László Fogarasi Jr. (born September 14, 1980), known by his stage name Yonderboi, is a
Hungarian composer,
music producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
and
visual artist
The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...
. His debut album,
Shallow and Profound, released in 2000, brought
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...
an music to the
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
an
electronic music
Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...
scene, and was met with critical acclaim by producers
Laurent Garnier
Laurent Garnier (born 1 February 1966), also known as Choice, is a French electronic music producer and DJ. Garnier began DJing in Manchester during the late 1980s. He became a producer in the early 1990s and recorded several albums.
Early influ ...
and
Gilles Peterson
Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a French broadcaster, DJ, and record label owner. He founded the influential labels Acid Jazz and Talkin' Loud, and started his current label Brown ...
on
Radio Nova and
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
Worldwide respectively, as well as performing at the
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 ...
and the
Lowlands festival
A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise (commonly called Lowlands or Lowlands Festival), is an annual three-day music and performing arts festival, held in the Netherlands. The festival is held east of Amsterdam in Biddinghuizen, at Spijk en Brem ...
in 2000. His most notable collaboration so far has been an audio-visual show with British film director legend
Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a Welsh film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular. Common traits in his films are the ...
during the
Berlin Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...
of 2009.
He has performed on diverse stages over the years, including festivals such as
Sónar
Sónar is a festival dedicated to music, creativity and technology, founded in Barcelona in 1994 by Ricard Robles, Enric Palau, and Sergi Caballero. The festival has been divided into two parts since its inception: Sónar by Day and Sónar b ...
,
Pukkelpop
Pukkelpop is an annual music festival that takes place near the city of Hasselt, Belgium, in mid- to late August. It is held within a large enclosure of fields and woodland—adjacent to a dual carriageway called ''Kempische Steenweg''—in the ...
, Lowlands,
Big Chill,
Sziget, ADE and venues like Razzmatazz,
Melkweg
Melkweg (Dutch for "Milky Way") is a popular music venue and cultural centre in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is located on Lijnbaansgracht, near Leidseplein, a prime nightlife square of Amsterdam. It is housed in a former dairy and is divided into ...
,
Paradiso (Amsterdam)
Paradiso is a Dutch music venue and cultural centre located in Amsterdam.
History
It is housed in a converted former church building that dates from the nineteenth century and that was used until 1965 as the meeting hall for a liberal Dutch ...
. Yonderboi's music is often licensed to films, TV and fashion shows or video games, and he has scored movies, theater pieces and he has also composed music for art exhibitions like the Swiss Pavilion of the
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...
2001.
Biography
Early years
Yonderboi started experimenting with music in his teenage years, and had his first release in 1998 while he was still a
high-school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
student. The song was called ''Pink Solidism'', which was an instrumental cover of
Riders on the Storm
"Riders on the Storm" is a song by American rock band the Doors. It was released in June 1971, as the second single from ''L.A. Woman'', their sixth studio album and the last with lead singer Jim Morrison. The song reached number 14 on the U.S ...
by
The Doors
The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential ro ...
. Later that summer, his first five track
EP, ''Cinnamon Kisses,'' came out on
vinyl
Vinyl may refer to:
Chemistry
* Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer
* Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation
* Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry
* Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...
, and Yonderboi struck a
record deal
A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...
with UCMG Hungary. Some of the songs got licensed to
Western European
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
compilation
Compilation may refer to:
*In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler
**Compilation error
**Compilation unit
*Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products
*Compilation thesis
M ...
s.
Shallow And Profound
He recorded his first long-player right after
graduation
Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...
, on his own budget, which was almost US$300. This allowed 2 days in a cheap studio to record the acoustic instruments, like
vibraphone
The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...
,
accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
,
sax and
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 ...
. Everything else like keys, synth, guitars, bass, scratches were recorded at home, and the material got produced and mixed on an average home
PC. The album titled ''Shallow and Profound'' came out in 2000 and its success put Yonderboi on the international map of
electronic music
Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...
. He was amongst the pioneers of
downtempo
Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may ...
and
trip hop
Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with "downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop ...
, the youngest member of the movement, and the only one from the former
Eastern Bloc
The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
. His music was very much in sync with the global culture of the era, yet it was distinctly different with its
Eastern European
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...
charm. The album invoked and melted together the romance of several decades of the 20th century, from 30's
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
and
chanson
A (, , french: chanson française, link=no, ; ) is generally any lyric-driven French song, though it most often refers to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval and Renaissance music. The genre had origins in the monophonic s ...
throughout 50's/60's
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
to cinematic
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
s. As the title also suggests the record is divided into two main parts, a more vivid and playful, sometimes cartoonish first part and a rather contemplative, dreamy second part. The most successful song of the album (which came out on single as well), the vibraphone ruled Pabadam - sung by Edina Kutzora, a hungarian singer - was widely recognized. Even
Laurent Garnier
Laurent Garnier (born 1 February 1966), also known as Choice, is a French electronic music producer and DJ. Garnier began DJing in Manchester during the late 1980s. He became a producer in the early 1990s and recorded several albums.
