A Time Capsule’s Tale

HUNGARY | EXPERIMENTAL/PSYCHEDELIC

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I love when I can’t define a band’s music! Though, this is something entirely different from the likes of China’s Leah Dou or Iceland’s Björk. This is psychedelic, man. Like, totally.

Žagar is a band utilizing the things of the past to bring music back to life today, vintage sound clips and all. Upon first listen, you can pick up the subtleties drawing from inspirations like The Doors and Pink Floyd, but the band also stays inspired by newer artists like Floating Points and Forest Swords. Yet, with all that being said, it is quite difficult to explain their sound or to try fitting them into the box otherwise known as “genre”, seeing as how they are a sort of Frankenstein all their own. Led by Balázs Zságer, a brilliant composer and musician, layers upon layers of compositions are thrust upon each other, cohesively colliding toward the cosmos in soundwaves that those seeking music beyond the norm, everyday mainstream stuff will thoroughly enjoy.

… it is quite difficult to explain their sound or to try fitting them into the box otherwise known as “genre”, seeing as how they are a sort of Frankenstein all their own.

Not many bands or artists can boast about a great debut album, but Žagar totally could if they wanted to. They formed in 2001 and debuted their first full-length album in 2002 titled Local Broadcast, a super chill, symphonicly electronic album filled to the brim with only the basics and nothing more. They don’t overdo anything, keeping subtle beats behind their classical overlays, along with scattered vinyl scratches and sound clips. It’s almost as though they didn’t need to ease into their greatness – they just were. And still are, of course.

It would take me way too long to cover every album they have out at length since there’s a whopping 5 out currently, with their 6th slated to release sometime next year, but I’ll cover a few tracks of their’s, just to give you a taste of their music.

First off, I would be mistaken if I didn’t mention the song Eastern Sugar off of their second album, which is actually a soundtrack to a Hungarian Dramedy film with the same title. It’s no wonder why this song is one of their more highly acclaimed ones seeing as how it feels like it’s something straight out of a Brit Rock handbook. Everything from wurlitzer and organ-like keys to Liam Gallagher-esque vocals to a heck of a catchy melody with a straight-up rock backdrop of crunchy guitar riffs and driving drums – this tune has it all, wrapped up in a nice 4 minute and 21 second package.

Wings of Love is probably their most well-known hit to date, with heavy play on the radio in Europe when it debuted back in 2009, as well as an MTV Europe Music Awards nomination, which is all-around pretty huge for any artist, let alone a Hungarian one! This song is brilliantly crafted, starting out with strings overlayed by electronic beats and keys, and sparkling guitars that are soon joined in by a few scratches and other cosmic sounds before vocals from The Underground Divas bring it to a state of final realization. Though complex in one way due to all of it’s profound layers, the song is actually quite serene to take in. I find that astounding, having tried to deconstruct it’s layers, only to be met with a fluidly chill experience. And really, that’s what frontman and keyboardist Balázs Zságer is all about.

From their most recent release in 2015 – the soundtrack to the Hungarian film My Night Your Day –  Sleepwalking is a groovy track that fits it’s title almost too perfectly. Far-out guitars drive this song coupled with ambient UFO-sounding electronic pulses that give it just that extra touch of spacy-ness. “Days pass by as we keep on runnin’, nightmares they keep on comin’,” is the starting line of the chorus, sang out in smooth male vocals that present a flawless image of what insomnia is really like, day to day. The dark comedy My Night Your Day could not have asked for a better soundtrack, as it’s track listing is a more than sufficient 18 songs long, with Sleepwalking only being track 5 and much greatness to be taken in after that song. You can find the album on Spotify here!

Music is a “universal, cosmic communication form, it’s really awesome that it can convey feelings, thoughts and even much more with frequency and modulation… when I play on my instruments, let it be an acoustic piano or any other electronic instruments, I feel a kind of flow experience really.” – Balázs Zságer

Balázs shared with me that he really does believe that music is a “universal, cosmic communication form, it’s really awesome that it can convey feelings, thoughts and even much more with frequency and modulation… when I play on my instruments, let it be an acoustic piano or any other electronic instruments, I feel a kind of flow experience really.” And I couldn’t agree more from a musical perspective. The power of music is beyond anything we can comprehend, even if we were to try and break it all down; music is alive – music is powerful. Music has changed lives through the breath that it breathes into people, so it is no surprise that Žagar is out there to make you feel something – to coerce your emotions, to get you to fly with him through life’s experiences using noise and sound.

2017 has been good to this band, with them playing gigs around Hungary and abroad in Europe, so we can only wonder what’s in store for their newest album that is dropping in 2018. No title has been released yet, seeing as how they are still in the studio recording (they are using some old school recording methods, by the way, adding to the mystique and intrigue that fills their already fascinating music). They have yet to travel to North America, so we can only cross our fingers in hoping that more people take notice of the ambient, cosmic goodness that is Žagar. Now go get your astronaut suit on and give them a listen!

 

Members
Balázs Zságer – keys, vocals, electronica, producing
George Ligeti – guitars, vocals
Ákos Zságer-Varga – bass
Tibor Lázár – drums, percussion
Zsófia Hutvágner – lyrics

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Listen To
Wings of Love
The Prophet is a Fool

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