Release: February 2nd
Veronika Harcsa & Bálint Gyémánt Shapeshifter
With two albums to date (Lifelover and Tell Her), duo Veronika Harcsa and Bálint Gyémánt have thrilled the press and audiences since 2014. “Allaboutjazz.com said: Harcsa is an amazingly versatile musician, a brilliant vocalist and gifted entertainer in the best sense.” The MDR said: “Harcsa’s voice oscillates in very different colours. […] Once she sounds like the jazzy sister of Alanis Morissette and the next moment she becomes a spherical siren. “And in the magazine Audio was read:” Tell Her is a commitment to the artistic peculiarity, but beyond that a chamber music laboratory of styles that enchants and shapes the fragile texts, the clear, radiant timbre of the voice and the cautious yet complex music. Fascinatingly barren and powerful at the same time. “
At Shapeshifter, Harcsa and Gyémánt open a new chapter in their collaboration. For the first time in the quartet, with Nicolas Thys on bass and drummer Antoine Pierre, the atmospheric own compositions now get more foundation. Rhythmic finesse, multi-faceted harmonies and airy arrangements, cleverly balanced even in dynamic condensations, develop sober qualities. It is music that breathes and reveals more details as you listen. “We like the duality of catchy melodies and sonic concepts,” explains Veronika Harcsa, “our pieces have stanzas, bridges, and choruses similar to pop songs, yet rooted in jazz aesthetics.” A good example of this balance of direct emotionality and profound ideas the “nights” trilogy. Originally recorded as a 16-minute track, it was only then divided into three pieces. They span an arc from atmospheric ballad to ecstatic grooves and, according to Harcsa, describe “the different faces of a nocturnal city, from lonely empty streets to vibrant nightlife.”
Striking is a characteristic dramaturgy in many pieces. Quiet passages are often at the beginning, sometimes sound colors and vocals create enigmatic or lurking moods. Rhythmic accents and beats set in only after a while, Veronika Harcsa’s warm timbered voice swings from dark layers to radiant heights. Bálint Gyémánt plays acoustic and electric guitar, on the latter he uses diverse effects to create a wide sound panorama of flowing sounds and energetic outbursts. Although both are only in their mid-thirties, Harcsa and Gyémánt sometimes flirt with references to Psychedelic Rock. Their common Hungarian origin also occasionally shines, but it is subtle, not in concrete references. “She can be recognised in the folk improvisation at the end of my solo on Last Night or in the odd rhythms of San Francisco. But those are more appeals. The real legacy lies in the attitude that rhythms are as important as melodies. “
Most songs on Shapeshifter were written by Veronika Harcsa, they are poetic reflections on the private and the running of the world. “I live in London and Budapest, fly very often and think this life on the move is very widespread in our generation. Our constant mobility is contradictory and creates uncertainty. We can conquer the world, get to distant places, get the best of all cultures. At the same time we are overwhelmed by the flood of impressions and information, looking for peace and hiding from the noise. “
The connection to the two musicians from Belgium, who now expand the duo Harcsa-Gyémánt into a quartet for the first time, goes back several years. Since completing her studies in Brussels, Harcsa has been in contact with the Belgian scene and played in various formations with Nicolas Thys and Antoine Pierre. “I was pretty sure the constellation would work with Bálint too,” says Harcsa, “and it also seems that Belgian and Hungarian humour are close to each other. Anyway, we laughed a lot during rehearsals and recordings. “Since 2014, Thys and Pierre have been playing together in the quartet TaxiWars with Tom Barman, the head of the avant-garde pop band Deus, and Robin Verheyen; also in trio with saxophonist Jeroen van Herzele. Thys own formation The Sound People Project stands out by the occupation with harp, clarinet, viola and guitar. Drummer Antoine Pierre joined the band of Philip Catherine in 2010 just 18 years old. In 2014, he completed his master’s degree in Brussels and moved to New York, two years later he released his first album as leader of his octet.
Shapeshifter marks another impressive step in the successful collaboration between Veronika Harcsa and Bálint Gyémánt. The title of the album symbolises the development: the band grows, the sound becomes.
EAN/UPC: 705304467329
Traumton CD: 4673
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Lineup
Veronika Harcsa: vocals Bálint Gyémánt: guitar Nicolas Thys: double bass Antoine Pierre: drums, vocals
1.Listen To Me Now 6:03
2.San Francisco 4:36
3.First Night 3:24
4.Second Night 6:47
5.Last Night 5:20
6.Serge With Holy Scar 8:52
7.Shapeshifter 4:10
8.Boris’s Rebel 4:59
Music and lyrics written by Veronika Harcsa, except the music of San Francisco and Shapeshifter
written by Bálint Gyémánt and the lyrics of Bori’s Rebel written by Borbála Harcsa
All songs published by Traumton Musikverlag
Recorded and mixed by Dexter at SSR Studios
Mastered by Wolfgang Loos at Traumton Studios, Berlin
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