EZ Basic is a guitar-pop, indie-rock project based in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

formed in 2004. It started out as an experimental bedroom project in the early 00s and is noted for being one of the most eclectic bands of the Budapest indie music scene.

History

Formation

EZ Basic were formed by Árpád Szarvas and Dénes Pesztalics. Their primary aim was to mix electronic and instrumental music but it was

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

and American girlie pop melodies from the 1960s that left their marks on EZ Basic's sound. On one hand, the name EZ Basic refers to early 1980s computers/electronics, on the other hand, to DIY punk ethics: “easy basic” as “learn three chords and form a band”. Their early home demos recorded between 1999-2003 reflected an experimental approach to music making, bringing

Primal Scream Primal Scream are a Scottish rock music, rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie (musician), Jim Beattie (guitar). The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Simon ...

Suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

Broadcast Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

, The Jesus & Mary Chain, New Order, early

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...

bands and electronic beats from the mid-1990s to mind. In the same year they began a series of gigs in Budapest, but the 2-piece had soon found themselves playing packed gigs outside Budapest as well. It was not until 2005 when András Tóth (former drummer of the Hungarian indie band

Supersonic Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound (Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level, this speed is approximately . Speeds greater than five times ...

) joined EZ Basic on drums that their sound has moved into a more pop-orientated sound: previously backed by a drum machine and weird noises, the trio had become a powerful live band sometimes riding the waves of wall of sound and delivering delicate but cynical pop melodies. In the same year EZ Basic was on the bill at

Sziget Festival Sziget Festival (, ) is one of the largest music and cultural festivals in Europe. It is held every August in northern Budapest, Hungary, on Óbudai-sziget ("Old Buda Island"), a leafy 108-hectare (266-acre) island on the Danube. More than 1,0 ...

(one of Europe’s biggest festivals), at

Alan McGee Alan John McGee (born 29 September 1960) is a Scottish businessman and music industry executive. He has been a record label owner, musician, manager, and music blogger for ''The Guardian''. He co-founded the independent Creation Records label, r ...

's Death Disco and also played in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

Hocus Focus

EZ Basic's debut album entitled '' Hocus Focus'' was recorded in only six days between 23–25 July and 3–5 September in 2007 in

. They released it in November 2007 as un unsigned band. The album contains the song Nice1 which could be found in their debut EP ''EZ To Say''. EZ Basic shot their first music video for the song Nice1. This song brought success for the band and could lay the foundations for being one of the leading members of the Hungarian indie music scene.

Hello Heavy

During the summer of 2009, EZ Basic started working with English producer

George Shilling George Edward Shilling (born 1966 in Redbridge, London) is an English musician, record producer, composer and audio engineer. He is the son of Eric Shilling, formerly of the English National Opera and actress Erica Johns. He studied cello at t ...

who previously worked with bands such as

, Blur,

Bernard Butler Bernard Joseph Butler (born 1 May 1970) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He has been hailed by some critics as the greatest guitarist of his generation; BBC journalist Mark Savage called him "one of Britain's most origina ...

(ex-

Suede Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, Textile, fabrics, Handbag, purses, furniture, and other items. Suede is made from the underside of the animal skin, which is softer and m ...

), Soup Dragons,

Coldcut Coldcut are an English electronic music duo composed of Matt Black and Jonathan More. Credited as pioneers for pop sampling in the 1980s, Coldcut are also considered the first stars of UK electronic dance music due to their innovative style, ...

, My Bloody Valentine, and The Fall. In April 2010 the Hungarian Twelvetones Records released EZ Basic's second full-length studio album, ''Hello Heavy''. After the album's release the band supported

Placebo A placebo ( ) can be roughly defined as a sham medical treatment. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. Placebos are used in randomized clinical trials ...

in Budapest Sports Arena, and later represented

at the

Eurosonic Festival ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag) is an annual four-day music showcase festival and conference held in January in Groningen, the Netherlands. The first three days of the festival (Eurosonic) feature artists from all over Europe, the last day of the f ...

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in 2011.

Memories of Spring

EZ Basic released a new EP entitled '' Memories of Spring'' in April 2012. EZ Basic shot the video for the song ''Sometimes I Can't'' to promote their new EP. The video was directed by Dezső Gyarmati while the

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

was Ákos Nyoszoli.

Dead End Darling

In 2014 EZ Basic started recording their 3rd album called '' Dead End Darling'', which was released on November 10, 2015. The album features previously released singles ''Unnatural'' and ''Whatcha Gonna Do With Your Life?'', and contains 12 songs in total.

Sissyfuzz

The band released their 4th album '' Sissyfuzz'' on November 21, 2017. The neopsychedelic rock influenced album contains nine songs.

Resonance

EZ Basic's 5th album arrived in October, 2021. Inspired by German writer/sociologist, Hartmut Rosa’s concept of “resonance” (and our strained relationship with accelerated modern society), ''Resonance'' marks the return to working with British producer, George Shilling, who produced and mastered the album.

Nocturner

After the critically acclaimed ''Resonance'', EZ Basic returned with a new album in April 2024 entitled ''Nocturner''. Just like its predecessors, the album was recorded by Árpád Szarvas in its entirety, and it features guest musicians, such as Dániel Sajó ('' Fran Palermo'') on trumpet, Imre Poniklo ('' Amber Smith (band)'') on backing vocals, and Jehan Paumero ('' Psycho Mutants'') on accordion.

Band members

;Current line-up * Árpád Szarvas – lead vocals, guitars, keyboards, programming (2004–) ;Former members *András Tóth - drums (2005-2013) *Áron Nagybaczoni - synths, piano, vocals (2009-2017) *Dénes Pesztalics – bass guitar (2004–2017)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:920 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:60 top:0 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/2004 till:01/01/2019 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:1 start:2004 Colors = id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals/Guitar id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Keyboards value:orange legend:Keyboards id:Drums value:purple legend:Drums id:Lines value:black legend:Studio_Albums LineData = at:01/01/2007 color:black layer:back at:01/01/2010 color:black layer:back at:01/01/2012 color:black layer:back at:10/11/2015 color:black layer:back at:21/11/2017 color:black layer:back BarData = bar:Szarvas text:"Árpád Szarvas" bar:Pesztalics text:"Dénes Pesztalics" bar:Tóth text:"András Tóth" bar:Nagybaczoni text:"Áron Nagybaczoni" PlotData= width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Szarvas from:start till:end color:Vocals bar:Pesztalics from:start till:end color:Bass bar:Nagybaczoni from:01/01/2010 till:01/01/2016 color:Keyboards bar:Tóth from:start till:01/09/2013 color:Drums

Discography

;Albums * ''EZ To Say'' EP (2007) * ''Hocus Focus'' (2007) * '' Hello Heavy'' (2010) * ''Memories of Spring'' EP (2012) * ''Dead End Darling'' (2015) * ''Sissyfuzz'' (2017) * ''Resonance'' (2021) * ''Nocturner'' (2024) ;Singles * ''New Lines'' (2013) * ''Unnatural'' (2014) * ''Whatcha Gonna Do With Your Life?'' (2015) * ''Bruise Boy'' (2016) * ''Right Time'' (2017) * ''Stay In'' (2021) * ''Lost Shores'' (2023)

Music videos

References

External links

EZ Basic
at

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