Nagyvarosi Ikonok

The roots of the birth of Townscream date back to my solo concerts given at FMH (a community centre in Budapest), 1995. In these concerts, double bass and drums were often employed in pieces like 'Tales of a dark room' or 'Mire megvirrad' (By the break of dawn). I asked Baross Gabor – with whom I played in many of my former bands – to play the drums, and we have had worked with several bassist until we found Acs Peter. Then, we arranged many of my earlier pieces. By the time we were able to play many pieces as a trio, the idea of adding an additional instrument to enrich the sound arose. It was Acs Peter who recommended Gal Bela cellist who also played the piano quite well and had also a synth. We started to rehearse together, and by the end of 1996 we had our name. Finally, we elaborated our first two-part program. We also needed my solo pieces to incorporate into the program, since at the beginning, Townscream was built into my solo concert series.

Thus, we thus formed our band around the December of 1995, but we played for the first time under the name of Townscream in the December of 1996. Our soundman was Egervari Gabor who wrote also the lyrics of our songs. Our music is perhaps the closest to progressive rock, with a classical-music flavour added by the two string instruments. In the beginning of 1997, we had some concerts and then, our first – and so far, only – CD, Nagyvarosi ikonok was released. (We plan to release another CD with the title 'Zsoldosok', the material of which is built up of live and studio-like recordings, but the band has not yet succeeded to agree in the program of the CD.) In the second half of 1997 we had relatively few concerts. Then, from the autumn of 1998, our concerts were hosted by Lagymanyosi Kozossegi Haz (a community centre in Budapest), where we played once a month, but in spite of the success and the growing attendance of our concerts, this possibility lasted for three occasions only.

In the summer of 1998, I got a new impact from techno. Of course, Townscream did not turn into a techno band, but I found novel musical tools of expression in the fragmentary, repetitive sound of techno, which were then incorporated into our music, shifting away from the progressive style. (Some of these pieces can be heard on the CD Ephata I. in different arrangements.)

We had two concerts in the spring of 1999 at FMH, but the increasing difficulties with the organisation of rehearsals and concerts gradually consumed up our energies, and in the autumn of 1999, when I moved with my family to the city of Pecs, Townscream practically disbanded.