Ági Herczku and Félix Lajkó are on the world music top list !
Ágnes Herczku’s “Live at WOMEX” and Félix Lajkó’s “Most jöttem” are amongst the top 20 world music albums – wrote World Music Charts Europe website on July 1st, 2016.
The most distinguished world music top list is compiled from votes of 50 radio experts from 24 countries. Every month the results of the vote are posted here: www.wmce.de. Félix Lajkó’s folk recording was already on the list the previous month. Ágnes Herczku’s concert record made the list in July. No other Hungarian recordings are presently on the list.
Both records can be purchased at Fonó webshop, from other distributors, and in digital format on: ITunes, Amazon Deezer, Spotify, etc.
Ágnes Herczku introduced her album "Bandázom" to international promoters last October during WOMEX 2015 at Müpa Budapest. Before that it had already made the WMCE World Music top list as well as Songlines' listeners list. A recording was made of that outstanding autumn concert. The WOMEX organizing committee made an unusual exception and agreed to its release. So we are especially pleased that the Ágnes Herczku - recent recipient of Hungary's Ferenc Liszt Award - and her band have released this recording, featuring the complete concert plus four brand new studio tracks. Mixing and instrumentation for the recording is the work of Nikola Parov. Links to download from the webshop:
Félix Lajkó’s music draws richly from the music traditions that influenced his everyday life from childhood. This means the folk music of his native Voivodina region which includes also Hungarian, Gypsy, and even Romanian folk music. On this record entitled “Most jöttem/ I just arrived” we hear virtuoso variations on folk themes for violin and zither with extraordinary singers such as Bea Palya, Gabriella Tintér and Anna Csizmadia, and musicians such as László Porteleki, Antal Brasnyó and Gergő Szabó Csobán. ‘Félix Lajkó Folk’ debuted as a formation in February 2015 during the Félix Lajkó Marathon event at Budapest’s Palace of the Arts celebrating Felix’s 40th birthday. Since then, the material has continued to develop over the course of several memorable concerts and has been released by Fonó. Links to download from the webshop:
The members of the WMCE are world music radio experts who cast private votes choosing the new recordings that were the most popular in the previous month. They choose from amongst several hundred recordings recent releases on European labels. In past years the top 20 list has included: Félix Lajkó’s “Mező” (Fonó), Karaván Família (Fonó), Buda Folk Band: “Magyar világi népzene” (Fonó), Ágnes Herczku’s “Bandázom” (Fonó), Romano Drom’s “colors” (Fonó), Zűrös Banda (Fonó), Buda Folk Band’s “Saját gyüjtés” From our own collection work” (Fonó) and from other Hungarian labels: recordings by Söndörgő and Romengo bands.