“We got hooked on classic song structure, and we are sometimes on the edge of pop music, but not in a pejorative way, of course.”
Sometimes plans you make don´t work out in the exact way that you intended. As along the way you figure out that something else just works better for you. So it happened to Alex & Sergio, a duo from Budapest that is better known under the name Gelka and even better known for their 17 features on Café del Mar records and dulcet chill out music sound for Ibizan sunsets. Which was not the sort of music that they had in mind for themselves initially. We had a chat with them about how they figured out that their slower and relaxing music worked best, about the excitement of their first appearance on Café del Mar, what they are most proud of and about their big journey in the past 10 years.
How come you started making music for Ibizan sunsets based in a downtown studio of a big city?
Csaba: Originally, our plan wasn’t to work with chill out music, it was a step-by-step process. Around 2002-2003, we’ve been working as session musicians and arrangers, and we’d do only write music in our free time, just for fun. Initially, our project didn’t even have a name. That time we have dabbled in everything, from house to drum and bass or even experimental music. I was more interested in electronic music than in any other genres all my life, but during this period I immersed myself deeper and deeper in jazz, latin music and hip hop. It’s undeniable these had strong influence on my taste. What is more, we worked with a friend of ours, helping him create a project that blended electronic music with instruments in a fine way. After this point, we began creating music featuring guitars, and started working out our ideas from an entirely different approach. This time we did it the completely regular way: we kept showing them our families, friends and people around us, realizing that the best feedback came for the chill out music we made. After putting together a bunch of worthwhile tracks, we gathered them into a collection and, after lengthy brainstorming-sessions, eventually came up with the name, Gelka. By the way, our long-time studio was located in downtown Budapest, which fact probably had a role in that our slower and relaxing music worked best. Maybe it was because of balancing all the hustle and bustle outside.
When did you first appear on Café del Mar, and what kind of experience was it?
Csaba: It was in 2003, we appeared on Café del Mar Dreams 3. The huge significance of this is that practically it was the very first Gelka appearance at the same time. It was an amazing experience receiving Bruno’s mail saying that he chose our track. I even remember it today: I was at home, talking to my sister when I clicked on the e-mail. I thought I’ll fall off my chair.
Which Café del Mar appearance of yours makes you the most proud?
Csaba – This is a really hard question to answer, since we’ve been featured on 17 Café del Mar records, and all brings back some memories that makes each one dear to me. The second one was a huge relief, for sure, because I thought we just cannot do this once again. If I must choose a song, let me choose two: Being You (CDM Vol. 19) and Flying Clouds (CDM Vol. 20), both written together with Phoenix Pearle. She’s a fantastic talent, and we got very much in sync with each other the last few years. This is only the beginning of a trail we are blazing together, however, the more time we spend in the studio together, the better music we write. Our mutual development has a sort of dynamics that shows a strong upward trend. I’m never completely satisfied, though I think these two songs describe the best what music I like nowadays.
“We work a lot on a mix, I’m not even sure if people realize how much work we put into them. Usually, we collect about two hundred songs we both like, then we start the selection. It’s important to make it have an arch-like structure”
What singers have you worked with over the years?
Csaba – On our first LP (titled Less is More, released on the label of Nightmares on Wax, Wax on Records) we already collaborated with Phoenix Pearle. Besides here, guests Ricky Ranking and Sena provided vocals. Ricky sings regularly for Nightmares on Wax and Roots Manuva, and is a very cool person, while Sena is a huge talent from Hungary, whose record with Dj Vadim was released a few months ago. Lately, we’ve been lucky enough to record two songs together with her, we’re very stoked about that. For Café del Mar Vol. 15, we made Under My Star together with Beth Hirsch, who is known for her collaboration with AIR, being featured on the best two tracks of Moon Safari. And not too long ago, we had the chance to write a song with Mozez, known from Zero 7, too.
How could you describe Gelka’s sound in 2016?
Csaba: Even though the mood of our music remained similar in the last ten years, we went through quite a big journey at the same time. The first Gelka tracks can mostly be categorized as classic, Balearic chill, however, on our debut LP, Less is More, jazz and hip hop were what we integrated into our sound the most. That time, our challenge was to make such a sound here and there like it was put together from different samples, although each of the live instruments were recorded. Except for the basses, which really did come from a Roland JV1080 synthesizer, but many bought that it’s a real bass guitar. I’d say electronic music is much more in focus for us, we got addicted to sprawling effects, massive delays and reverbs, and synthesizers became more robust as well, but the content remained the same we’ve been representing for a long time. The only thing that always changes is the structure, but this is something that’s needed, because otherwise we’d be bored of ourselves. Basically, I’d call it emotional electronic music. The most important change, however, is that we made many more tracks with vocals than before for the new album “Stardust Memories”. We got hooked on classic song structure, and we are sometimes on the edge of pop music, but not in a pejorative way, of course.
Can you tell us a bit about the “Stardust Memories” album, about plans for 2016?
Csaba: The new album is a result of the last 3 years work. Stardust Memories wasn’t planned, but the tracks had been gathering, so finally they turned into something complete. So we released them. We are really thankful to Mozez, Sena and Phonix Pearle for the amazing vocals. Their presence significantly influences the working process. We are extremely lucky, we had the opportunity to work with such a high quality singers, all of them have the true spirit to pop music in a good sense. They can create songs with us, which are memorable and on the other hand they work has constant high standards. In this year we focus on remixes and the mashup mixtapes, we push live and on Mixcloud.
Could you say something about your inspiration sources?
Csaba: In the last years chillout, downtempo had the golden years, in spite of the fact that the scene wasn’t aware of the new sub-genres. There are lot of incredible artists, like Synkro who has an identifying approach in ambient music. But I could mention Galimatias too, not to mention Mount Kimbie, Phaeleh, Catching Flies, Nils Frahm, Subsets, Oscuro or Bop amongst others, and the list is endless. Thanks to SoundCloud we can always meet with newcomer talents. like I’m following Galimatias from the very beginning.
You became famous with your extraordinary mashup mixtapes on Mixcloud. Have you tried this method in clubs yet? Tell me about how you worked that out, too!
Csaba: We work a lot on a mix, I’m not even sure if people realize how much work we put into them. Usually, we collect about two hundred songs we both like, then we start the selection. It’s important to make it have an arch-like structure. We always tried to build it like it’d be a longer recording, not just a stack of songs dumped together. We make over and cut most of the music, put many mashups together, but, of course, not aiming for making it an end in itself, but with the goal to express an atmosphere as good as possible, while avoiding being boring, even for a second. We don’t add to titles things like “Gelka re-edit” or “Gelka mashup”, because then we would have to indicate it on most of the tracks. We don’t want to show off and flatter ourselves, and don’t want to gain success based on others’ achievements. We just want to create something special, that’s why we don’t release new mixes very often, only quarterly in a year. On stage, my performance is somewhere in between a live act an DJing: I reshape songs and boost them with various effects, while I build up our set starting from slower, more emotional and more relaxed music to the direction of more danceable pieces, such as deep house, bass music or future garage.
