From: "Andrew J. Rozsa" <>
Date: Sat Mar 23, 2002 8:00 pm
Subject: Re: [e-Prog] Erdesz Robert
Robert Erdesz: "Meeting Point." - Solaris Music Productions 2000 robi@solarismusic.com
My only disappointment is that I expected that Erd?z Robi will produce a
mainly keyboard-based album. I thought he would make such an album, since he
IS the keyboard player for Solaris. Perhaps, my expectation was also swayed
by having listened recently to a series of keyboard albums by Vedres Csaba.
What we got, instead, is a cultural voyage trough the musical influences on
the music of Hungary, put to a modernly-instrumented and executed studio
album. This is a glossy, clean, and crisp production, make no mistake about
it.
Some of the music I would normally consider "light-weight," almost bordering
on pop, but the quality is superb and the thematic roots are substantial. I
don't mind admitting that, at times, I got goose-pimples listening to this
album. After having been gone from Hungary nearly 40 years , it seems that my
roots still tug at the strings of my heart.
The style of play varies from what sounds like improvisational jazz to me, to
an emphatic and unmistakable flute by Attila Kollar. We hear Robi's synths,
averbal vocalizations, and M?ta Sebesty? (of "The English Patient" renown,
but to me is better known as the principal on Deep Forest's "Boheme" and also
the singer of many Transylvanian folk music albums with the Muzsik?
ensemble). I bet some of you will think that you are hearing Native
American's themes, a la Sacred Spirit (who are British, BTW). Other
influences and/or themes include Gregorian chants (Hungary was/is mostly
Catholic), Yiddish/Kletzmer traditional music (before the Holocaust there was
a huge Jewish population) , oriental (the Turks occupied the country for
almost 150 years, 1543?1688), gypsy (who came form India), slavic (the old
Austro-Hungarian Empire included parts of Slovenia, Slovakia, and parts of
what now are Yugoslavia and Serbia), germanic (Burgenland in Austria still
has a majority of Hungarians as its main population). All part of the music
of the country. For instance, on track 4 ("Gregorian") the tonality is almost
oriental and sometimes medieval, but the beat is typical cs?d?, the
Hungarian national dance.
Some of you may not like this album. I do. I love the driving rhythms, the
folk themes, the clean sound, and some of the unusual musical expressions.
OTOH, I have a good World music collection because I do like it a lot -- not
all, tho'....for instance, Wakeman can take his "African Bach" album and
stick it where the sun don't shine, as far as I am concerned.
All in all, I found "Meeting Point" much to my liking and will listen to it
again, although I still prefer to dance to East Coast Swing. ;-) If you want
to be taken for a whirlwind of World music, all part of a small (population
less than 10 million) Central European country's heritage, this is definitely
the ticket.
Track List: 1. Mitocondrial Eve 3:53; 2. Barbaro 4:36; 3. Shaman-Celebration
5:02; 4. Gregorian 4:36; 5. Ritual Song 4:32; 6. Phantom Dance 2:57; 7. Our
Times 3:40; 8. Israel 5:11; 9. Virtual Days 3:03; 10. Liliana 4:15; 11.
Present Song 3:58; 45:47
Contributors: Marta Sebestyen - vocals, pipes; Zsuzsa Ullmann - vocals;
Ildiko Keresztes - vocals; Emil Toth - vocals; Gyorgy Demeter - vocals;
Gusztav Bodi Varga - vocals, "bass humming," cup; Attila Kollar - flute,
pipe, 7-hole flute, tambourine, vocals; Janos Varga - guitar; Peter Gerendas
- acoustic guitar; Ferenc Muck - saxophone; Laszlo Gomor - drums; Aron
Eredics - tambura; Mihaly Borbely - taragoto (oboe-like shawn); "Batyu" (Muzsikas)
- violoncello (used as percussion), csugato; Tamas Erdesz - doromb (mouth
harp); Robert Erdesz - synthesizers, composer, computer programming.
From: "Jeff Marx" <>
Date: Sat Mar 23, 2002 10:53 pm
Subject: Re: [e-Prog] quidam & solaris/erdesz robert
Heck yeah, you can sure say that again Andrew! I was hoping for an analog
overdose Solaris-style. Suffice to say that wasn't happening; I barely got
through the second spin <sad to say), before it was in the 'sell' pile.