Mius - Eigengrau (2016)

For five years now, Gergely Almos flies the flag high for the electronic music scene in and from Budapest with his project Mius. The first two albums, „Behind The Line“ und „Tessellation“ resulted from the collaboration with singer Julia Horanyi. For his first piece on Sonar Kollektiv the Hungarian multi-instrumentalist assembled a small armada of befriended musicians and singers and created together with them the eleven astonishing tracks of “Eigengrau” (if you look up in the dictionary you’ll find the following: Eigengrau is the is uniform dark gray background that many people report seeing in the absence of light)

The album kicks off with the instrumental “Eyes Shut” in a gloomy mood which is carried on on “Broken Words” with singer Laura Hahn. It's this sort of lofty wistfulness the next singer Dori Hegyi proclaims even more outspoken on „Delusional“ and „The Hunting“. Gergely Almos' productions never shy away from grand emotions but always stay safe from ever becoming kitsch. By its organic feel the live drumming by Kristóf Gulyás (f.e. on „Haumea“ or „RRR“) or the bass playing by Tamás Mezey (on „Before the Rain“ and „The Hunting“), as well as the guitar played by Almos himself set this work of electronic melancholia notably apart from comparable productions. Not chilly aesthetics by programmed machines and alienated voices govern “Eigengrau” but an honest, true-to-life authenticity which can only, if you listen to all of this closely, can come out of Budapest.

On “Strobe And Noise” Kasia Kowalczyk indulges herself in a weird dream similar to most of the songs on this album overflowsing into beats suited for estranged dance floors. All of the four featured vocalists on “Eigengrau” perfectly fit into the concept by having exactly the acoustic colour reflecting Mius' idea of a very personal, but also genuine universal language. A truly intimate piece of work, sharpened down to the last detail and, through its impression, probably a boisterous and polarizing album.