Hungry Kids of Hungary
Encyclopedia
Hungry Kids of Hungary are an Australian five-piece indie pop band from Brisbane
, Queensland
. The band consists of Dean McGrath (lead vocals, guitar), Kane Mazlin (lead vocals, keys), Ben Dalton (bass guitar, vocals), Remy Boccalatte (guitars, vocals) and Ryan Strathie (drums, vocals).
They quickly garnered attention from industry folk, most notably that of Triple J
's Richard Kingsmill
who played the songs "Lenny", "All You Need To Know" and "Set It Right" which would later go on to be added to high rotation.
Their profile rose rapidly and a showcase at the 2008 Big Sound conference in Brisbane.
. They also went into the studio to begin recording of their next EP with Brisbane producer Matt Redlich.
The band embarked on the formative International Relations Tour with fellow Unearthed winners Philadelphia Grand Jury
(Sydney
) and Washington (Melbourne
). The tour was a great success and sold-out nine of the 12 shows on the east coast.
Their second EP "Mega Mountain" was released into stores nationwide, along with their debut, in April 2009 via MGM Distribution
and the radio success continued with their single "Scattered Diamonds" being another to reach high rotation on triple j
, FBi, 4ZzZ and RRR. The single reached top 5 on the AIR Charts
and the EP garnered favourable reviews everywhere. A second single "Old Money" was issued with a No Device remix of "Scattered Diamonds" which become a dancefloor hit at Purple Sneakers in Sydney
.
The band has played with the likes of Tom Ugly, Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire!
, Washington, Edward Guglielmino
, Philadelphia Grand Jury
, The Boat People
and, most recently Bertie Blackman
and Little Birdy
. They have also played have played festivals such as Big Day Out
, Sounds of Spring, Valley Fiesta, Blueprint Festival and, most recently over the Summer of 2009/2010, Woodford Folk Festival
, Sunset Sounds, Falls Festival
and Southbound Festival.
In September 2009, the band entered Electric Avenue studio in Sydney with producer Tony Buchen to record new material. A new single Let You Down was released digitally in October 2009 with b-side Study Hall and is the first taste of an album the band will record in January 2010.
In November 2009, the band embarked on their maiden headline tour around the country to launch the single. Supports on the tour included the likes of Deep Sea Arcade, Ball Park Music
, Boy & Bear
and many more.
and their own headline tour (called The Air Sick Tour) with Ernest Ellis and Boy & Bear
, Let You Down hit rotation on music cable channel Channel V
and garnered high rotation on triple j
.
On Saturday, 24 April the band, their manager and sound engineer and fellow-Brisbane band Drawn from Bees
boarded a plane to Los Angeles
for the debut shows on international soil with scheduled appearances at Musexpo
US and UK as well as a slot at The Great Escape in Brighton. At virtually the same time, "a new taste of their debut album" called 'Wristwatch' was leaked to triple j
and via the band's Facebook
page. Ryan Brockington of the New York Post
also premiered it on his PopWrap blog. Despite not being an actual single, 'Wristwatch' was quickly added to high rotation peaking at number 3 on the AIR charts below two Powderfinger
songs.
In September 2010, at a party for their label Stop Start, the band introduced a fifth member named Remy Boccalatte.
It was announced in August 2010 that Hungry Kids of Hungary had signed a two-album deal with new EMI offshoot label Stop Start for Australia and New Zealand and that their debut album Escapades
would be released 1 October. 'Coming Around', the second single (after 'Wristwatch') was debuted on Richard Kingsmill
's 2010 show on Sunday, 5 August and was promptly added to high rotation Wednesday, 1 September. Their previous single "Wristwatch" also won Best Alternative and Song Of The Year (over Yves Klein Blue
at the 2010 Q Song Awards.
Escapades was released on 1 October 2010 and peaked at #23 on the ARIA Album Chart and #4 on iTunes Album Chart. It was awarded triple j
's Feature Album of the Week and the band embarked on their album launch tour with Ball Park Music
and Big Scary
as supports soon after. They played the triple j Ausmusic Month show in Brisbane with John Steel Singers and Ball Park Music
and invited guests Inland Sea and seja to cover Kylie Minogue
's "Can't Get You Out Of My Head". They played shows nationwide and a string of festivals over New Year 2010/2011 including Pyramid Rock, Peat's Ridge and more.
2011 saw another single from Escapades - "The Vacationer" - land on triple j
rotation while "Scattered Diamonds" was added to rotation on commercial networks around Australia. In March, they embarked on another overseas tour - this time to include South By South West and Canadian Music Week. Following a tour with The Chemist and Andy Bull
, Hungry Kids of Hungary announced that they'd be having a break from touring to work on their second album.
