We sat down with composer vaghy, who recently released a new single ‘When The Night Falls’ alongside a music video with interdisciplinary artist Ohnody on 11 October 2024, via Théque Records. This powerhouse pair was supported by the National Cultural Fund of Hungary. vaghy has had a momentous career so far, with his music receiving plays on Worldwide FM, KEXP and Ibiza Sonica Radio. He’s also garnered the attention of Decoded Magazine, FAZE Mag, Son Of Marketing and Recorder.hu. He organised Piano Day in Budapest, where he played alongside Lubomyr Melnyk at the Müpa, formerly known as the Palace of Arts. Drawing influence from Keith Jarrett’s album The Köln Concert, he creates music comparable to the likes of Björk, AURORA and Laura Marling. Ohnody is the solo project of Budapest-based artist Dori Hegyi, who merges visual art and poetry with delicate and emotively-driven vocals. Hegyi was the first ambassador of Hungary’s Spotify Equal campaign in 2023. Ohnody has also received the prestigious Artisjus Award by the Hungarian Authors’ Rights Society for her exceptional songwriting ability. She boasts over 1 million Spotify streams on her single ‘Hideg’, and was the recipient of a Golden Record in Hungary.
Read our interview with vaghy and watch the music video below.
Set the tone for us. Why the arts?
For me, art is not only a way of self-expression, but essentially my whole life. It’s in everything I do on a daily basis, it’s in my shopping, my walks and everything. It is a continuous journey that is in perfect symbiosis with my personality. I must say I am a happy man.
Which comes first when you’re producing – the sound or the idea?
Since I’m a solo artist, everything starts on the piano. Of course, everyone thinks that everything starts with the song or chords. Not for me, the piano has an infinite number of atmospheric tones. They depend on tones and volume. The most exciting thing is that it is completely out of my control.
Does your material feature any collaborations?
I have a material I’m working on, I’d really like to collaborate on it. The essence of the project is that I only use two instruments on the record, an old Vermona organ and an old Selmer drum machine. There is no MIDI, no synchronization, no arpeggiator, only what I play there and then. Very exciting. I would like to involve other soloist instrumentalists in this.
What’s on your current playlist?
My very recent very exciting discovery is Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso.
Tell us about the chemistry you have with your fans on stage.
Since I usually play solo at my concerts, the atmosphere is very intimate. Many people come to relax and travel. Sometimes I like to break this with a story or two in which I try to introduce a little humor, but I’m still a performer. 🙂
What techniques do you experiment with to get your original sound?
David Klavins once told me that what he likes about me is that I have the ability to adapt to the characteristics of the instrument I’m playing in a very short time. This often helps me get to grips with the instrument I’m playing as quickly as possible, without having to play it for hours beforehand.
Take us through a day in the recording studio.
Lots of improvisation 🙂
Was there a specific moment in your life where you thought, “this is what I want to do”?
“I want to be a musician” has followed my life almost since I was a small child.
What do you keep close by while you’re playing a set?
My watch, I have no sense of time, so I can play for 3 hours, I think I only started 20 minutes ago.
What gets your creative juices flowing?
Anything can do it. Sometimes I don’t even understand where and why the particular topic or style came to mind.
Take us through your collection of gear, tech or software that accompanies your creative expression.
An acoustic piano, a Logic and lots of analog synths.
Famous last words?
Oh no.
Follow vaghy:
Website – Facebook – X – Soundcloud – Youtube – Instagram – Spotify
Follow Ohnody:
Facebook – Soundcloud – Youtube – Instagram – Spotify
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