2 posts tagged “laszlo”

This incredible album is one of the most beautiful world music records I have ever heard. It took me six months to hunt down this record online and it was well worth the effort and the money spent. The record is dominated by Irén Lovász’s beautiful vocals highlighted by László Hortobágyi’s signature percussion dominated by Indian rhythms and occasional keyboard chords.

The voice of Irén Lovász is haunting. It resonates deep inside, striking some primal spiritual chords, bringing to light unconscious universal cultural memories, and awaking the basic human being in all of us – the naked crying newborn free from physical, cultural, and spiritual restrains. Some of the many things that come to my mind when listening to this album include the safety and comfort of millions of lullabies sung for millions of generations to millions of my ancestors, pagan rhythms and chants, and fairy-tale creatures hiding from civilization in ancient woodlands.

"Világfa" has a truly mythological quality to it. Without understanding a single word I was instantly transported to the distant past when ancient Huns poured from the east into the heartland of Europe... Irén Lovász and László Hortobágyi explore what would the Hungarian folk music sound like if the ancient Huns turned south or east instead of west. They go back to the very trunk of the World Tree and explore the possible branches that could have been...

Lâszlô Hortobâgyi – is a Hungarian avant-garde musician and the godfather of "Gâyan Uttejak Society" – an Eastern European society dedicated to the study of oriental music. His music is heavily influenced by North Indian music, but often incorporates a wide variety of instruments, vocals, and arrangements from around the world and from various time periods.

In one of his interviews Lâszlô noted that he sees music as time travel, and his album "Traditional Music Of Amygdala," released in 1991 proves just that. It is a ethnographical, mythical, musical journey to the fictional empire created by the eccentric mind of Lâszlô Hortobâgyi. The name of the album according to the press release comes from Corpus Amygdaloideum located in human brain – “hidden there are human "behavior", genetically inherited and the instinct system formed by culture and environment.” Taking this as a starting point, Lâszlô Hortobâgyi creates an entire fictional Amygdala culture, complete with fictional geographical locations, religion, philosophy, etc. Lâszlô Hortobâgyi tells us about Amygdala in nine out-worldly tracks accompanied by fascinating notes written by Lâszlô himself.

"Traditional Music Of Amygdala" is a bizarre, yet beautiful combination of Indian classical music, modern Western computer arrangements, with an occasional vocal or instrumental touch of unidentifiable origin. It’s a fantastic music journey that is worth every dollar you spend on it.