DJ Bootsie

DJ Bootsie is a formative power and active performer in the Hungarian hip-hop scene. In 1996, he won the DMC World DJ Championship of Hungary and this year marked the formation of his own rap group, Árral szemben (Against the Current), in which he created the original beats and samples. In addition to working on original productions, theatre and film producers  frequently commissioned him to score their work. He released his first solo album, The Silent Partner, on the label Ugar in 2004.    DJ Bootsie’s music is predominantly instrumental but while he structures it with the beats and rhythms of urban hip-hop, he also draws heavily on the music of Hungarian culture. Electronic, jazz, contemporary and folk music emerge with powerful allusions to film scores in  his epiclike works. After releasing his debut album, admirers of the hip-hop scene immediately recognized him as an original and talented artist. His music has been featured in such prominent places as the television show CSI, the Buddha Bar Music Compilation (Vol. 7), DJ Cam Mix Albums, and the Mercedes Mix Tape.    His second solo album, Holiday in the Shade, released under the renowned British label BBE in December 2009, received shimmering reviews worldwide. The album featured prominent New York MC’s Vast Aire and O.C., and was again licensed to be featured on the television show CSI.    DJ Bootsie Quartet    DJ Bootsie’s live performances focus more on the elements of hip-hop and jazz and include the  performance of a full quartet. In this setting, DJ Bootsie uses his turntable more as an expressive musical instrument than an effect device. He and his accompaniment, saxophone player János Vázsonyi, guitar and keyboard player Gergely Kovács, and percussionist Tibor Lázár embrace electronic and acoustic instruments and dissolve into an organic sound image.  The Quartet has expanded from its beginnings in the Kölner Philharmonie in Cologne, Germany, to playing clubs, concerts, and festivals in Slovakia, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, France, Germany, and England.    DJ Bootsie Akoustic Big Band    With five additional musicians, the DJ Bootsie Quartet has re-vamped its repertoire and exchanged all instruments but the turntable with acoustic ones. These nine musicians now re- interpret the original compositions in a natural and forceful manner. Navigating between the structured beats of hip-hop and the free interpretation of contemporary music and jay, DJ  Bootsie and his extended band further unravel the fine details from his tracks to add new meaning to his film and folk music inspirations.