Trance Balance

“Restored and remastered reissue of this highly sought-after gem from acclaimed Hungarian composer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Másik János

This chameleonic, shapeshifting record from one of Hungary’s most prolific musician and film composers at times calls to mind 23 Skidoo, Talking Heads and The Pop Group, at others it sits in its own corner of the room.

1989 was a revolutionary year with the fall of the Berlin Wall, while in Hungary the year saw the Round Table Talks establish a new multi-party democracy and the effective end of communist rule after 40 years. It’s hard to ignore these cataclysms while listening to Trance Balance. After all, its initial release was on Hungaropop, ‘one of the first privately owned, independent labels launched after the liberalization of the market in Warsaw Pact-era Hungary’

These are all questions that percolate as the needle drops. Trance Balance is reminiscent of a trip, transporting the individual through a semi-conscious dreamland. Synthesisers woosh and swirl overhead. The percussion is propulsive. Voices take on the guise of characters, guide-like, beckoning. There are Brechtian interludes where the musical fourth wall is punctured. At points, the listener awakes to playful refrains, bohemian folk song and calypso detours. This is a masterwork of musical surrealism – an act of pure intuition – free and honest. A manifesto in all but words. “