I think that sooner or later the pendulum will swing back towards normality, and people will need to have real experiences - says Attila Nyerges, the singer-guitarist of Ismerős Arcok, who was awarded the Petőfi music prize and will turn twenty-five next year.
Felnőtt a genzedék refer to the upcoming jubilee, the change in the audience or just one of the songs from the latest album ?
There is no single specific interpretation; just as we try to condense more meanings into our name and our headlines. Everyone thinks behind what they want. But during the twenty-five years, a generation really grew up. It's a huge cliché, and every musician who has been on the field for a long time will say it, but it's still true: even those who watched us from their parents' necks in the heroic era come to our concerts with their children.
We took note that they don't like thought-provoking bands on radio and TV"
Then let's quickly shoot another cliché cartridge: almost all award-winning musicians say that they don't play for the awards, but for the audience. What does the Petőfi music award mean?
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't touched by the award. For a long time, the band was shut out from all kinds of awards, receiving recognition only from the audience. On the other hand, we did it essentially continuously: we were always able to perform in front of a good number of listeners. This is more than enough to keep a band alive and functioning, and for its members to feel good. The fact that, in addition, unexpected accolades are starting to come is especially nice. For a while, the awards found only me, because they notice the one who stands in front and who writes the lyrics sooner.
Although the division of labor has not changed, I can say without false modesty: I am glad that today we are not seen as a one-man production with an accompanying band, but are recognized as a group. It's also good for the mood.
How did Boglárka Kapás receive the award?
We had a performance that was canceled a long time ago, which we couldn't cancel, so we were looking for someone who would honor us by representing us at the presentation. The respected role models of this nation are athletes, and I am personally connected to sports through my father and my previous work. We could not have found a more suitable person than Boglárka Kapás, she has been to our concerts several times, and we are also friends with her coach, Balázs Virth. It is a great honor that Boglárka gladly accepted the invitation at the first word. By the way, we haven't had a chance to meet since the award ceremony in June, we will receive the award from him at a concert in Budapest in mid-November.
Is it possible to declare that Ismerős Arcok is a successful band?
Whose success is it? We started making music so that the thoughts and feelings we consider important reach as many people as possible. The fact that up to sixty or seventy thousand people sing the text I wrote in the stadiums can be called a success.
Then I ask the question: can a band be called successful whose songs are not heard on the radio?
This is incomprehensible to me too, but we are used to it and should simply be treated as a fact. When we started singing about "something" instead of "nothing" at the turn of the millennium, doors closed rather than opened. We have taken it for granted that they don't like thought-provoking bands on radio and TV, the goal is more everyday entertainment. Unfortunately, this has not changed since then. In 2020, for example, we were invited to one of the largest commercial radio stations for a two-hour conversation, and before the program began, we were told that the management had spoken: not a single song from us could be played. All this one day before we were able to receive the Péter Máté award, which is considered the greatest light music award, in Vigado in Pest. We live our lives in this duality.
Does he maintain what he said almost a decade ago, that he would be willing to perform at any political event?
No way, for example, I wouldn't want to stand on a stage that features Ferenc Gyurcsány.
And although in the past twenty-four years we have never been in need of political events, I have a willingness to speak to those who may not necessarily agree with me, but show some openness towards us. I believe that everyone has the right to know the thoughts that we believe to be true. And since I had a children's room, it is also certain that in such a case I would not think of calling the event hosting us dark, unlike one of the performers of this year's Tusványos.
In any case, there is hardly any reason to complain about the concert possibilities, even though the playback entertainment products of one or two people, without instruments and crew, are obviously cheaper.
Thank God, we are invited everywhere in the Carpathian Basin, but the competition is strong. Anyway, I am of the firm opinion that the nineties did the most damage to pop music. At that time, in this country, you could pretty much only come across the synthetic mass: fake music and fake vocals, the "concerts" consisted of putting the CD in and listening to it. The situation is better today, but it is still a fact that a good part of those who came to their senses after the eighties did not even know the music and feeling of life called rock, so it was in vain that we expected the younger guys to look at us the way we looked at them. at the time of our heroes.
So shouldn't today's young rock musician even dream of stardom?
I'm not saying no, but we didn't start making music to become stars quickly, but to make a living from making music. There are still promising bands today, but I see few like ours twenty years ago. However, work and humility cannot be spared. The accelerated environment creates an illusion: nowadays it is easier to become a star, even from one moment to the next, but it is much more difficult to stay at the top or just above the water.
Many people think that it is enough to get into the circulation with a few clever clips, and from then on they have a rented place. Well, there isn't! In order for us to stay on our feet for so long, we also needed factors that crystallized over a long period of time.
Here, the six musicians and crew members almost have to live together, and Ismerős Arcok is not known for changing its crew members. In order for the members to grind together and pull in the same direction, a lot of work has to be done, but once the cart starts, it can take the big bumps. Many people do not know this secret, if it is a secret at all. Among the performers who produce huge views and move large crowds, there are few who have been on the field for five years and will still be there five years from now.
Couldn't it be a shame to expect too much from the rock market in Hungary in the first place?
I'm quite open-minded, but we're definitely not going to change styles, we don't even understand each other. In our youth, rock flourished, and we watched in amazement the musicians standing on stage: the members of Piramis, P. Mobil, Edda. We simply laughed at the representatives of other genres. But it must be acknowledged that the world is changing - as P. Mobil sang: I'm in trouble. Those who grew old with us still love and appreciate our work. If we manage to reach a few thousand people from today's youth, I will be very happy, but I have no illusions.
I asked myself: shouldn't I try to help with the band instead?
However, radio and TV are the least necessary to reach young people.
That's right, but I'm watching the virtual world from a distance of two steps, smiling a little, a little averse, I don't even want to immerse myself in it personally. We don't really understand the things that are fashionable today, which can appeal to young people in large numbers, such as influencer campaigns or social media tricks, and the medium itself is also changing rapidly. However, whoever finds us, I think, regardless of age, we have something to say. I don't think that our music is outdated, and I don't feel that we can't appeal to young people. Last year, for example, we played with the Bagossy Brothers Company at Lake Balaton, and even though we, as well as our audience, are of a different age group, I found that there was plenty of transition between the two "camps".
A good part of personal relationships have been transferred to the Internet, in many places, with the closing of the pub, not only the symposium, but also the opportunity to exchange ideas and meet has ceased. Do you think that the genre of the concert may also be in danger, or will the pendulum swing back?
I see today's age as sick, and I would give only one example. At the concerts of several new artists, I have already experienced that many people do not even pay attention to the experience that the live production can give them, instead they watch what is happening on the stage, fifteen to twenty meters away, through the phone in their hand. It's like watching a music video at home: there are no reactions after songs or instrumental solos. This is incomprehensible to me, abnormal, I smile at it in embarrassment. I believe that sooner or later the pendulum will swing back towards normality, at least I really hope that people will have a need to have real experiences, meet and talk to each other.
The full interview can be read on Mandine!
Featured image: Attila Nyerges, singer of Ismerős Arcok, at the press conference about the Ipoly Festival on the Budapest event ship on June 2, 2021. The 2nd Ipoly Festival awaits the public with a total of 174 free concerts, craft, traditional and gastronomic programs, and nature tours in the twelve Hungarian and Slovak settlements of the Ipoly Region and Börzsöny between June 18 and 20. MTI/Zoltán Balogh
