legars

into a maelstrom where all dreams are grown

[legarslegars]

Sharing everything

Didn't you ever think about the fact that with the supremacy of community website communication we just got to the point that we feel totally powerless without sharing anything that has just happened to us? ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR5pkyfokRw

[legarslegars]

"Ferocious"

"Wow, this is ferocious", told me a good friend of mine back in August 2013 as I showed her the first version of my track "Regardless". 

I was quite surprised, I have to confess, because it was not the adjective I would have described with this  tune. Energetic? Sure! Emotional? Yes. But ferocious? It took me some time and some distance to realize my friend ought to be quite right. And anyway, do not all songs tell something else to each of us?

What would be your description of the track?

Regardless has been released via Bandcamp on 26 March, 2014 as part of the "Paris Périphérique EP".

[legarslegars]

Random Pics of !Tape 2012-14

[legarslegars]

ImPro Interview

Hey there! 

I translated this interview 

published a month ago for my friends not having the essential skill of speaking hungarian... Enjoy!

Original in hungarian: http://bit.ly/1jgtDG9

“Constraints boost creative energies” – Interview with Legars

by Alexandra Úr

We talked with Legars about the long path from his first tape-recorder to the release of his first EP. Along the story, we mention the most important stages and experiences: inspiring artists, the definition of the good DJ, collaborations within ImPro School, the setbacks of writing lyrics, the influence of French culture and the importance of a good manager.

What was your first defining musical experience?

I don’t really remember what was before or after. A lot of images come across my mind… For instance, when I was groping for tapes in the mediatheque of the French Institute in Budapest. Finally, I chose albums from Vanessa Paradis, Serge Gainsbourg and Etienne Daho. While listening them over and over again, I was daydreaming about being a musician… Curiously, concerts were not so determining for me, I preferred the rendezvous with certain artists through listening them in my tiny room. Actually, the very first musical influence came from my brother’s side, I guess, who was obsessed with classical music (and who finally became a music historian). I quickly developed a resistance to the classical… I preferred hanging on MTV, and then started playing guitar.

You are DJ at the quite popular !szkafander and !Tape. What does a DJ have to keep in mind if he wants that his audience spends some fun time on the dancefloor?

 It might sound selfish but first of all to enjoy the music he mixes. Without that, no chemistry with the audience. On the other hand, I try not to forget what DJ Palotai told me once: “one track for you, one track for me”. With this attitude, a certain harmony will be born, mainly if the audience knows your profile. It is tremendously difficult to keep the balance. On one side, all this is about self-fulfillment that’s worth nothing without the audience. And still: if you don’t hold the reins, you won’t be able to work on your character as a DJ.

 When did you start composing music?

In fact, we should talk about two periods. First, I started at age 15 with a guitar, two tape-recorders and a bunch of cassettes on which I recorded several tracks over and over. That time I did not have softwares, not even computers were really common. Anyways, I composed dozens of songs during the high-school years. These were mainly three-four minute pop songs. Than came the university and literature seemed more important. I returned to producing music in 2011, when I realized having lost an important baggage on the road, and that I have much more technical possibilities in my hands than before. So I went back to the mine!

 What inspires you while composing music?

 Anything in life can be inspiring. Others’ music, their attitude, great discussions with friends… And then public life, ambience on the streets of Budapest, travels… A lot of times, electronic music in theatre pieces can open new paths. I received a lot from the music by Fabrice Planquette and Gilles Gauvin to dance pieces of the Compagnie Pal Frenak. I got to know those compositions very profoundly while touring with the company for years. And, of course, lots of music, mainly deep house, that I listen to: I would stress on Nina Kraviz, Caribou, Amirali, PillowTalk, Hot Since 82, Francesca Lombardo, Maetrik/Maceo Plex or Walker & Royce, whose soundings directly astonish me from time to time, even though some of them have not been long time ago on the market. And although they might be more underground-ish music than what I produce, they still have a very strong influence on me.

 Most of your tracks feature vocals. You write the lyrics?

