

The instrumental music they play has the potential of sending huge crowds into a dancing frenzy. The band has been around for quite a while and Hungarian audiences prefer them for their somewhat eerie and supernatural style, blending tradition with the post modern. Masfel have performed throughout Europe at many festivals and are a favorite live gig at any given party in Hungary. Never bothered to fit into the mainstream of Hungarian pop music, Masfel have kept to their genuine style and have carved a niche for themselves.

In the French corner we have Sayag Jazz Machine, an undoubtedly genuine French band founded two years ago who are the living and music making proof that skillful combination of acoustic and electronic genres can result in quality jungle jazz. Sayag's music is heavily reliant on drum&bass basics, on which they build a musical labyrinth using sequencers, scratching, saxophone, and even the cello. The outcome is a dynamic amalgam of 1920s jazz and turn of the century music, such as hip-hop, acid-jazz, big beat, and reggae. Their concerts are virtual audio-visual journeys where selected black and white images are built up into a coherent story.

Call it a competition or a musical handshake between two bands, two musical cultures, two nations, one fact remains, Euroconnection's line-up promises a wild and musically challenging night out.

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Edith Balazs