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. The band consists of Dean McGrath (lead vocals, guitar), Kane Mazlin (lead vocals, keys), Ben Dalton (bass guitar, vocals), Remy Boccalatte (guitars, vocals) and Ryan Strathie (drums, vocals).
Origins and self-titled EP (2007 - 2008)
Forming in mid 2007, the band appears to be the brainchild of drummer Ryan Strathie who had played in separate bands with both Kane Mazlin and childhood friend Ben Dalton. While Mazlin was living in London for a brief time, he kept in touch with Strathie sending him demos. Dean McGrath, Strathie and Dalton went to different local high schools and the boys became friendly playing in competing bands. When Mazlin returned to Australia, Strathie assembled the four for their first rehearsal. Armed with a cannon of McGrath and Mazlin originals, the band began to jam and quickly recorded their debut, self-titled EP after playing only a couple of local shows. They launched their EP at seminal Brisbane venue The Zoo in mid-2008 and quickly set out to play as many shows as possible.They quickly garnered attention from industry folk, most notably that of Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
's Richard Kingsmill
Richard Kingsmill
Richard "The King" Kingsmill is an Australian radio announcer and music journalist.He is best known for his work at national youth broadcaster triple j. His career at the station started in 1988 as a producer for station presenters George Wayne, Tracee Hutchison and Tim Ritchie...
who played the songs "Lenny", "All You Need To Know" and "Set It Right" which would later go on to be added to high rotation.
Their profile rose rapidly and a showcase at the 2008 Big Sound conference in Brisbane.
Mega Mountain and touring begins (2008 - 2009)
In December 2008, the band were announced as the Queensland winners of Triple J Unearthed that entitled them to play the Gold Coast Big Day OutBig Day Out
The Big Day Out is an annual music festival held in several cities in Australia and New Zealand in late January. It started in Sydney in 1992, spread to Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth by 1993, with the Gold Coast and Auckland joining in 1994...
. They also went into the studio to begin recording of their next EP with Brisbane producer Matt Redlich.
The band embarked on the formative International Relations Tour with fellow Unearthed winners Philadelphia Grand Jury
Philadelphia Grand Jury
Philadelphia Grand Jury were an Australian trio from Sydney, New South Wales. The bands final lineup featured of Joel "MC Bad Genius" Beeson on bass, keyboard and guitar, Simon "Berkfinger" Berckelman on vocals and guitar and Susanna "Susie Dreamboat" Patten on drums...
(Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
) and Washington (Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
). The tour was a great success and sold-out nine of the 12 shows on the east coast.
Their second EP "Mega Mountain" was released into stores nationwide, along with their debut, in April 2009 via MGM Distribution
MGM Distribution
MGM Distribution is the largest independent distributor of Australian music and music related merchandise and was established in April 1998 by Sebastian Chase....
and the radio success continued with their single "Scattered Diamonds" being another to reach high rotation on triple j
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
, FBi, 4ZzZ and RRR. The single reached top 5 on the AIR Charts
AIR Charts
The AIR Charts are the official sales charts for Australian independent music released by Australian owned, independent record labels. Presented by AIR, the Australian Independent Record Labels Association, the charts are calculated according to official sales figures provided by the ARIA Charts,...
and the EP garnered favourable reviews everywhere. A second single "Old Money" was issued with a No Device remix of "Scattered Diamonds" which become a dancefloor hit at Purple Sneakers in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
.
The band has played with the likes of Tom Ugly, Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire!
Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire!
Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire! are an indie rock group from Adelaide, South Australia. They describe their musical style as "monolithic tech-pop". They have released the independent EPs You Seize the City, I'll Seize the Sky and Boy, Hush Yr Mouth, Grrl Bare Yr Teeth , and full length studio album Sea...
, Washington, Edward Guglielmino
Edward Guglielmino
Edward Guglielmino is a musician in Brisbane, Australia.-Music career:Edward Guglielmino is a musician, an academic and a blogger; he originally started pursuing music in high-school in 2000. He writes quirky guitar pop. One of his gigs listed as a highlight in April in the book Australia Year in...
, Philadelphia Grand Jury
Philadelphia Grand Jury
Philadelphia Grand Jury were an Australian trio from Sydney, New South Wales. The bands final lineup featured of Joel "MC Bad Genius" Beeson on bass, keyboard and guitar, Simon "Berkfinger" Berckelman on vocals and guitar and Susanna "Susie Dreamboat" Patten on drums...
