Electronic Beats Festival Budapest 2011 in review
A chilly autumnal evening in the centre of Budapest was the setting for the latest Electronic Beats festival, and a packed concert hall at Millenaris was as the ideal location for this international meeting of established and breaking talent from around Europe. As the hall began to fill there was a distinctive buzz ,as many knew they were in for something different from the norm and everyone knew that the sold out event would be one of the highlights of Budapest’s musical calendar.
Local talents Realistic Crew represented the Hungarian music scene. Utilizing a mix of live acoustic and electronic music they showed their diverse influences, from broken beats, abstract hiphop and indie. Despite a slightly changed lineup from when they last appeared live, they performed with gusto and warmed the crowd up well.
After a brief break FM Belfast took the stage and really got the party going with their energetic and fun take on indie dance. By the end of their set, which they performed with enthusiasm and verve, the crowd was all hands in the air as they proceeded to strip to their shorts and vests and fire everyone up for the party ahead.
The explosve, raucous force of Does It Offend You, Yeah? took many by surprise as they drove their hard edged electro sound to the limit. With the power of a small tornado, they took us through a stirring rendition of recent material. While not to everyone’s taste, they left an impression that no-one there will easily forget.
Next was one of the highlights of the evening; the long awaited return of Apparat to Hungary, with Apparat Live. The mournful, raw emotive energy of Sascha Ring and his band’s performance truly moved the audience, and by the time they left the stage to rapturous applause, many young couples were in blissful harmony with the highlight for many being their performance of Rusty Nails.
Buraka Som Sistema was the finale of the live performances, and their unique angle on kuduru, best described as Euro-kuduru, with it’s punchy bass really brought the house down. To finish they called a dozen girls on stage to dance as they entertained the crowd with their rousing vocal banter kept the audience going after a long but engaging evening.
With excellent DJ sets from local talents Crimson, Naga & Beta providing the fabric for this exciting tapestry of fine electronic music, this was an evening to be remembered. As the night drew to a close, they streets of Buda filled with excited, if slightly exhausted party goers.
Published October 29, 2011.