Úzgin Űver - Patak
Lollipoppe Shoppe LSCD 018 (CD) Germany
Mana Mana Records MANAVL-002 (LP) Hungary
Release Date: October 2018
Genre: Electronic, Folk, World, Psychedelia
Style: Neofolk
uzginuver.hu
lollipoppeshoppe.bandcamp.com
The new album by this enigmatic Hungarian cult band is now available on Budapest's Mana Mana label, on limited 140 gr. vinyl, and on CD on Berlin's Lollipoppe Shoppe label. Patak is the best work by Úzgin Űver so far. It also marks their 27th anniversary as a band.
In recent years, it has rarely been possible to meet with Úzgin Űver from the southern town of Kecskemét. Now they have released an album fully-loaded with precious new territories. It's their 8th album since the group formed in 1991, and the first released on vinyl. All recordings are composed by the three founding members: Marcsi Farkas (violin), Gyula Majoros (wind instruments) and Péter Homoki (guitar and producer).
There are six new tracks. The title track, Patak, starts the album and roams and grooves for 16 minutes. In its closing part, this massive track pays homage to Kecskemét's legendary underground cult band Nagy Palibi, which Homoki had co-founded in the 80's.
It is also the first occasion that the band features a guest vocalist and aims for some "normal" kind of pop ballad. In the track Shirat HaYam, PollyFlow (Polnauer Flóra) sings in Hebrew about the Red Sea.
In the music of Úzgin Űver traditional folk is stretched far beyond the average world music. Of course, this calm, psychedelic, rich and scale-based instrumental process music draws from a mix of genres and methods, and has an ancient layer as well as some unique velvety emotional and electric charge. The disregard for any current trends gives the music a timeless attraction, and yet takes you on a precise kind of psycho-geographical journey.
Úzgin Űver is a very interesting world music band from Hungary. It has been a while since I heard their music (I only own the very early material). The band has been around since the early 90s and is lead by Péter Homoki who plays most of the instruments, including guitars, bass, drums, loops, synths and one vocal (5). Marcsi backs him up on violin and vocals (1,4) and Gyula on duduk, jews harp, flute, and clarinet. The CD starts off with the amazing 16 min track, which was to me the best song on the album. It starts off quite slow and spacey with some nice flute playing and laid back bass and percussive grooves. Next section we have some clarinet and violin complimenting each other as the rhythm grows a bit more intense. Every now and then the main melodic theme is repeated. Around 6 mins the female vocal kicks in and by 7:30 it is quite psychedelic with a lot of stuff going on in the background and it gradually comes back down to just the bass, simple percussion and clarinet. It has this real mid-east feel to it later and also some guitar kicks in that really cuts through the tribal groove. The vibe of this track really reminds me of Ole Lukkoye from Russia at times. Incredible song. G�zl� is a very repetitive track with a slight increased tempo and features some nice layers of violin and clarinet. There is a long guitar solo on this track as well. This is music to put you into a trance. Shirat Hayam is a more vocal track with some very cool Hungarian vocals. What an amazing voice she has! I get transported out to the desert sands with this music. Sodr�s is driven by another hypnotic rhythm and lead with some repeated violin lines that get doubled so it sounds really cool. Lots of other stuff is happening as well if you listen closely. Őrvény features a male singer this time on a track with a more dark heavy feel to it. Sometimes he sings almost like throat singing. The CD ends with Nádas. This is more laid back with some guitar and violin that gives it a mysterious feel. The jews harp makes an appearance as well. A sort of happy but not happy song that has a special sort of rhythm. Very different from the other songs on this excellent album.
Scott Heller
http://writingaboutmusic.blogspot.com
Henning Küpper propagiert seit den 90ern psychedelische Musik mit Schwerpunkt Osteuropa: Atman, Magic Carpathians Project und Asunta aus Polen, NU & Apa Neagra aus Rumänien, Ole Lukkoye aus St. Petersburg, Volga aus Moskau, Korai Öröm aus Ungarn ebenso wie ÚZGIN ŰVER. Nach der Wiederveröffentlichung von "99" (LSCD 013, 2015). bringt nun Patak (LSCD 018 / Mana Mana Records, MANAVL-002, LP) wieder deren Imaginäre Folklore, zum Grooven gebracht von Farkas Marcsi an der Geige, Homoki Péter an Gitarre, Bass, Loops, Synthie, Drums & Percussion und Majoros Gyula an Flöte, Klarinette & Duduk. Dazu stößt PollyFlow, die Jazz-Klez-Sängerin und Kantorin Flora Polnauer in Budapest, um bei 'Shirat HaYam', dem 'Lied am Schilfmeer' aus dem Buch Exodus, auf hebräisch und wie mit dem Hüftschwung der Salome den Herrn dafür zu preisen, dass er die Rösser & Reiter des Pharaos im Roten Meer ersäuft hat. Bei der "Juden raus"-Hetze gegen George Soros, Ágnes Heller und den toten Georg Lukács ist das von sprechender Symbolik. Eingebettet in 'Patak' (Bach), 'Gázló' (Furt), 'Sodrás' (Strömung), 'Örvény' (Strudel) und 'Nádas' (Schilf) wird daraus quasi ein Narrativ. Tribaler Beat, die Geige und archaisches Flöten suggerieren im Flow des pulsierenden Basses und eines knarrenden Loops und mit dem sanften Druck der Gitarre eine orientalistische Fantasy, ein imaginäres Mittelalter, karpato-mongolische Traumpfade. Farkas prägt 'Patak', mit 16 Min. der zeitvergessen und melodisch swingende, ja zwingende Opener, mit auch noch zunehmend enthusiasmiertem Zungenschlag und so jubiliert sie auch beim animierten, aus allen Rohren bedudelten 'Sodrás' mit seinem hypnotisierenden Differenz-Wiederholungs-Sog. Dazwischen steigern bei 'Gázló' Gitarre und Flöte im Wechselspiel das Tempo, fast wie als ferne Verwandte der Master Mujicians of Jajouka, aber melodienseliger und mit einer psychedelischen Westcoastgitarre zum tribalen Tamtam. Homoki bestimmt mit Throatgesang und urigem Scat das knarrig bummelnde und flöten gehende 'Örvény'. Bis 'Nádas' mit klapperndem Pferdetritt zu Maultrommel und Duduk auf den Sonnenuntergang zu reitet, luckyluke-lässig genug, um sich dabei eine Zigarette zu drehen. Ihr Debut hieß einst "Szegény Aratás" [Schlechte Ernte], seitdem haben Úzgin Űver das ständig Lügen gestraft.
Rigobert Dittmann
http://www.badalchemy.de