Európa Kiadó is a Hungarian underground band, which was mostly popular during the 1980's. The name literally translates as Europe Publishers - the name of a prominent Hungarian publishing house - but an alternative interpretation is readily available as 'kiadó' also means '[available] to let/for rent'. Their music has been described as ska or new wave. In terms of lyrical content, they engage with issues ranging from the concerns of everyday life through censorship, state control ("Szabadits me...
Európa Kiadó is a Hungarian underground band, which was mostly popular during the 1980's. The name literally translates as Europe Publishers - the name of a prominent Hungarian publishing house - but an alternative interpretation is readily available as 'kiadó' also means '[available] to let/for rent'. Their music has been described as ska or new wave. In terms of lyrical content, they engage with issues ranging from the concerns of everyday life through censorship, state control ("Szabadits meg"), to anti-utopias ("Jo lesz..."), in a style that is frequently oblique and tends to favour puns, multiple meanings, and the association of images over narrative or other more straightforward lyrical approaches.
After the regime change, the band split up in the 1990's. Singer Jenő Menyhárt moved to New York City in 1994. In 2005, the old setup re-united for a limited number of concerts, and the recording of a new single, called 'Tengerpart' ('Seaside' or 'beach'). An excellent overview of the scene of which Európa Kiadó was a part can be found in Anna Szemere's 2001 book "Up from the Underground: The Culture of Rock Music in Postsocialist Hungary (Pennsylvania State University Press). Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
