EZ Basic: Unnatural
Let's start with the freshest video clip shot by Lake Balaton. Although Petőfi Radio was keen on rotating EZ Basic songs a few year ago, then they disappeared from the scene in recent years. They reappeared about a month ago with the brand new hit Unnatural. To raise the stakes, they promised to release a new album in 2015. The sole protagonist of the video is Juli Jakab, who is also featured in the recent Hungarian movie VAN valami furcsa és megmagyarázhatatlan. In this video, Juli does nothing apart from reading a book about fish feeding, making bait, and boating out to the fishing platform to fish. We adore the beautiful lights of the Lake in this video shot in Balatonboglár.
Kelemen Kabátban: Nyári dallam and Maradjatok gyerekek
Tihany, Füred, Almádi. No stopping anywhere. There are not many bands to which we'd react 'Oh, those Balaton boys', but the members of Kelemen Kabátban with their videos shot by Lake Balaton could never deny being summer children of the Balaton shore. The song Maradjatok gyerekek (Stay children) was not only a hit of the summer this year, but also introduced new slang words. At STRAND Festival 2014 cars were either blasting Maradjatok gyerekek, or Nyári dallam (Summer melody). True, the latter was not shot by the Balaton, but it is radiating that special, super light, summer Balaton vibe.
The guys seem to be attached to Keszthely the most: the Szigetfürdő (Island Bath) by the pier served as the background to the Maradjatok gyerekek shoot, and we'd bet that this location will reappear in the clip of their new song Keszthelyi kikötőben (In the Keszthely Marina). We talked to the front man and the producer of the band in the Valley of Arts, who admitted they had to make haste completing Keszthelyi kikötőben so it could be on their album released in the summer. They have had no time to shoot a video, but will definitely start with this song next year.
Pál Utcai Fiúk: Balatonszepezd
Clouds are floating over Hungary. They say that this line prevented Balatonszepezd to be played on heavy rotation by Petőfi Radio three years ago. Or at least Gábor Leskovics (guitar and vocals) accused the management of MR2 Petőfi with this - they claimed that the song could not fulfil certain quality requirements. The truth - if there is such a thing in case of music and tastes - will probably never be uncovered. Still, we believe that Balatonszepezd is a great song; slightly melancholy, but definitely an earworm. Not only because Szepezd and the mysterious Sir David castle have a special place in our heart, but also because the songs delivers the quality expected from a band with over 30 years of existence behind its back.
Hó Márton és a Jégkorszak: Szandra
We can recommend Hó Márton és a Jégkorszak's song Szandra with the pride of insiders: cinematographer-director Kriszta Vészi was assisted by Ádám Kiss as co-director - both are welovebalaton crew. They had little money but plenty of ideas. The Zamárdi summer home and the socialist realist furniture was given, while the costumes were gathered from the Hungarian Television, the Jajcica second-hand store and the Szuptnyik vintage shop for this retro sandals-with-socks clip. They put effort into getting the details right: the van borrowed from an uncle was equipped with a West German number plate from the Ecseri flea market, and got the police Lada from the Zamárdi Military Park. They had only one (non-professional) camera, so they also took scenes from the movie Balaton Retro. The refrain is a pun by Marci Hó: the misheard version of "Jöttök-e a Soundra?" (Will you come to the Sound?) created "Szandra, oh Szandra, mikor megyünk már a Balatonra" (Sandra, oh Sandra, when will we already leave for the Balaton?).
Kaukázus: Balaton
Lángos, sour cream and a good fröccs: this is all you need - claims one of the best known songs by Kaukázus, hummed by half the country a few years ago. The song Balaton, however is not about a careless summer. The extra moody lyrics are complemented by a similarly dark arrangement. Janó Kardos-Horváth signs about joints, flashes and a solitary man listening to Kispál és a Borz on the Lake - the Balaton and the boats passing are only the background of loneliness. This won't make you dance, but might be nice to listen to on misty days.
30Y: Felhő
If Zamárdi is the capital of festivals nowadays, then Pécs is the centre of alternative music. 30Y must have ridden along the south shoe with the Pécs express several times. The express that is actually quite sluggish between Siófok and Balatonszentgyörgy was slow enough for 30Y to shoot a video (Felhők/Clouds) during one of their journeys. They even hopped off the train a couple of times to watch clouds on the shore. Zoli Beck (vocals, lyrics) remembers Felhők as one of the most peculiar in the history of 30Y. He was recording the vocals for the 5th day straight and still had no idea how to finish the song. Then at one of the rehearsals, it all just clicked into place.
D.O.G.: Sunshine
At the end of August the second video of the Pécs-based band premiered at welovebalaton. Now that we have to look for a bit of sun with a magnifying glass in the November mist, we are thankful for the Balatonlelle sunshine they left us. The story is not overcomplicated: three friends rent a paddle bike and have fun on the south shore. What else would you need for an ideal summer afternoon, anyway? Friends, shallow Balaton, and sunshine (pus maybe a few cans of beer). Sunshine conveys this lightness, but the blues roots, funky twists and country influence suggest substantial expertise in the background. D.O.G. (Delusions of Grandeur) has a strong basis: it has members with Hungarian, Irish, American, Norwegian and German origins. Their hearts beat to different rhythms, hence it is worthwhile to follow them closely.
