Mandoki Soulmates perform ‘Utopia For Realists: Hungarian Pictures’ open-air concert in front of thousands of fans in Budapest

26th August 2021 0 By Jon Deaux

Under the motto “Utopia for Realists”, thousands of enthusiastic fans celebrated the stage return of the Mandoki Soulmates in front of St. Stephen’s Basilica in the heart of Budapest last Saturday, where they performed ‘Utopia For Realists: Hungarian Pictures’ in full, ahead of its release in September. After the pandemic break, this was the legendary band’s first performance since their show at the Berlin Concert Hall to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

“I am happy and proud that despite the travel restrictions, many of my soulmates were able to arrive in Budapest,” enthused producer Mandoki, who presented an impressive line up of international rock and jazz icons such as Al Di Meola, Mike Stern, Randy Brecker, Bill Evans, Till Brönner, Tony Carey, Richard Bona and Italian bandoneon virtuoso Fausto Beccalossi as vocalist and drummer. Also on hand was Budapest music legend Szakcsi, professor at the Franz Liszt Academy and icon of Roma music. Mandoki: “It was overwhelming to finally be able to make music together again after such a long time.”

The Mandoki Soulmates also delivered goosebump moments for music lovers of all stripes in front of St. Stephen’s Basilica with their progressive jazz-rock suite “Utopia For Realists: Hungarian Pictures” (soon to be released via InsideOutMusic), based on themes by Béla Bartók and the greatest Soulmates hits. “Bartók mixed sounds and traditional melodies from a wide variety of regions in the Carpathian lowlands to send a signal against the threat of National Socialism with the power of music to unite people. This idea of uniting people has been a lasting inspiration for me,” Mandoki explains.

InsideOutMusic recently announced the release of a brand-new expanded version of Mandoki Soulmates ‘Hungarian Pictures’ suite, released under the title ‘Utopia For Realists: Hungarian Pictures’ on the 24^th September 2021.

Alongside the original remixed and remastered music, a brand new Blu-ray audio-visual album will be released, combining the recording of the concert film of the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with an impressive cinematic realization of the individual musical episodes. It also provides exclusive insights behind the scenes of the Soulmates production live and in the studio, a “making of”. The album will also be released as a standalone Gatefold 2LP+CD+LP-Booklet, and a standard CD jewelcase. Pre-order now here: https://mandokisoulmates.lnk.to/UtopiaForRealists-HungarianPictures

On ‘Utopia For Realists: Hungarian Pictures’, Leslie Mandoki plays together with Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull), Jack Bruce (Cream), Nick van Eede (Cutting Crew), Chris Thompson (Manfred Mann’s Earth Band), Bobby Kimball (Toto), David Clayton-Thomas (Blood, Sweat and Tears),

John Helliwell (Supertramp), Al di Meola, Mike Stern, Randy Brecker, Till Brönner, Bill Evans, Cory Henry, Richard Bona, Tony Carey (Ritchie Blackmores Rainbow), Jesse Siebenberg (Supertramp), Steve Bailey, and Julia Mandoki

Mandoki Soulmates staged a global live stream event earlier this year which has achieved over half a million plays on Youtube and over 700.000 on Germany’s leading TV channel ARD since its release.