Eastern Daze #53 Gramophone Mix by Gördön

This mix comes courtesy of Budapest-based DJ Gördön, who has been an active part of Budapest's nightlife for many years, be it through his eclectic DJ sets and event series Küss Mich.

"Previously, I wasn't really interested in what pop music was like or what people partied to before the 1950s. Of course, I knew that jazz, swing, blues, ragtime, and so on existed, but I didn't delve into it. Then, I inherited my grandmother's old gramophone player (HMV Model 101) and a few records.

I discovered that the advent of microgroove vinyl didn't just represent a technical leap but also marked a turning point in pop music. We often forget that people were already listening to music at home and at house parties in the first half of the 20th century. We usually look back to the birth of rock 'n' roll when we talk about pop music, but before 1950, there were many styles and pop stars, and surprisingly, they released a lot of records. There was a demand for home music listening.

This was no different in Hungary. The first record label was founded in 1908 under the name 'Elso Magyar Hanglemezgyár,' followed by others such as Durium, Pátria, Kristálylemez, Viktoria, Radiola, and more. Even foreign labels released Hungarian records, like Polydor, Columbia, HMV, Odeon, Homocord. This shows the significant demand for it. For instance, in 1913, 1.5 million records were sold in Hungary.

Concurrently, the era saw the emergence of local stars like Kalmár Pál, Karády Katalin, Weygand Tibor, Lantos Olivér, Kazal László, Kapitány Anna, Fényes Kató, and more. The styles were also very diverse: folk music, Romani music, swing, operetta, foxtrot, classical music, tango, military marches, and even exercise records existed.

Communism posed a great challenge to the industry. Record labels disappeared, and many performers defected. Soon, new record factories emerged: M.H.V., Qualiton, Tonalit. Naturally, new stars emerged as well: Vámosi János, Záray Márta, Németh Lehel, Ákos Stefi, Hollós Ilona, Breitner János, Tabányi Mihály, Zsolnai Hédi, and more. They continued to produce gramophone records until the early 1960s."