FreshFabrik is a Hungarian

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...

band consisting of Szabolcs Oláh aka (kju:) (vocals, guitars), András Szabó (drums) and Levente Kovács (bass & programming) and László Szvoboda (guitars, vox, synth.). FreshFabrik is the first Hungarian English-singing rock/metal band using DJ and

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

performances, and the first Hungarian rock/metal band contracted to a major record label. FreshFabrik is one of the best-selling English-singing Hungarian rock bands of all time. After a three-year break, in 2011 they released a brand-new album ''

MORA Mora may refer to: People * Mora (surname) Places Sweden * Mora, Säter, Sweden * Mora, Sweden, the seat of Mora Municipality * Mora Municipality, Sweden United States * Mora, Louisiana, an unincorporated community * Mora, Minnesota, a city * M ...

''. In 2013, after a successful 20 years anniversary tour, FreshFabrik released a new single, and video Higher & Higher (Rock to the Boogie-Woogie) with reunited members: Istvan Horvath and Matyas Koncz.

History

Years of beginning

FreshFabrik was founded by Andras Szabó and Levente Kovács in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, in Budapest, Hungary. In the autumn of 1994 the band was introduced supporting

Run DMC Run-DMC (also spelled Run-D.M.C.) was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, founded in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of ...

in Budapest. That time the band signed a record deal with Hungarian Mute Licensee the band was nominated for the MTV Europe Video Contest and the nominated video appeared on MTV Europe's ''

120 Minutes ''120 Minutes'' is a television program in the United States dedicated to the alternative music genre, that originally aired on MTV from 1986 to 2000, and then aired on MTV's associate channel MTV2 from 2001 to 2003. After its cancellation, MTV ...

''. In the same year FreshFabrik released the debut album ''Certificado''. In 1995-97 the band was clubtouring all over Europe, and performed as supporting band to

Nitzer Ebb Nitzer Ebb () are a British EBM group formed in 1982 by Essex school friends Vaughan "Bon" Harris (programming, synthesizers, drums, vocals), Douglas McCarthy (vocals), and David Gooday (drums). History Initial releases (1983–1987) The g ...

in Budapest in 1997. That year, the band signed to

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

Hungary to release their second album, ''Nerve''. After its success, Warner sent the band touring in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

for the new album.

Years of success

In the early days of 2000 the band started working on the new album with Mr. Colson from

Smart Studios Smart Studios was a recording studio located in Madison, Wisconsin. It was set up in 1983 by Butch Vig and Steve Marker to produce local bands. The studio produced bands such as Killdozer, The Smashing Pumpkins, L7, Tad, and Nirvana. After in ...

(US) at the mixing desk. The band used the studio-break for performing live on the Pepsi

Sziget Festival The Sziget Festival ( hu, Sziget Fesztivál, ; "Sziget" for "Island") is one of the largest Music festival, music and cultural festivals in Europe. It is held every August in northern Budapest, Hungary, on Óbuda Island, Óbudai-sziget ("Old Bu ...

in Budapest as a headliner, among bands like

Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilitie ...

and

The Bloodhound Gang The Bloodhound Gang was an American rap rock band from Collegeville, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1988 by rappers Jimmy Pop and Daddy Long Legs (now in Wolfpac) as a hip hop music, hip-hop group, before branching out into other genres as thei ...

. The album ''Drive My Hand'' came out on 30 October 2000. On 8 March 2001 the band won Hungarian IFPI's Golden Giraffe Award (Hungarian Grammy) as 'The Best Domestic Modern Rock Album of the Year 2000'. In 2001 Warner Released ''Drive My Hand'' in the Czech Republic, and FreshFabrik was supporting

Rammstein Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, ...

and

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...

, in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Strahov Stadium The Great Strahov Stadium ( cs, Velký strahovský stadion) is a stadium in the Strahov district of Prague, Czech Republic. It was built for displays of synchronized gymnastics on a massive scale, with a field three times as long as and three ...

with an audience of 35,000 people. FreshFabrik prague

The band performed at the

again as a headliner, among bands like

H-Blockx H-Blockx is a German rock band founded in Münster in 1991. After the success of their debut album in 1994, ''Time to Move'', the band received a nomination for Best Breakthrough Artist at the 1995 MTV Europe Music Awards. In 1999, the World Wr ...

and

New Model Army The New Model Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Th ...

. The music video for "Lamentation" was nominated to the 'Comet' competition on VIVA TV. The "Lamentation" and "Drive My Hand" videos were appearing on VIVA2 in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. That time, the band was working on the release and promotion of ''Drive My Hand'' in cooperation with the Vice President A&R of

International in New York, organising showcases in Los Angeles and New York. Unfortunately the tragic events of

September 11 Events Pre-1600 * 9 – The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends: The Roman Empire suffers the greatest defeat of its history and the Rhine is established as the border between the Empire and the so-called barbarians for the next four hun ...

temporarily made it impossible for the band to be present in the States. "Lamentation" appeared on the track list of the compilation ''New Generation'' released by Warner Music Czech Republic in November 2001 among superstars like

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and drummer ...

Wheatus Wheatus are an American rock band from Northport, New York, formed in 1995. They are known principally for their 2000 single "Teenage Dirtbag", which appeared in the films '' Loser'' and ''Bully'', as well as the HBO miniseries ''Generation Kil ...

Deftones Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by Chino Moreno (vocals, guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), and Dominic Garcia (bass). During their first five ...

Faith No More Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before settling on the current name in July 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/r ...

Sugar Ray Sugar Ray is an American rock band formed in Newport Beach, California, in 1986. Originally playing heavier funk metal and nu metal style music, the band achieved mainstream popularity in 1997 with their more pop-influenced single " Fly". T ...

