At a first glance, you would think that The KOLIN is a permanent, full-membered band. But in reality, it has become Markos’ ever-changing project. From the change in members to the change in sound, The KOLIN has a unique pattern of mixing and switching important elements of the band while keeping its overall style. The indie electronic/indie synth-pop band has an incredible stage presence as well as a dancing vibe that gets the party going.
What makes The KOLIN really stand out is its makeshift mobile stage called The KOLIN Mobile which has played many festivals and private concerts. In this interview, we get a scoop as to what inspired this idea as well as what concerts and festivals The KOLIN have been invited to perform in. Crazy undermines the experiences that Marko has endured but that has risen him to fame.
What is the origin of the band’s name? Have you changed it before?
“It’s a mixture of my name and a friend who used to be in the band’s name. We split our family names into two halves and then glued them together. It’s not really a romantic story. We tried changing the name a couple of times but we didn’t succeed. We just stuck with The KOLIN.”
I saw that you recently released DÜBÖRÖG A LÁZ, was it a cover or a song you wrote? Tell me more about the story behind choosing it if it is a cover.
“It’s a cover actually! In Hungary during the 90s, they used to play Eurodance radio and clubs. Eurodance is a mixture of dance music and club music as well as a bit of trance. It’s a typical European style and it’s actually from Germany. Our cover of DÜBÖRÖG A LÁZ is rather a joke than serious content. We tried to focus on the specific aesthetic and outfits of that era in all of the scenes and dances. It’s in Hungarian, so this is the first song we’ve done in Hungarian. It has a personal significance to me because during the 90s, I was a teenager and there was no internet at all. There was just one fucking music channel that wasn’t MTV [laughs]. We didn’t have MTV yet, but there was one music channel that played shitty music all the time. All day, every day and that was it. There were also only two radio stations in Hungary so you didn’t have the decision really on what you listened to. The cover is like a nostalgic thing for me and that era.
I’m curious to see what people think if they see the cover without knowing anything about that era or time. We paid extra attention to not be accurate nor perfect on details. Just as close to the 90s as possible [laughs]. Look at the colors, wristbands, sunglasses, all of that. It’s amazing how silly we looked in the 90s [laughs].”
When did The KOLIN form? What brought you guys together?
“There are three members in the band. We formed around ten years ago and throughout this time, I have fired everyone but me [laughs]. It’s very hard to be in a band with me because I fire everyone all the time [laughs]. So now, I am the only one from the original members. We just recently found a new guitar player who is ten years younger than me and is very cool. We call him ‘Italiano’ and he only speaks Italian during concerts. He has a great sense of humor. There is also the drummer who joined the band a few years ago. The story of forming the band was not romantic either. I made auditions to find the group members. I think when it comes to forming a band, you should have exciting members who pay attention to the overall picture.”
Where has The KOLIN performed and what was your least favorite show that you’ve performed in?
“My least favorite show…I can name a few or…actually a lot [laughs]. But there was one where a guy came on to the stage and punched me in the face. That was probably my least favorite. I used to kiss a girl at each show we played for years and that was like my superpower on stage. Of course, the girls consented to it because I’d ask them before anything. This guy was in love with a girl who ended up volunteering to kiss me. So then he punched me in the face. We needed to stop the concert because I was bleeding so much that I couldn’t sing. That was the worst experience on stage. It’s actually really funny when someone kicks or punches me on stage because my career started with someone kicking me in the balls. My balls turned black and I was very young and eccentric. I shared this story with a journalist and the very next day, the most popular internet site had this article on the cover. You could say my career started somehow with this and I was a big scandal [laughs]. We had a two-year gap after that concert. When I got punched in the face. It’s very funny when your career starts with someone kicking you in the balls and ends with someone hitting you in the face [laughs].”
How about a show where you weren’t punched in the face?
“We’ve had a lot of great shows. I would probably say the best was one we had in Brighton, England at the Greatest Kite Festival for New Music. We were the first-ever Hungarian band invited to play there. This is why that has a personal significance for us. We even got to play twice in one day.”
I saw that you guys went mobile and have been performing in a trailer-like vehicle. What made you guys want to do that? Where have you guys been? Do you prefer this rather than performing on a stage?
“It’s a mobile stage and studio. I go to fewer and fewer concerts which are hosted in buildings now. I came to the conclusion that culture does not belong in buildings anymore but rather the streets. Festivals in Hungary are very popular and people are more and more outgoing as times change. I thought I would need a stage that I can go everywhere with. There is a very famous bridge in Budapest that’s called Liberty bridge and it’s a metaphor. Also, in Hungary, liberty is very important to us because our political era is more like a dictatorship than in other countries. Last year, I wanted to have a concert on that bridge so I rented music equipment and a stage to play there but still, we didn’t get permission to do the show. After that, I built this mobile stage from an old camper and with that, we finally had a concert on the bridge this past year. Aside from this, The KOLIN Mobile was invited to important festivals as well as some festivals here in Hungary and in other countries. The concept is that you have your own stage so you can go and play anywhere. Not only is the Mobile used to play concerts out of, but also to record our own tunes. You can go to special places and capture the sounds of those places. For example, you can go and record a song in a cave, in the middle of a field, or in a riverbank with the Mobile whereas you are limited to the sounds of a computer in a studio. Not only did the Mobile give us the liberty to go anywhere, but it also gave us a special trademark in our music.”
What is your biggest challenge as a band? And how do you overcome it?
“It’s changing every time. When we started, I wanted to be a world-known superstar after winning two MTV international awards within the European music awards in another band. We were nominated two times as the best European band. At that time, I wanted to be a superstar so badly that I almost lost my vision of being a musician. Luckily enough, I just let that dream go and turned into a true musician whose purpose wasn’t to be famous but to play the music that I want to play rather than what the masses want to hear. Today, my biggest challenge would be trying to go on a massive European tour with The KOLIN Mobile and have as many concerts as possible. Also to record an album.”
What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands?
“Just try not to give a fuck and put the pedal to the metal. Do whatever you want and try not to listen to old music professionals.”
Are you working on any new projects, albums, or songs?
“We just released that funny cover I was talking about earlier. What we are working on now is making other covers for Hungarian specialties from the 70s or 80s. But this is strictly for Hungary. For the international market, the next album will be something special with The KOLIN Mobile. We’ll record all the songs in the camper and then make the theme of the album be the trip/tour itself. Maybe the songs will be about traveling. For example, if we will have a concert in Berlin, then we would have a song about Berlin. Our next step is definitely going to be with this camper by having concerts every week. Next year, from spring to autumn, we will be ready to have a European tour.”
You can find The KOLIN’s projects mentioned in the interview below or tagged in the article as well as The KOLIN’s links to their social media accounts:
The KOLIN DÜBÖRÖG A LÁZ cover:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se7-wbmB64s
The KOLIN Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/kolinofficial
The KOLIN Social Media:
https://www.facebook.com/thekolin/
https://www.instagram.com/kolinofficial/
*Conducted August 2018
*This interview has been modified from its original version. It has been formatted to give the artist a proper voice from audio to writing. For the original version, please contact the author.
