Beats Before Midnight – 3rd edition

#girlpower and genre-tornado in the underground music scene of Budapest

On January 6th of this very year, the 3rd edition of Beats Before Midnight took place in Budapest, in the underground cultural space of literary café, Három Holló/Drei Raben (Three Ravens). I was invited to this event by singer-songwriter Puzzls, founder and editor-in-chief of this website, who was also one of the performers of the night for the third consecutive time. Personally, I was so glad I could finally attend this event (even though going alone to any kind of event scares the living hell out of my introverted self), as I’ve been following it with one eye ever since it came around. Beats Before Midnight is basically a series of small concerts held one after another, as the names gives it away – occurring right before midnight, celebrating, and giving space to small, independent, aspiring artists to show and share their talent with music enthusiasts who are open to hear and enjoy various mixes of music genres. The initiative sprung out of the mind of Girl in the mirror, who was also the bubbly, cheerful and devoted host of the night, the heart and soul of the party. It was clear to see how much work and thought was put into the event not only by her, but all the other artists and the staff helping around as well.

ANAM ARIA
SARSHA

I arrived at the location a little bit before the concerts started, so I had a chance to peek into the soundcheck and to see for myself a handful of the artists who were about to perform. On this occasion, the performers consisted only of female singers, and it really felt like a celebration of #girlpower and the uniqueness of women in the smaller parts of the music industry. All the lovely ladies who came up on the stage had their own charm, charisma, style of music and fashion sense. It felt empowering watching them perform with so much confidence; these ladies belong to the surface as well as the indie underground!

The first ones on the stage were Girl in the mirror herself, in co-production with SARSHA, the latter performing a self-made dance choreography and shining brightly while doing so. Her solid fanbase – a very excited, supportive girl community – could enjoy her singing too later on, which felt like a sacred initiation rite with soft undertones and mysterious vibes. You couldn’t even tell this was her first-ever performance, as so much confidence would radiate from her. Because of a technical bug during her concert, the Beats Before Midnight team gave her another chance to perform, this time without any interruptions, which was a heartwarming act to witness.

The next girl on the stage was ANAM ARIA, performing her song called ‘4REAL’. As a self-proclaimed, contemporary R&B songwriter, she was channeling her inner Barbie on the stage, with a stunning pink outfit from head to toe, giving strong independent femme energies through her song and her appearance as well.

ROSE MAY

Funny and being unapologetically herself would be the best words to describe the third performer of the night, ROSE MAY. Her boldness shone through as she wrote not one, not two, but three (!) of her songs on that very same day, just before the concert. Had she not told us this information, I doubt anybody would’ve noticed as they all sounded just as professional as all her other songs, giving off dreamy vibes with bits of longing. She was also rapping in her song called ‘Oxytocin’ and the whole performance was nothing less than wholesome.

PUZZLS

With songs in various genres under her belt, the next performance of the night was none other than Puzzls, with a very enthusiastic audience who was dancing along and enjoying the ride through the wave of emotions provided. Sometimes it felt like being at a punk-rock concert, other times you could imagine yourself laying on your bedroom floor, listening to calm and soothing sounds, forgetting any concerns occurring in your life. I always felt like the songs of Puzzls could be part of any soundtrack of a featurette or a coming of age movie. She was also kind to perform a few songs not yet released to the public, one of which is inspired by the series ’How I Met Your Mother’. She really had her own way of handling the crowd, reaching out and talking to them constantly. And without being too biased, I must also add that hearing her songs live was a blast for me; her professionalism was indisputable.

Girl in the mirror

The night advanced further and Girl in the mirror was back on the stage, this time to guide us into a dreamy, fantasy-like world through the power of her music. The fairytale-like vibes, with heavy anime undertones and a mix of electropop and bass music were well-received by the audience. SARSHA was also called back to help in setting the mood, even having a full choreography ready for one of Girl in the mirror’s songs, who was so amazing that she even played the flute! I really loved her outfit which gave a combination of dark academia and anime styling.

kkoneko

Closing the event but continuing with the tradition of anime-like and electropop vibes, kkoneko was another face of the night’s musical palette. While unfortunately I couldn’t stay until the end of her concert, those few songs I was able to catch before leaving gave off the sensation of an adventurous night spent in the city, storming through it, while blasting music on the speakers of your car. The projected background of her performance was quite melancholic with various anime scenes showing the quiet, grey everyday life of people. With angel wings on her back and a matching angelic voice, she made me feel like I’m hearing Grimes at a rock concert, and even brought back memories of when I was watching the anime called ‘Nana’ a few years prior. It’s safe to say she gave a performance one could easily lose themselves in, in the most positive sense of the word.

