SINGLE SERVINGS: BUDAPEST BOOGIE

One of the more interesting things I picked up at the Groove Merchant last month was this 7″ on Hungary’s Qualiton imprint.¹ I only have a handful of Hungarian records, all of it prog-rock, but it’s always been an intriguing sound: strong rhythms, big horn sections, and usually a drummer playing their ass off.

Here’s the single I got at the GM:

Atlasz: Töröld le a könnyeidet
From 7″ (Quality, 1970). Also on Töröld Le a Könnyeidet!

Before Cool Chris even played it for me, he asked, “doesn’t this sound like ‘Kashmere’?” and indeed, the bridge part does sound quite a bit like the bridge part of “Kashmere.” Coincidene? I’d have to guess so since I’m having a hard time imagining that a copy of a Kashmere Stage Band’s album made its way from TX out to Budapest in the late 1960s. But stranger things have happened.²

In any case, the sheer sound of the single had me hooked: hard, swinging funk, lyrics I don’t understand but clearly sung with some soulful flair, and of course, those drums. I wanted to learn more and through the magic of Google Translate, here’s what I could glean.

Atlasz formed in the mid 1960s, lead by songwriter and singer Francis Flamm. They have the reputation – at least on one site – of being Hungary’s first soul band. I have no way of confirming that but I like the idea. The group’s recording career lasted through the early 1970s at least, during which time they seemed to exclusively record singles but enough to eventually fill up a 17 track anthology.

Digging deeper into their catalog and my initial curiosity only deepened; their best songs are prig-rock at its bet, with a blend of folk, jazz and soul influences all mixed in. Even, on this cute, a little funky flute, ala Harold Alexander.

Atlasz: A kezem zsebre dugom
From Töröld Le a Könnyeidet! (Hungaroton, 2001)