Meszecsinka (Mesechinka)
(worldmusic, ethno, folk, rock)
Meszecsinka (pronounced as mesechinka) is a child of a love affair, sprung to life under the full moon. The name in Bulgarian means 'little moon' and comes from the singer's favourite Bulgarian folk song. The Budapest-based band was formed in 2009 by Hungarian singer-songwriter Annamari Oláh and Bulgarian keyboardist-guitarist Emil Biljarszki. During the first years, Meszecsinka transformed folksongs of many nations (but mainly Hungarian and Bulgarian), later their own songs took the main part of the repertoire. The band has a magical presence on stage due to the exceptional voice and dance of Annamari and the wall of sound transmitted by the musicians.
Their album Awake in the Dream won the Fonogram Music Award (the "Hungarian Grammy") for the best world music album of the year. The Songlines Magazine says about it: "…wild and messy, like the soundtrack to the rave at the end of the universe…"
Meszecsinka tours frequently all around Europe. They visited the USA and Canada, recorded video on the Red Square in Moscow and a Balkan road movie. Their art video Kinyílok (I open up) reached 6th place on World Music Network chart (UK) and fRoots Magazine (UK). In 2017 Meszecsinka performed at the APAP (Association of the Performing Arts Presenters) conference with great success in New York. In 2018 the band played at the Worldmusic Stage of Sziget Festival — the second largest stage of the biggest fest in Europe, at FMM Sines in Portugal (and their tune was chosen as the main tune for the after-movie of the festival).
The band's current concert program presents the sounds of their 2019 album Stand into the deep, which was licenced by the German label Nordic Notes (6th place in the WOMEX Best Labels Chart): trance moods that resemble ancient rituals, Inuit throat and Siberian singing techniques, dreaming awake and Eastern psychedelia. The album reached the 5th place of the Transglobal Worldmusic Charts.
Meszecsinka are:
Annamária Oláh - vocal, flutes
Emil Biljarszki - keyboards, guitar
Ferenc Somogyi -bass
Dávid Krolikowski - percussion
Guest performance by Karen Arutyunyan: guitar
Discography:
Meszecsinka – 2012, Narrator Records
Kinyílok / I open up – 2014, Narrator Records
Ai (online EP) – 2015, self released
New & Best – 2015, self released
Awake in a dream – 2016, Narrator Records
Stand into the deep – 2019, Narrator Records
Media
"…wild and messy, like the soundtrack to the rave at the end of the universe… an East-European Kate Bush or Cocteau Twins… trance-like atmospheres that recall the likes of The Orb and Ozric Tentacles, with the band conjuring up huge waves of rushing sound." Songlines Magazine (UK)
"Last night's concert at Drom hit a harrowing peak with Hungarian trance-dance band Meszecsinka's frontwoman Annamaria Olah hidden behind her mane of long, flowing hair, wailing and flailing and crying out on the beat as her own voice echoed low and ominously in response, through a loop pedal. Although this was an intimate club gig with pristine sound, it was easy to imagine a hundred thousand people at some European summer festival flailing and swaying in unison in response to Olah’s passion onstage." New York Music Daily
"… she is photographed transparent and ghost-like on the sleeve (of the new album), which certainly fits her approach — epic and wild, free-form, but tightly disciplined, with the band seemingly more interested in establishing a mood and/or a groove than gaining a label. Take it apart and there are bits and pieces of world music influence, from Bollywood to Tuvan throat-singing, folk-horror to punk and psychedelia, but it is better to just let the sound draw you in, and immerse yourself in it. This album works best as a coherent, cohesive and intriguing release" ROCK’n’REEL Magazine (UK).
