Best Albums of 2016
selected by Márton Biró

barbarastahl <BR>“9”

barbarastahl
“9”

I am a huge fan of female singers. It is just a personal preference, but still. The Hungarian alternative music scene after the System Changing included quite a lot of bands with female singers, but nowadays you barely hear them.

Barbarastahl made me really happy when I first heard her. She is also on the edge of mainstream and alter-electronics with some downtempo elements. Furthermore, she has some really beautiful music videos.

♪♫ Listen: “Flower” + album stream (Soundcloud)

barbarastahl on Soundcloud, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube.

Berriloom <BR>“Discontinuous Man”

Berriloom
“Discontinuous Man”

Despite all those strong beats and fast rhythms “Discontinuous Man” includes, berriloom still creates some of the most peaceful and calming music that I can think of.

I really like crossing musical borders, and songs here also feature so many elements I couldn’t name them all. So I rather use a quote from berriloom’s Bandcamp that perfectly sums up my thoughts about this album:

“We are discontinuous beings, individuals who perish in isolation in the midst of an incomprehensible adventure, but we yearn for our lost continuity.”

♪♫ Listen: “The Sermon” + album stream (Bandcamp)

Berriloom on Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Facebook, Instagram.

EU Cannibal <BR>“Scum”

EU Cannibal
“Scum”

If I have to choose something that is equally genius and sick I don’t really need to think a lot. This is something you would listen to in a party at your friend’s house, but also when you are alone at home and hate everyone else.

Scum sounds kind of aggressive. It drams from Dutch techno from the ’80s but with oriental sound. And when you think you know the genre of this music, here comes another song in an absolute different style. So don’t try to name it, just listen.

♪♫ Listen: “What Happened to You” + album stream (Soundcloud)

EU Cannibal on Soundcloud, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram.

iamyank <BR>“Hiraeth”

iamyank
“Hiraeth”

If there is a project included in most of my lists that’s definitely iamyank. He was a kind of new hope for the local alternative electronic music life, member of a new generation. He brought some new voices that were unknown here before.

“Hiraeth”, introduced on beehype before, is a piece supposed to be listened as whole. You can find elements of the ’80 French wave but also from today’s Scandinavian style.

And they are mixed in a way only iamyank can mix.

♪♫ Listen: “No Light” + album stream (Soundcloud)

iamyank on Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter, www.

Kaktus <BR>“Long Play”

Kaktus
“Long Play”

Kaktus is probably the best representation of interesting instrumental music in Hungary. Although there’s a song on “Long Play” with guest vocals by Soma Nové from Middlemist Red, their general profile is far from this.

“Long Play” includes so many genres I cannot even list them. If you like jazz, electronics, guitar music or indie you’ll find heer elements of your favourite genres. But just elements, because Kaktus’ sound is still pretty unique.

♪♫ Listen: “Ghinish” + album stream (Soundcloud)

Kaktus on Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram.

Klusters <BR>“Melding Minds”

Klusters
“Melding Minds”

The kind of space travel we can do with Klusters is not just beautiful but full of surprises too. Not just because it avoids all the clichés, but it is always changing too.

The arrangements and vocals always change their places in the center of the soundspace and in the background, and finally you don’t know who follows who.

This project is still quite young, yet it gave us some of the most remarkable music last year that includes both electronic elements and lively vocals. Hopefully, they will be on the list of 2017 as well.

Listen: “Waiting For The Waking” + album stream (Soundcloud)

Klusters on Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Facebook, www.

Mayberian Sanskülotts <BR>“Adlait”

Mayberian Sanskülotts
“Adlait”

I cannot deny (and I don’t want either) that Mayberian is one of my favourite Hungarian bands. And their long-awaited 2016 album “Adlait” just made it unquestionable for me.

It is not just about Zita’s voice but the lyrics and the new level of pop music too. I cannot say anything better than the singer herself, so read my interview with her here.

♪♫ Listen: “Torture” + album stream (Bandcamp)

Mayberian Sanskülotts on Facebook, Soundcloud, Bandcamp, www.

Middlemist Red <BR>“Ripple Soul”

Middlemist Red
“Ripple Soul”

Maybe I won’t be mistaken if I say that Middlemist Red are the first psychedelic rock band from the new wave that could become successful and stay in the light for a while.

With “Ripple Soul”, already introduced here, they left their comfort zone but still managed to keep the main features of their style. You’ll hear some more electronic sounds here, but guitars still play a main role.

And last but not least, I could never get bored of Soma’s vocals.

♪♫ Listen: “From the Corner of My Eyes” + album stream (Bandcamp)

Middlemist Red on Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.

mïus <BR>“ISOLA”

mïus
“ISOLA”

This year the electronic scene was definitely one of the strongest. It was not just about new names but also about the already known ones.

This is not the first time you can meet mïus on beehype and hopefully not the last one. The album “ISOLA” absolutely fits into the new electronic wave of Budapest clubs, but still has its very own voice.

Combination of melancholic downtempo elements and faster rhythms makes mïus’s music perfect for any mood you might have at the moment. (It is not necessarily calming, though)

♪♫ Listen: “Run” (ft. Rafal Skowroński) + album stream (Soundcloud)

mïus on YouTube, Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Facebook, Instagram.

Szabi <BR>“Elevate”

Szabi
“Elevate”

Let’s be honest: Hungary is not the best in hip-hop, neither in soul. But sometimes a kind of miracle happens and the result is something like Szabi. And in the year of Childish Gambino-hype this is a really good feeling.

Szabi’s music fits into the current hype, while it’s still more experimental and very recognisable. And the amount of jazz elements also seems to make this material a new kind of pop music.

♪♫ Listen: “Barbès” + album stream (Bandcamp)

Szabi on Bandcamp, Facebook.