Artist Profiles: Téka

For more than thirty years now, Téka has been amongst the leaders of Budapest’s new wave of folk music. In 1977 they received the nationally recognized title of “Young Masters of Folk Art” and have gotten many other awards since then.

Téka has been hosting regular ‘dance houses’ in Budapest since 1977 – evenings of live folk music, dancing, and singing, where people come to learn or just to socialize; popular meeting places for Hungarians and ethno-tourists alike.

The attractiveness of the Téka Group can be explained by their individual intonation, original performing style and brilliant knowledge of singing. The members of the Téka Ensemble are also active music teachers, dedicated to passing on the traditional Hungarian music to younger generations.

Their concerts on world music stages across Europe and beyond, delight audiences with the warmth of their performance and their ethnic playing style. Over the years they have worked continuously with and included professional folk dancers in their programs.

Sixteen LPs of their music released abroad (in the USA, Germany, Switzerland), along with the Hungarian released LP-s and CD-s, comprise their impressive discography.

In the rooms of old peasant houses in Hungary there used to be a small wall-cupboard, the “téka”, containing the family valuables: documents, money, the Bible, salt and brandy.

As the cupboard teka, the group collects, preserves and passes on to others the treasures of Hungarian folk music.

The members of the Téka band:

Ökrös Csaba – fiddle
András Soós – fiddle, viola
Beatrix Tárnoki – voice, lute
György Lányi – viola, bagpipe, lute
Pál Havasréti – double bass, hurdy gurdy

Discography:

Mestereink/Our master’s – Bársony Mihály (2001)
Mestereink: Magyar dudások/Hungarian bagpipers (2004)
Padkaporos bál Dél-alföldi táncmuzsika/Our master’s – Dusty bench ball (2005)
Vadvirágok – Wildflowers (2009)
Égig érő fa – Sky-high promising tree (2011)

Web sites: www.tekazenekar.hu

Author: Angel Romero

Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.