 

To sum up this whole musical experience, Beats Before Midnight was a very inclusive environment, an enjoyable and safe event with talented and dedicated individuals who were not afraid to show parts of their personality, feelings, and to put themselves out there and shine before a crowd of friends, as well as strangers. Relatable and hard-working, it’s worth keeping an eye on all these talented performers who all have a chance of getting bigger in the near future. One more thing I can say is that I’m rooting for all of them and wishing for luck and prosperity in the journey of their music career.

 

*Photos of ANAM ARIA and SARSHA are by @encs.luca; photos of ROSE MAY, PUZZLS, Girl in the mirror and kkoneko are by @kitty.somewhere 

From Slowthai to Carson Coma – What is it like to attend a festival in the middle of a pandemic?

As a devoted fan of concerts, festivals, and music in general, I, like many others, were devastated when the whole World went under lockdown last year. That meant that not only we couldn’t leave the house without a mask and had to minimize social interactions, but we had to say goodbye to all our beloved summer festivals too. Personally, it was especially hard to let go of Electric Castle, one of the most popular festivals held in Romania, because it would’ve been the perfect graduation gift to attend the concert of an amazing line-up after finishing my university studies, thus including Twenty One Pilots, Machine Gun Kelly, The Neighbourhood, Alec Benjamin or Foals. The waves of the pandemic covered everything in the blink of an eye and washed away all my hopes and dreams for the best festival experience I could’ve ever had. 

Thankfully, this year the organizers came up with the idea of Electric Castle Special, which was similar to the original festival, only shaped in such ways to align with the criteria of holding concerts in the middle of a pandemic, which meant that those who were vaccinated or did a PCR test before entering the festival, could fully enjoy live music this August. One part of the festival was held in Bontida, the other took place in Cluj and included multiple locations with various stages. I had the sheer luck of my workplace collaborating with the festival, and this is how I got in, free of charge (of course, with the Vaccination Certificate and the intention to work), and was able to attend two concerts I was looking forward to the most – Slowthai and Carson Coma.

Slowthai is a British rapper from Northampton, and I have to admit, I only discovered his existence maybe a month before the festival started, thanks to an ad on which you could hear Doorman, a song he made in collaboration with Mura Masa. His music is a combination of hip-hop, punk-rap, and grime, some containing his views on political issues regarding Great Britain, which lead to a little bit of controversy around his name. I went specifically for this one song (worth it, I still remember how an old man was dancing next to me and just vibing to his music, probably having zero clue about what the lyrics meant), but I ended up staying for the whole concert because he was not only a genius on the stage but also very inspirational in all he was saying. To be frank, he made his way into my heart pretty fast and I just loved how open and outspoken he was. I would definitely recommend giving his music a go if one is not afraid to hear some spicy manifestations here and there.

Now you see, Carson Coma is the other end of the spectrum when it comes to my taste in music. While Slowthai could be called bold, fearless, and vulgar, Carson Coma is just a bunch of guys who give you the silly and awkward “boy next door” vibes, they are like the epitome of what a bohemian is. I became a fan of this Hungarian band a year ago when they released their album called Lesz, ami lesz (What will be, will be) which gained a lot of popularity and not by accident! They are a fresh addition to the Hungarian musical palette, mostly thanks to how they are able to combine and cover multiple genres, from alternative rock to the beat music of the 60s, and the way their lyrics work so well with what they intend to communicate into the World (a little fun fact is that they sing in English too, and even have a song in Italian). 

The connection they have with each other and with their fans is insane, not to mention how purely talented and bright these guys are. Me and my friend who loves Carson Coma just as much as I do, couldn’t skip the opportunity to attend their concert. And we are so glad that we went! I can’t say there were many people there (If somehow any of the Carson Coma members ever stumble across this article, I have a message for you guys: Please don’t let this discourage you and come back to Cluj someday to play many more amazing shows! In fact, I know people who couldn’t attend the festival, but would’ve loved to be there.), but these guys had so much energy, put their heart and soul into the whole show, and were really humble and kind to the people who gathered to see them, as they came down to chat a bit and take some photos with the fans. It was such a great experience to see and hear them live in so many ways, and I am really grateful that I could be a part of it.

To conclude all, Electric Castle Special was an amazing experience, even if I couldn’t enjoy all the concerts held. My heart is still aching for the Aurora concert I had to skip because of work, but I believe that both Slowthai and Carson Coma did a great job fulfilling the “withdrawal symptoms” that last year caused in me with the canceled festival season. My advice for you is: don’t waste your youth by not attending festivals. It could change your life and get you out of your comfort zone in the best way possible! And yes, I know, the pandemic isn’t something that should be toyed with, but as the example above states, it is possible to have fun in a carefully checked and well-organized environment, if people decide to behave like decent human beings, and follow the rules required.

I hope that next year will bring back the original festival too, and we will be able to enjoy the live music experience further!