Early influ ...
announced and played it on Radio Nova, not to mention that
Gilles Peterson
Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a French broadcaster, DJ, and record label owner. He founded the influential labels Acid Jazz and Talkin' Loud, and started his current label Brown ...
has supported the song on
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
in his program Worldwide. The listeners voted the track up to position 9 in the
Worldwide Winners
The Worldwide Awards, formerly known as the Worldwide Winner Awards, are an annual awards celebration curated by radio DJ Gilles Peterson and currently hosted by Worldwide FM and Radio 6 which celebrates up-and-coming musicians on an international ...
2000. Still today Pabadam is a frequent guest on compilations, fashion shows and radio programs. Other notable tracks are Road Movie (also available as video), ''Fairy Of The Lake, Pink Solidism'', ''Ohne Chanteuse''. Yonderboi also started to perform his music live, supported by his temporary band called Yonderboi Quintet. They played various festival stages, amongst many others Sónar, Lowlands,
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
and Rotterdam Jazz Festivals and several clubs throughout Europe and Russia, like
Melkweg
Melkweg (Dutch for "Milky Way") is a popular music venue and cultural centre in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is located on Lijnbaansgracht, near Leidseplein, a prime nightlife square of Amsterdam. It is housed in a former dairy and is divided into ...
, Supper Club, Razzmatazz, 16tons.
Splendid Isolation
Yonderboi wanted the second album to be substantially different from its predecessor both in content and on the surface. There were more resources available this time, yet his basic approach to recording remained simple, he recorded almost everything at home, from electric guitars through male vocals to cellos and brass. Only one day was spent in a proper studio, to record the children's choir for the opening track ''All We Go To Hell'', which obviously needed a bigger space than Yonderboi's bedroom. The post-production of the material ended up surprisingly in Los Angeles, thanks to the lucky meeting with Dutch producer Tom Holkenborg, who helped Yonderboi to finish up the record. The album was named ''Splendid Isolation'' and came out in 2005. Even though it does have some Eastern European qualities, it is much more melted into Western culture than Shallow and Profound. The record has three main parts, a rather downtempo-ish beginning, then a guitar pop inspired core and a mind bending soundtrack-like closing. Two songs were copied on singles, ''Were You Thinking Of Me?'' and ''People Always Talk About The Weather'', each had a gorgeous cinematic video directed by Yonderboi himself. Both the songs and videos got played by several stations, amongst others
MTV Europe
MTV Global (formerly as MTV Europe) is the international version of the American TV channel MTV, a 24-hour music and entertainment TV channel that began broadcasting on August 1, 1987, as part of the worldwide MTV network.
Initially, MTV serve ...
,
KCRW
KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programm ...
, Studio Brussels. Several songs of the album got licensed to films, TV shows and video games, probably most often the ultra-dark and cynical ''Before You Snap''. On the Splendid Isolation Tour Yonderboi was supported on stage by his second temporary band
Kings Of Oblivion, in which Edina Kutzora sung as well. They visited many festivals all over
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
like Pukkelpop, 5 Days Off,
Sziget and venues like Paradiso, Melkweg, A38 or Uebel and Gefaehrlich.
Passive Control
The goal was to create the female sequel of the quite masculine ''Splendid Isolation''. Yonderboi found the female voice that he was looking for via Myspace, in the person of a previously unreleased young
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
singer, Charlotte Brandi. The recordings of the album took place in Yonderboi's home studio again. However this time only a few instruments got captured, like female vocals,
acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...
and a little
cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...
. The rest of the sounds were played and programmed by Yonder, he also produced and mixed the album all by himself. His intention was to compose a rather coherent sonic universe, where the organic and the artificial creates harmony, and the border between them is almost unrecognizable. The album is difficult to place both geographically and in time, it does not really belong anywhere, however it has a strong European character. Both the soundscape and the artwork is created to be futuristic and outmoded at the same time, the album invokes the utopian art deco vibe of early 20th century, 70's folk and 90's electronic music. The new songs got already recognized and played by amongst others
Jason Bentley Jason Bentley (born July 27, 1970) is an American radio disc jockey of electronic music in Los Angeles, California. On December 1, 2008, Bentley replaced Nic Harcourt as the host of ''Morning Becomes Eclectic'' and as Music Director for KCRW. Previ ...
on Morning Becomes Eclectic at
KCRW
KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programm ...