"…ecstatic self-awareness, lascivious dancing, blissfully screaming and staggering sensual happiness. The vocal magician is Annamaria, an elfin singer with flowing gestures, dances barefoot on the floor while her voice wanders with fluttering vibrato and throaty tone" Deggendorfer Zeitung (DE)
"A fascinating mix of jazz, rock, psychedelics and something gypsy-Balkan. The barefoot singer created incomprehensible magic, the music sometimes plunging the audience into a trance, sometimes tearing to pieces." Rockcult.ru (RU)
http://meszecsinka.hu/
Tech + Press
Meszecsinka (pronounced as mesechinka) is a child of a love affair, sprung to life under the full moon. The name in Bulgarian means 'little moon' and comes from the singer's favourite Bulgarian folk song. The Budapest-based band was formed in 2009 by Hungarian singer-songwriter Annamari Oláh and Bulgarian keyboardist-guitarist Emil Biljarszki. During the first years, Meszecsinka transformed folksongs of many nations (but mainly Hungarian and Bulgarian), later their own songs took the main part of the repertoire. The band has a magical presence on stage due to the exceptional voice and dance of Annamari and the wall of sound transmitted by the musicians.
Their album Awake in the Dream won the Fonogram Music Award (the "Hungarian Grammy") for the best world music album of the year. The Songlines Magazine says about it: "…wild and messy, like the soundtrack to the rave at the end of the universe…"
Meszecsinka tours frequently all around Europe. They visited the USA and Canada, recorded video on the Red Square in Moscow and a Balkan road movie. Their art video Kinyílok (I open up) reached 6th place on World Music Network chart (UK) and fRoots Magazine (UK). In 2017 Meszecsinka performed at the APAP (Association of the Performing Arts Presenters) conference with great success in New York. In 2018 the band played at the Worldmusic Stage of Sziget Festival — the second largest stage of the biggest fest in Europe, at FMM Sines in Portugal (and their tune was chosen as the main tune for the after-movie of the festival).
The band's current concert program presents the sounds of their 2019 album Stand into the deep, which was licenced by the German label Nordic Notes (6th place in the WOMEX Best Labels Chart): trance moods that resemble ancient rituals, Inuit throat and Siberian singing techniques, dreaming awake and Eastern psychedelia. The album reached the 5th place of the Transglobal Worldmusic Charts.
Meszecsinka are:
Annamária Oláh - vocal, flutes
Emil Biljarszki - keyboards, guitar
Ferenc Somogyi -bass
Dávid Krolikowski - percussion
Guest performance by Karen Arutyunyan: guitar
Discography:
Meszecsinka – 2012, Narrator Records
Kinyílok / I open up – 2014, Narrator Records
Ai (online EP) – 2015, self released
New & Best – 2015, self released
Awake in a dream – 2016, Narrator Records
Stand into the deep – 2019, Narrator Records
Media
"…wild and messy, like the soundtrack to the rave at the end of the universe… an East-European Kate Bush or Cocteau Twins… trance-like atmospheres that recall the likes of The Orb and Ozric Tentacles, with the band conjuring up huge waves of rushing sound." Songlines Magazine (UK)
"Last night's concert at Drom hit a harrowing peak with Hungarian trance-dance band Meszecsinka's frontwoman Annamaria Olah hidden behind her mane of long, flowing hair, wailing and flailing and crying out on the beat as her own voice echoed low and ominously in response, through a loop pedal. Although this was an intimate club gig with pristine sound, it was easy to imagine a hundred thousand people at some European summer festival flailing and swaying in unison in response to Olah’s passion onstage." New York Music Daily
"… she is photographed transparent and ghost-like on the sleeve (of the new album), which certainly fits her approach — epic and wild, free-form, but tightly disciplined, with the band seemingly more interested in establishing a mood and/or a groove than gaining a label. Take it apart and there are bits and pieces of world music influence, from Bollywood to Tuvan throat-singing, folk-horror to punk and psychedelia, but it is better to just let the sound draw you in, and immerse yourself in it. This album works best as a coherent, cohesive and intriguing release" ROCK’n’REEL Magazine (UK).
"…ecstatic self-awareness, lascivious dancing, blissfully screaming and staggering sensual happiness. The vocal magician is Annamaria, an elfin singer with flowing gestures, dances barefoot on the floor while her voice wanders with fluttering vibrato and throaty tone" Deggendorfer Zeitung (DE)
"A fascinating mix of jazz, rock, psychedelics and something gypsy-Balkan. The barefoot singer created incomprehensible magic, the music sometimes plunging the audience into a trance, sometimes tearing to pieces." Rockcult.ru (RU)
