Csík Band

The Csík Band was founded in 1988 in Kecskemét, and for 15 years they were mainly known in dance-house circles. However, by the turn of the millennium their popularity as a concert band had increased to the point where they were one of the representatives of Hungarian folk music at the opening ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

It was also the beginning of another type of journey. On the title track of their 2001 album ’On the Wall Of Age’ (A kor falára) a melody from Magyarpalatka was transformed into swing.
Their 2005 album ’Nobody understands anything’ (Senki nem ért semmit) – alongside music from historic Upper Hungary, Békés and Transylvania – features three tracks by Kispál és a Borz: the ensemble’s rendition blended in nicely with Hungarian folk music and with the band’s sound. Thus the so-called “traditional rock-ethno” was born.

This new style was developed even further in 2008, when a song entitled ’It is just going by’ (Most múlik pontosan), a cover of a Quimby original from the Csík Band’s album ’If the train has started, let it run…’ (Ez a vonat, ha elindult, hadd menjen…) evolved into an anthem with over eight million clicks on YouTube, bringing the band as yet unheard-of popularity in folk band circles.

Their 2011 album ”Lélekképek” contains covers of songs by Kispál és a Borz and Quimby (Földtörténet, Szívrablás, Fekete L’Amour, Tébolyda), while the track entitled ’A Hobo from Transylvania’ (A széki Hobo) satisfies fans of blues.

At present the band members are working on a Songbook that covers the history of Hungarian pop music by interpreting evergreen melodies. This new album will be released in 2012 at the Sziget Festival before an audience of about or exactly tens of thousand fans, an event of unpresendented scale in the history of Hungarian folk music.