The Content Label travels to Budapest to enlist Kovacs the Hun, for an evocative new album titled Mirror World. Born Nándor Kürtössy in the northern Hungarian town Balassagyarmat, Kovacs is known for his Mana Mana Records imprint, his groundbreaking album Five Finger Discount under the name Savages, and his projects Savages y Suefo and Vega Ass. A talented trumpet player, Kovacs dips into a well of varied musical styles for Mirror World. In his sonic palette, hip hop, jazz, and eerie soundtracks mix colorfully with experimental treatments and European musical influences. The Mirror World reflects all of Kovacs' fascinations — sounds and genres coming together on a collective surface.
Is there a story behind the alias Kovacs The Hun?
Kovacs The Hun: I’ve been making music as a hobby since I was 16, and at first I would just put the last 3 letters, "SSY" of my family name, on every tape I made. After a while there was simply too much different music and I felt that my various musical outputs needed different aliases. That is how Savages was born, and shortly after that I started to use another name Kovacs. Kovacs is like Smith in English and it is a very common last name in Hungary, that's why I choose it. In 2007, When the label Budabeats asked me if I had some music to release, I sent them my Kovacs demos and from that time it became kind of an official artist name for me. In recent years I was pretty busy with my other projects and there were no Kovacs releases, however a successful Dutch singer emerged with the same alias, so when The Content Label decided to release my new music, they advised me to add something to Kovacs so there would be no confusion with other artists. Since Attila the Hun, a great ruler and warrior is very well known even outside of Hungary I felt that this can be a good addition to the name Kovacs, plus it also indicates that I'm from Hungary.
How would you describe your music as Kovacs The Hun and how does it differ from your other projects like Savages or Savages & Suefo?
Kovacs The Hun: Oh, it is easy. Savages or my other projects, like Savages Y Suefo are happy music with light melodies and catchy loops, some of them are even danceable party tunes, while Kovacs The Hun represents my deeper, more experimental and darker side.
What is the meaning behind the title, ‘Mirror World’?
Kovacs The Hun: The title is a reference to the world we live in today and I think it is also a reference to how I think of the world and the possible future.
Did you approach ‘Mirror World’ differently from your previous releases?
Kovacs The Hun: No, not really. Mirror World is a collection of tunes that fit together not only because of their genre but because of the underlying themes. The tracks on the album have their own story and stand up individually, but If someone plays Mirror World from start to end, I hope that they will see the pattern. The bigger story of what I see - an album as a whole as if it were a book or a movie.
What was a major thing you learned while creating this record?
Kovacs The Hun: That I'm a gloomy person.
What was the biggest challenge in creating Mirror World?
Kovacs The Hun: I've been into music since I was a little kid, so making music is never a challenge but a fun activity to me.
Does traditional Hungarian folk music play a major part in your music?
Kovacs The Hun: I would say no. I like folk music and I have tons of folk records but I am much more interested in eastern melodies or the music of the indigenous Americans.
Did you enjoy jazz before discovering hip-hop, or did you discover jazz through samples used in hip-hop or instrumental music?
Kovacs The Hun: My first encounter with electronic music was rave music in the 90's and then a few years later I got sucked up by trip-hop. I didn't even know what a sample referred to in music when I got a copy of DJ Shadow's Endtroducing. It was something totally different, that I never heard before, and after that I've decided that I want to create music with a similar approach by using samples. This led me to hip-hop and many other genres including jazz. Since then jazz is one of my favorite genres especially avant-garde and free jazz. I find it amazing that a couple of people can create exciting and well-functioning pieces without sheet music or a precise idea, just by watching and focusing on each other play.
How has technology impacted the way you work?
Kovacs The Hun: I like old school things. Of course, I follow the tech news and I love science and I'm aware that today you can create music even with your phone but I don't get too technical when making music. My basic gear is an older DAW and an MPC so I'm not really a musical geek. I use my phone only to speak and chat with people and that's it.
Are you using hardware samplers or DAW samplers?
Kovacs The Hun: When I started making music at the age of 15 I had no knowledge of any hardware samplers, etc. so when I started out I simply used my mom's PC to make music when she was not using it. Over the years I got so use to this method of working on with PC’s that I still use DAW for sampling. When I listen to an old vinyl and something interesting hits my ears then I just open Logic and start recording.
You have a fascinating list of collaborators ranging from poets to instrumentalist from around the globe featured on your album. Could you tell us how did these collaborations come about?
Kovacs The Hun: I have known many of them for years. András Wahorn was always an idol to me as a musician and as a painter since I was a teenager. I'm a fan of his works. After the release of my debut album as Kovacs he somehow got a copy of the CD and contacted me and told me that he really likes the music which was almost unbelievable and very flattering to me. We have been in touch ever since so it was no question to me that if I am working on a project as Kovacs then I definitely wanted him to contribute. I met Márton Sütő through the label Budabeats when I did a remix for Márton's band. We had also played together a few times so I asked him to play the guitar in Countdown. I felt the original guitar sample was not exciting enough and I knew his guitar playing would be perfect addition to the track.
I had two instrumentals with titles and faint ideas of the lyrics that would work. I contacted a friend David (Rube) because I’ve known him for many years and I've got his Sifu Hotman vinyl Matches, which features Guante. He helped me to get in touch with Kyle (Guante) and then Kyle did a really strong vocal treatment together with his friend Adam (See More Perspective). The story of my connecting with Alex (The Audible One) is similar to the above with Guante and See More. I asked my producer friends around if someone could introduce me to a spoken word artist and one of them connected me with Alex. My original idea was to have a spoken word monologue for Phoney but when I heard the vocal track Alex sent me I was immediately convinced by that and went with it.
Your project fits well within the universe of the The Content Label, how did you become antiquated with the label?
Kovacs The Hun: I'm a fan of Dday One’s music and when I finished the album, I sent the demo to the label because I felt that The Content Label would be the best label to release my new album. I know that they release sample-based music and their releases are also deep and meaningful, so I was thought, there's nothing to lose. Fortunately, they liked it and here we are.
What are your other passions besides making beats?
Kovacs The Hun: Being with my family, reading books or taking long walks with our dogs. Oh, I'm also a film series junky since I got into Battlestar Galactica.
What have you been reading and listening to lately?
Kovacs The Hun: Lately I have been listening to Future Sound Of London and Damon Locks Black Monument Ensemble and of course obscure old releases while searching for new samples. The last book I've finished is Huxley's classic Brave New World. It is one of my favorite novels and I tend to re-read it from time to time. Before that I've read an interesting book on Ayahuasca and now I'm reading Micho Kaku's ‘The Future Of Humanity’.
What’s next for you?
Kovacs The Hun: That's the million-dollar question.