, The Boat People
The Boat People (Australian band)
The Boat People are an Australian four-piece indie pop band. The Brisbane based group consists of James O'Brien, Robin Waters, Charles Dugan and Tony Garret...
and, most recently Bertie Blackman
Bertie Blackman
Bertie Blackman is an Independent Australian singer, songwriter and guitarist. She rose to fame with her debut album in 2004, entitled 'Headway' which came after years of prolific performances around Sydney's Inner city venues, where she developed a dedicated following.-Early life and...
and Little Birdy
Little Birdy
Little Birdy are an Australian indie rock band formed in Perth, Western Australia in 2002 by singer and guitarist Katy Steele, drummer Matt Chequer, guitarist and keyboardist Simon Leach, and bass guitarist Scott O'Donoghue...
. They have also played have played festivals such as Big Day Out
Big Day Out
The Big Day Out is an annual music festival held in several cities in Australia and New Zealand in late January. It started in Sydney in 1992, spread to Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth by 1993, with the Gold Coast and Auckland joining in 1994...
, Sounds of Spring, Valley Fiesta, Blueprint Festival and, most recently over the Summer of 2009/2010, Woodford Folk Festival
Woodford Folk Festival
The Woodford Folk Festival is an annual music festival held near the small country town of Woodford, 72 km north of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is one of the biggest annual cultural events of its type in Australia....
, Sunset Sounds, Falls Festival
Falls Festival
The Falls Festival is a New Year's Eve music festival, held annually in Lorne, Victoria and Marion Bay, Tasmania Australia since 1993.It lasts four days, from 29 December to 1 January each year. The headline acts play mostly over two evenings, 30 December and 31 December...
and Southbound Festival.
In September 2009, the band entered Electric Avenue studio in Sydney with producer Tony Buchen to record new material. A new single Let You Down was released digitally in October 2009 with b-side Study Hall and is the first taste of an album the band will record in January 2010.
In November 2009, the band embarked on their maiden headline tour around the country to launch the single. Supports on the tour included the likes of Deep Sea Arcade, Ball Park Music
Ball Park Music
Ball Park Music is a six-piece indie rock/pop band from Brisbane, Australia, made up of frontman Sam Cromack , Jennifer Boyce , Paul Furness , Brock Smith and twins Dean Hanson and Daniel Hanson .-Origins:Ball Park Music began its life as a vehicle for Sam...
, Boy & Bear
Boy & Bear
Boy & Bear is an indie rock band from Sydney, Australia.The band describes its style as "a combination of drivey indie folk and choral harmonies."-Description:...
and many more.
Debut album and international debut
On Wednesday, 20 January the band entered Massive Studios with producer Matt Redlich to begin work on a single with the working title of "Baby Eye". According to the band's Twitter, the song was cut live in one take. As the band embarked on a tour with OK GoOK Go
OK Go is a rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois, USA, now residing in Los Angeles, California, USA. The band is composed of Damian Kulash , Tim Nordwind , Dan Konopka and Andy Ross , who joined them in 2005, replacing Andy Duncan...
and their own headline tour (called The Air Sick Tour) with Ernest Ellis and Boy & Bear
Boy & Bear
Boy & Bear is an indie rock band from Sydney, Australia.The band describes its style as "a combination of drivey indie folk and choral harmonies."-Description:...
, Let You Down hit rotation on music cable channel Channel V
Channel V
Channel [V] is the brand name for multiple international music television networks owned by STAR TV and Fox International Channels, fully owned subsidiaries of News Corporation.-Channel [V] International:...
and garnered high rotation on triple j
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
.
On Saturday, 24 April the band, their manager and sound engineer and fellow-Brisbane band Drawn from Bees
Drawn from Bees
Drawn from Bees are an art rock band from Brisbane, Australia. The band is composed of Dan James , Stew Riddle , Raven Jones and Matt Wedmaier...
boarded a plane to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
for the debut shows on international soil with scheduled appearances at Musexpo
Musexpo
MUSEXPO is an international music, media & technology conference based in Los Angeles. Since its inception in 2005, MUSEXPO has played host to thousands of executives from all around the world and showcased 100+ artists from dozens of countries, many of which left with substantial outcomes...
US and UK as well as a slot at The Great Escape in Brighton. At virtually the same time, "a new taste of their debut album" called 'Wristwatch' was leaked to triple j
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
and via the band's Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
page. Ryan Brockington of the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
also premiered it on his PopWrap blog. Despite not being an actual single, 'Wristwatch' was quickly added to high rotation peaking at number 3 on the AIR charts below two Powderfinger
Powderfinger
Powderfinger was an Australian rock band that formed in Brisbane in 1989. From 1992 until their breakup the band lineup consisted of vocalist Bernard Fanning, guitarists Darren Middleton and Ian Haug, bassist John Collins, and drummer Jon Coghill....
songs.
In September 2010, at a party for their label Stop Start, the band introduced a fifth member named Remy Boccalatte.
