BASH Night Introduces DJ Budai

Ahead of the next BASH night, happening here on Thursday, the crew behind the party put together a quick interview with DJ Budai covering the art of techno and house in Hungary and his career. Housing a darker and more aggressive performance, including the introduction of Hot X, a player who developed the trend defining party in terms of Hungarian techno, Budai will perform for the second time at BASH as Naga & Beta, set to spice up the night with their underground sound. You grew up in Hungary, a country which has obviously changed a lot during your lifetime. What has changed most and what do you like most about the country today? I live in the capital (Budapest) and have seen the system changing twice; Hungary went from communism to a republic which brought more prospects for the country and for the new generation. Living at home there are more opportunities now and you can get access to things more easily. I love Hungary with a passion. Who were your musical inspirations growing up? I started early from school age, my uncle who lived abroad and loved music used to bring home vinyls. I started to go to a famous club at a very early age where I was blown away by the kind of music and the performance of the DJs that were playing. From every era I was affected by funk to hip-hop, disco to techno then from house to trance. It is hard to put a finger on the people that I was inspired by but if I am to mention I would name Carl Cox, Danny Tenaglia, Emmanuel Top, Underworld just to name a few. When your first mix album (Techno-House Classics of `93-`96) came out you were very young... When the mix came out electronic music was just coming out of from the woodworks in the country. There were few record shops in which you could buy vinyl; electronic music was not widely known so there were no barriers or limits to spreading ones tentacles because it was still a baby in Hungary. Organizing a party was not hard at the time. You had a part in the start of an electronic music magazine ‘Freee’. Could you tell something about it? In `96 we thought of giving information and letting people know about the happenings of the electronic music scene. There were parties; DJs came, but there was no background info about it. We had interviews with producers, DJs, critics and event reviews. It was a good feeling that one could give something extra to the people. How would you say your sound over the years has developed? Over the years I have seen my music continuously changing and improving. There is a kind of feeling that the music brings out from me, the style could be techno, house or whatever. I am always looking for this particular feeling and give it back to the audience. I am very glad that the electronic music scene has a constant renewal. As a producer you work hard. What are some of your top achievements? Ten years ago I was asked to make a remix in which I met with my good friend Viktor (Vic). Both of us clicked because of the music. We played together making appearances producing I Love Deep and Egotraxx - I Love Deep is more subtle while Egotraxx contains harder tracks. Over the years we try to give opportunities through the label. During this time we became friends with Terry Lee Brown Jr and The Timewriter who made remixes for us. We produced for the German tech-house label, Plastic City as well. 4 tracks are coming out soon at Cre8tion Records and we are looking forward to the response of the public. What are your plans for the future? We have series of parties (I Love Deep, This Is...), this is a constant thing that we want to keep going on with. It would be nice to put some tracks together this year with Vic. There are improvements in the studios and I can`t wait to see the end products. Playing in lots of good parties would be good as well. What are your predictions for the techno house music in Hungary? It is blooming and it will bloom as always. The Hungarian crowd is fantastic, they love party. That is a big boost for the DJs. There are some producers whose tracks are played internationally (Jay Lumen, Muzzaik, Shane54 ) which is a really good thing and has helped with awareness making people recognize that the Hungarian electronic music is here to stay.