 Yes. When I was a teenager, a whole diary got filled with lyrics. I mainly tried to write in English and Hungarian, but also in French, which was a real challenge because of its structure and my limited knowledge. But the constraints boost extremely the creative energies. Nowadays, I seek writing texts that are “tight” in rhythm and content. I adore writing lyrics, composing vocals. It is very easy to lose track though, because as soon as vocals appear in a song, they will sit on the whole stuff.

 What collaborations have been born from the ImPro Circle?

 I have been collaborating mainly with a former classmate, Klokk (aka Sausage). As it develops, I have more and more the feeling that a whole bunch of exciting vibes may come out. We form each other. We are working hard on an EP now that will focus on the darker side of deep house. We want to be ready in a couple of weeks. Also, I collaborate with Sazabio, we produced remixes to each other. The most important of them for me was my quite unique remix to his track Lonelane. I kept all the original stems and I composed vocals. Recently, I also have been commissioned for a remix to Anez, that one should be released soon.

You studied in Montréal and Bordeaux. Later, you worked at French-related institutions. Is there a French influence in your music too? 

This is an interesting one because I cannot really catch this phenomenon. As French and francophone cultures have been part of my life since my very childhood, my whole personality has been impregnated even though I don’t particularly wish to live in France. And still, it is certainly not by accident that the title of my first EP to come out in a couple of weeks is entitled Paris Périphérique, and I decided with some exterior persuasion that the video will also be to this particular track. I am actually working on it with a French video artist, Matthieu Vautrin. It might sound strange but there is something mystically fatal in the fact that my first, more complex project comes to life through a track in French while my lyrics are mainly in English.

You worked as the manager of Compagnie Pal Frenak. I know that you have lots of dilemma concerning self-management as a music producer. What’s up with this?

Self-management is certainly inevitable, and we talked a lot about this at ImPro. I keep torturing Ambrus (AMB aka Ambrus Deák) with questions on different aspects of it, and even though his answers are very much to the point, I never have the feeling of having found the good attitude towards my own management. I always look for answers because I have always known that you can expect from nobody to help you until you don’t start shaping your future. I think that we all need a manager after some time. Because it is true that you have to define the directions but it is also quite schizo to be producer and manager at once. These are two completely different stories. As you cannot expect from ImPro School to help you becoming your own manager, you won’t expect from, for instance, the Zeneipari Hivatal to teach you how to structure a track. By the way, I guess that management courses of this latter can save the composers-producers, at least in the field of electronic music. I feel fantastically lucky that one of my good old friends, Alexandra Iván studied there. She has been keeping her eyes on my musical activity for more than two years now, and we decided some time ago that we would work together more thoroughly. In fact, I thought already a year ago of her being a good partner, and I started indirectly pushing her towards my management because her interest in this profession and her skills were obvious for me. Finally, I prepared this field in advance. Alexandra knows me very well, she identifies with my music (which is pivotal for both of us), I trust her… And while working with Frenak, I learned what I can and cannot expect from a manager. The most important point is probably that as long as you don’t know what you want, the best manager in the world cannot make you happy as a producer. At the same time, a manager might know better the context your music is embedded into, he or she can guide you, help you make decisions. We are now somewhere here with her: we try to make optimal decisions, we brainstorm a lot to identify what is there for me and what is not. We try to find out who I am as a music producer.

Is there a peak you wish to conquer as a music producer? 

I have lots of ideas but I don’t know what should be considered as a “peak to be conquered”. I sometimes have the feeling that some peaks of predilections all over the road mean not big thing after they are conquered. On the other hand, I also can imagine that there are results the importance of which is perceived only later. Anyways, all collaborations are interesting for me. I have been working for more than a year now with dancer-choreographer Csilla Nagy. I edit and compose music for her projects, pieces and performances. I think she does not even know how much I learned from our works. I absolutely wish to continue this for gaining more experience in different directions, because pathways between genres can only deepen one’s perspectives and expressions in music. Of course, I also have dance music role models, too, and working with them would be paradise. Benoit & Sergio are idols in my eyes, and their personal path is very close to me. If I could collaborate with them one day, I am pretty sure I would have the feeling to finally put something on the table.