It was announced in August 2010 that Hungry Kids of Hungary had signed a two-album deal with new EMI offshoot label Stop Start for Australia and New Zealand and that their debut album Escapades
Escapades (Hungry Kids of Hungary album)
Escapades is the debut studio album by Australian indie pop band Hungry Kids of Hungary. Released in Australia on 1 October 2010 on Stop Start/EMI, the album was produced by Matt Redlich and features two singles from the band's first two EPs - "Scattered Diamonds" and a re-recorded version of "Set...
would be released 1 October. 'Coming Around', the second single (after 'Wristwatch') was debuted on Richard Kingsmill
Richard Kingsmill
Richard "The King" Kingsmill is an Australian radio announcer and music journalist.He is best known for his work at national youth broadcaster triple j. His career at the station started in 1988 as a producer for station presenters George Wayne, Tracee Hutchison and Tim Ritchie...
's 2010 show on Sunday, 5 August and was promptly added to high rotation Wednesday, 1 September. Their previous single "Wristwatch" also won Best Alternative and Song Of The Year (over Yves Klein Blue
Yves Klein Blue
Yves Klein Blue was an Australian indie/rock band from Brisbane. The band are signed to Brisbane record label Dew Process, under which they re-released their debut EP Yves Klein Blue Draw Attention to Themselves...
at the 2010 Q Song Awards.
Escapades was released on 1 October 2010 and peaked at #23 on the ARIA Album Chart and #4 on iTunes Album Chart. It was awarded triple j
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
's Feature Album of the Week and the band embarked on their album launch tour with Ball Park Music
Ball Park Music
Ball Park Music is a six-piece indie rock/pop band from Brisbane, Australia, made up of frontman Sam Cromack , Jennifer Boyce , Paul Furness , Brock Smith and twins Dean Hanson and Daniel Hanson .-Origins:Ball Park Music began its life as a vehicle for Sam...
and Big Scary
Big Scary
Big Scary is an Australian musical duo formed in Melbourne in 2006, by Tom Iansek and Jo Syme. The pair began playing songs together in the living room of Jo's parents' house...
as supports soon after. They played the triple j Ausmusic Month show in Brisbane with John Steel Singers and Ball Park Music
Ball Park Music
Ball Park Music is a six-piece indie rock/pop band from Brisbane, Australia, made up of frontman Sam Cromack , Jennifer Boyce , Paul Furness , Brock Smith and twins Dean Hanson and Daniel Hanson .-Origins:Ball Park Music began its life as a vehicle for Sam...
and invited guests Inland Sea and seja to cover Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
's "Can't Get You Out Of My Head". They played shows nationwide and a string of festivals over New Year 2010/2011 including Pyramid Rock, Peat's Ridge and more.
2011 saw another single from Escapades - "The Vacationer" - land on triple j
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
rotation while "Scattered Diamonds" was added to rotation on commercial networks around Australia. In March, they embarked on another overseas tour - this time to include South By South West and Canadian Music Week. Following a tour with The Chemist and Andy Bull
Andy Bull
Andy Bull is an Australian alt-pop/piano rock singer-songwriter, based in Sydney. He is best known for the single "Dog," from his 2010 Phantom Pains EP, a duet with former Australian Idol contestant Lisa Mitchell, as well as his prolific Australian touring....
, Hungry Kids of Hungary announced that they'd be having a break from touring to work on their second album.
Studio albums
- EscapadesEscapades (Hungry Kids of Hungary album)Escapades is the debut studio album by Australian indie pop band Hungry Kids of Hungary. Released in Australia on 1 October 2010 on Stop Start/EMI, the album was produced by Matt Redlich and features two singles from the band's first two EPs - "Scattered Diamonds" and a re-recorded version of "Set...
(October 2010) #23 AUS
EPs
- Hungry Kids of HungaryHungry Kids of Hungary (EP)Hungry Kids of Hungary is the debut EP from Brisbane indie-pop band Hungry Kids of Hungary.Produced by Brisbane producer/musician Emerson Bavinton and the band themselves, the EP was recorded in Airlock Studios in Brisbane and mastered by Matthew Gray....
(2008) - Mega Mountain (2009)
Singles
- "Set It Right" (September 2008)
- "Scattered Diamonds" (February 2009)
- "Old Money" b/w "Scattered Diamonds (Alcopop Remix)" and "The Dance (Demo)" (July 2009)
- "Let You Down" b/w "Study Hall" (October 2009)
- "Wristwatch" (April 2010)
- "Coming Around" (August 2010)
- "The Vacationer" (January 2011)
- "Scattered Diamonds" (March 2011) (digital single b/w "Eat Your Heart Out (No Device Remix)" and "Wristwatch (My Own Pet Radio Remix)"