. The German
Vogue (magazine)
''Vogue'' is an American monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine that covers many topics, including haute couture fashion, beauty, culture, living, and runway. Based at One World Trade Center
One World Trade Center (also known as One Wor ...
reviewed the album and had ''Paint Hunting On The Wall'' on its monthly playlist at position 5.
Yonderboi In House
In 2012, Yonderboi started a remix project called Yonderboi In House, which will be released as an EP series on his own label Yonderland. Until then these tracks can be heard exclusively on his current, similarly titled live act. While creating the show Yonderboi used his DIY skills to design a matching, conceptual stage set: a glowing house frame and a Y-shaped DJ booth. So far the tour included venues like Palác Akropolis in Prague,
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 ...
or
Amsterdam dance event
The Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) is a five-day electronic music conference and festival held annually in mid-October. The event, organised by The Amsterdam Dance Event Foundation, offers a full programme of daytime conferences at ADE Pro, ADE Tech ...
2012. As a consequence he was able to cross off an important line on his childhood bucket list “tweak a real
Roland TB-303
The Roland TB-303 Bass Line (also known as the 303) is a bass synthesizer released by Roland Corporation in 1981. Designed to simulate bass guitars, it was a commercial failure and was discontinued in 1984. However, cheap second-hand units were ...
on stage”.
Discography
Albums
*''
Shallow And Profound'' (2000)
*''
Splendid Isolation
''Splendid isolation'' is a term used to describe the 19th-century British diplomatic practice of avoiding permanent alliances, particularly under the governments of Lord Salisbury between 1885 and 1902. The concept developed as early as 1822, ...
'' (2005)
*''
Passive Control
''Passive Control'' is the third studio album recorded by Yonderboi. The album was released on 23 September 2011. After six years of hiatus, Yonderboi returned with a full-length studio album. The title is self-contradictory like the previous ones ...
'' (2011)
Singles
*Pabadam (2000)
*Were You Thinking of Me? (2005)
*People Always Talk About The Weather (2006)
EPs
*''Cinnamon Kisses'' (1998)
Videography
*''Road Movie'' (2001)
*''Were You Thinking of Me?'' (2005)
*''People Always Talk About The Weather'' (2006)
In popular culture
*"Badly Broken Butterflies" is featured in ''
CSI:Miami''
*"People Always Talk About The Weather (
Junkie XL
Tom Holkenborg (born 8 December 1967), also known by his stage name Junkie XL or occasionally JXL, is a Dutch composer, multi-instrumentalist, DJ, producer, and engineer.
Originally known for his trance productions, he has moved to producing e ...
Remix)" featured in the videogame ''
Need for Speed: Carbon''
*"Follow Me Home" featured in the videogame ''
Test Drive Unlimited
''Test Drive Unlimited'' is an open world racing video game developed by Eden Games and published by Atari for Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. Atari Melbourne House developed the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable versions. Being the e ...
'' (PC version only)
*"Were You Thinking of Me?" featured in the video game by
EA Sports
EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" ...
, ''
FIFA 08
''FIFA 08'' (titled ''FIFA Soccer 08'' in North America ) is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. It was released on all popular gaming formats in September 2007 in Eur ...
''
*"Motor" (instrumental) featured in the videogame ''
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08
''Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08'' is a sports video game released by EA Sports on all major seventh-generation platforms along with the PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. EA Tiburon developed every version except the Nintendo DS version ...
''
See also
*
DJ Krush
, better known by his stage name DJ Krush, is a record producer and DJ. He is known for his atmospheric instrumental production which incorporates sound elements from nature and extensive use of jazz and soul samples.
Early life
Ishi was born i ...
*
DJ Shadow
Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ, songwriter and record producer. His debut studio album, '' Endtroducing.....'' was released in 1996.
Biography Early years (1989–1995)
DJ Sha ...
(sample-based music)
Sources
* Review of Passive Control
* Feature on Passive Control
* Concert in St. Petersburg
* Album review of Splendid Isolation
* Yonderboi event in Prague
* Long lead of Passive Control
* Album stream - Passive Control
* Passive Control album announcement
* Review of Passive Control
Interviews
* Yonderboi interview
* Interview with Yonderboi
* BalatonSound events
* Critique on Egyenes Labirintus
* Interview regarding Passive Control
References
External links
*
*
*
YONDERBOI on Soundcloud
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yonderboi
Hungarian electronic musicians
1980 births
Living people
Love Da Records artists