MA’AM

MA'AM

BIO
Anna Makay first debuted with her joint project with Márton Csernovszky called ooo & MA’AM, which has become an integral part of the Hungarian experimental scene. Her specific singing is simultaneously connected to ritual forms and contemporary trends and draws from a variety of electronic genres (even dance music). She also works with AIWA on the MA’IWA project, Her latest album was released by the Portuguese label ZABRA on vinyl and also digital format, but also released albums since 2018.

Matilda’s video seeks a visual response to Anna Makay’s (MA’AM) music – which explores the combination of globalized, almost commodified variants of sexual identity and the possibilities of personal desires born within the individual – through representations of LGBTQ+ bodies. In the video, the creators intentionally work with the feminine male body, not only as a conscious counter to the heteronormative mainstream politics of Hungary but also as a means to reach a local audience of LGBTQ+ communities.

Oramics · ORAMICS: 186 MA'AM

INTERVIEW:

✹ Please present your current practice and interest.

Right now, I’m on “burnout-holiday”. It means I don’t accept bookings and I’ve canceled a lot of projects. I’ve had two rough years behind, so I had to chill, needed a break. Then I’ll continue making music again as MA’AM and as Ma’iwa (duo with AIWA). Other interests are a mystery, but if I have to choose which project represents my current interests most, it will be “Puszafalat”. We’ve collected 50 recipes, 50 stories, and 50 folk songs in Hungary and Hungarian villages in Slovakia. The main theme was female love. We asked about first loves, memories of mothers, and the family’s favorite traditional dish.

✹ Tell us something about the scene you are a part of.

When I got into free singing, I met several jazz musicians, mostly part of Jazzaj. After I started creating my own electronic music, I met Erik Kolbenheyer (EXILES), who introduced me to the outcast electronic music scene. I met with three wonderful women at UbikEklektik festival where I was a stage manager, and we created AZVLM collective. We organize cultural events, so I had the opportunity to meet several masterful Hungarian artists. Now I’m working with András Nun at Autonomia Foundation, who’s also one of the organizers of UH Fest. Lahmacun radio is my favorite place to be. Lahmacun is a community radio, where we make radio shows with Máté Palágyi (Bohemian Betyars) called Dűlő. I’m super lucky to know these communities.

✹ What do you think might be the biggest challenges presented after the election for your community?

Same old s*ht I think. I’ve grown up in FIDESZ’s era, I try to imagine something better, but I have new fears. The biggest challenge will be the deep poverty, and many will be affected by it and experience impoverishment for the first time on such scale, inflation, loans, and the housing crisis. I’ve been monitoring what is happening in Poland for several years now. Hungarian abortion law is very similar and I fear further limitations. It’s already happened with the LGBTQ+ law last year.

✹ What are your survival strategies (personal/ communal) in the current political climate in Hungary?

Many older ladies told me: Somehow we managed to grow up. They talked about their grandparents and parents. If you have a home/family/friend (s) / community or something to eat (even if it’s just a little), you manage to survive. Politics is always horrible in post-soviet countries. Personally, I hate the current government, because they’re everywhere. They’ve narrowed our living space and we have very little perspective left as Europeans.

✹ What kind of support from the Western music scenes do you need, if any?

Teach me how to be radical.

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