Uncle Kracker Matthew Shafer (born June 6, 1974), also known by his stage name Uncle Kracker, is an American singer and musician. He was previously a turntablist for Kid Rock's backing group Twisted Brown Trucker and since 1999 has recorded as a solo artist. ...

Kid Rock Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock (also known as Bobby Shazam), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. His style alternates between rock, hip hop, country, and metal. A self-taught musician, ...

Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American rap rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers. The band's music is marked by D ...

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...

Crazy Town Crazy Town (sometimes abbreviated as CXT) is an American rap rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1995 by Bret Mazur and Seth Binzer. Crazy Town is best known for their 2000 hit single "Butterfly", which reached number one on the US ''Billboard ...

Staind Staind ( ) is an American rock band from Springfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Aaron Lewis, lead guitarist Mike Mushok, bassist and backing vocalist Johnny April, and dr ...

, HIM,

Blink 182 Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their sound has ...

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...

Guano Apes Guano Apes are a German rock band formed in 1994 in Göttingen. The band consists of Sandra Nasić (vocals), Henning Rümenapp (guitars, backing vocals), Stefan Ude (bass, backing vocals), and Dennis Poschwatta (drums, backing vocals). AllMusic ...

and

Papa Roach Papa Roach is an American rock band from Vacaville, California, formed in 1993. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist Jacoby Shaddix, guitarist Jerry Horton, drummer Dave Buckner, bassist Will James, and trombonist Ben Luther. After ...

. In the summer of 2002 FreshFabrik played numerous gigs in Hungary, became a third-time headliner of the Pepsi Sziget Festival, and received an invitation to

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

for the SXSW Festival Summer.

Years of change

István Horváth, the frontman of FreshFabrik, left the band due to musical and personal reasons in 2003. The band started the new album's recording sessions with a new singer: Balázs Tanka. The album ''Dead Heart in Living Water'' was released in the February 2004. The band started touring twenty gigs all around Hungary, and the second single's ("Grace for Grace") came out. The one-year-term singer, Balázs Tanka, left the band, and István Horváth re-joined for a few months. After the scandalous departure, a new singer, Peter Ujvari joined the band for one single and video "On 'n' On". After the departure of Peter Ujvári, a new

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

singer Szabolcs Oláh (kju:) joined the band. He had gained fame as a finalist of the Hungarian talent show ''

Megasztár ''Megasztár - Voice of the Year'' was a Hungarian a music talent show that started in 2003 on TV2. While it is widely considered an unlicensed clone of the British television show ''Pop Idol'' (and sometimes even referred to as ''Hungarian Id ...

''. In 2006 FreshFabrik released a special best-of album, with the band's most popular songs re-recorded, remastered and partly renamed, due to

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

reasons. FreshFarbik toured and appeared many festivals. Played around Italy, Hungary and in the UK in 2007 supporting the heavy girl-band McQueen (UK).

Years apart

The band had few performances between 2007 and 2010. After an unsuccessful 15th anniversary concert, Levente Kovács declared in an interview that, ''"I don't see any chance to perform on stage under the name of FreshFabrik anymore to play TapTap. It makes no sense for me. It's only my opinion, there are many ways to do FreshFabrik without me, and maybe they will."'' So he left the band for one year, but Andras and Szabolcs, with former bass player Reka Hain played some shows with moderate success.

Years of a new beginning

In 2010 Levente Kovács, András Szabó and Szabolcs Oláh decided to continue FreshFabrik and started writing some new material. In November 2010, a new single and music video titled "Stealing the Sun" was released and hit radio charts, raising new popularity for the band. In the spring of 2011 Laszlo Szvoboda joined the band for live performances and started touring Hungary. Many festival appearances came and a very special show with the Hungarian National Radio Philharmonic Orchestra at

2011, recorded live and in studio also. In June 2011 the band released a new album, ''

'', which is the 5th in the row of FreshFabrik studio albums. Four videos were shot supporting ''MORA'': ''Stealing The Sun'', ''Woman'', ''Into The Light'' and ''Orpheus''. On 8 May 2012, the FreshFabrik album ''MORA'' won "Best Domestic Modern Pop-Rock Album of 2011" at the Fonogram Hungarian Music Awards. In 2013, after a successful 20 years anniversary tour, FRESHFABRIK released a new single, and video Higher & Higher (Rock to the Boogie-Woogie) with reunited members: Istvan Horvath and Matyas Koncz.

Discography

Albums

*''Certificado'' - 1994 *''Nerve'' - 1997 *''Drive My Hand'' - 2000 *''Dead Heart in Living Water'' - 2004 *''Finest'' - 2006 *''

'' - 2011

Videos

, 1997 , Freezing , 1998 , ''Serious (Tap Tap)'' , 2000 , ''Goofy with the Gun'' , 2000 , ''Drive My Hand'' , 2000 , ''Lamentation'' , 2003 , ''Grace For Grace'' , 2010 , ''Life Is Passing By'' , Levente Kovács , 2011 , ''Stealing The Sun'' , Levente Kovács & Szabolcs Oláh , 2011 , ''Into The Light'' , Levente Kovács , 2011 , ''Woman'' , Levente Kovács , 2012 , ''Orpheus'' , Levente Kovács & Szabolcs Oláh , 2013 , ''Higher & Higher'' , Levente Kovács & Szabolcs Oláh

Members

*Kju (Szabolcs Oláh) -

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

*Istvan Horvath -

*Levente Kovács -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

*AndyTaylor (András Szabó) -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

*László Szvoboda - guitars, vocals *Matyas Koncz - guitars

References

External links

FreshFabrik on MySpace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freshfabrik Hungarian heavy metal musical groups Hungarian musical trios Hungarian musical quartets Musical groups established in 1994 1994 establishments in Hungary