Berlin-Budapest Express: Holland Andrews (USA) and Beatrice Dillon (UK)

The Berlin-Budapest Express will pull up for the second time at the House of Music in September, with artists and forward-looking music from Berlin, Budapest and other European cities with cross-genre performers presenting innovative music. On Friday 15 September, Catalan artpop star Marina Herlop and Slovenian avant-folk trio Širom, whose 2022 album really put them on the map, are performing on the opening day of the autumn event. Stepping up to play on Saturday 16 September are the spacey, electronic-ambient, minimalist American performing artist-singer-clarinettist Holland Andrews, and London-based experimental techno producer-DJ-songwriter Beatrice Dillon. Both days will close with free open-air concerts: on Friday the improvisational psychedelic group Huba és Vazul csodálatos utazásai / Huba and Vazul's Marvellous Journeys aretaking to the stage; while on Saturday a group of Moldovan musicians, Kalagor, are playing. The Berlin-Budapest Express weekend is organised by the House of Music Hungary in cooperation with the Berlin-based cultural organisation Digital in Berlin with the aim of connecting two culturally vibrant European capitals and creating a forum for cross-genre exchanges and innovative musical activities.

Holland Andrews
Californian-born singer-clarinettist Holland Andrews began to emerge in the mid-twenties, first in small Portland indie-folk bands and then solo under the stage name Like a Villain, expanding their vocals with choral arrangements, and playing with medieval and contemporary classical elements, sometimes with an ethereal quality, sometimes as experimental chamber music. Having changed their birth name after the 2019 album, What Makes Vulnerability Good, which is full of chamber pop and artpop arrangements while still focussing on vocal power, more recent recordings have been released as Holland Andrews. The 2021 EP, Wordless, is more electronic ambient, with the vocals taking a back seat here and there, or sounding very distorted. This airy minimalist music has been a trademark ever since, and on the latest EP, Doubtless (2022) Nils Frahm makes a guest appearance, and as the title suggests, Andrews has once again found their own way – and Frahm's presence is more than telling, we'll be hearing more from Holland, who will be making their debut in Hungary at the just the right time.

Beatrice Dillon
Beatrice Dillon is a London-based experimental techno producer and DJ, influenced by music as diverse as electro-acoustic music, avant-garde jazz, dub, and minimalism. A highly eclectic and boldly adventurous composer, her passion for a wide range of musical styles is reflected in her work: obscure African rhythms, dub techno, IDM, an intricately complex patchwork forming the foundation of her music, which she executes in a restrained, thoughtful way that is always pushing at the boundaries. The artist, who also has interests in visual arts, has released recordings on Hessle Audio, The Trilogy Tapes, Boomkat Editions, PAN, Where to Now? Timedance, as well as worked with a number of other producers such as Kassem Mosse, Laurel Halo, Call Super and Joy Orbison. His 2020 album Workaround, which is set to have a major impact even over the short term, was voted album of the year by the genre-defining magazine The Wire.