Kieran Webber
Director and Founder of CLUNK Magazine, CLUNK Events, and other CLUNK affiliate businesses. You’ll probably find me tucked away somewhere sending emails, listening to music, and creating content.
Borka Balogh talks us through her latest ‘Disposable’ EP, how songwriting is a therapy for her, and much more
Sometimes an artist will drop new music in your lap and upon the first listen you are utterly hooked. Borka Balogh is one of those exciting and rare gems that make being a music journalist continually a path of musical discovery. The deep rooted blend of Hungarian folk and modern indie-pop creates something that is truly beautiful, haunting, yet wildly infectious. All of these elements are on display in her latest EP ‘Disposable’, a collection of raw honesty bundled in this eccentric package.
We were privileged enough to get our ears around the EP early and by two tracks in we needed to know more about this artist. We caught up with Borka to chat through her honest songwriting, art direction, and so much more.
Kieran: I absolutely love the art direction behind the album cover and the promotional material you’ve created. What was the influence behind this, and can you talk us through the creative process?
Borka: It all started with a photo I found of myself at the age of about 4, taken in my kindergarten. It was a quite awkward composition of me standing next to a big Eeyore soft toy (character from Winnie the Pooh) with a forced smile. Coming from a broken family, I consider the first 10 years of my childhood the hardest, so that photo immediately got my mind going in all kinds of artistic directions. I wanted to somehow recreate the awkwardness and childlike qualities of this photo using myself as the canvas. The artworks I’ve used throughout the release process so far are the product of collaborating with a Hungarian-Italian photographer Ornella Mari. She and I have a lot in common on a personal level, including an absent father figure growing up, so when I told her about this idea of recreating the photo she loved it – and here we are now, with a beautiful artwork reflecting my childhood via her unsettling style of camerawork.
Kieran: How does this tie in with the new ‘Disposable’ EP?
Borka: I wanted the artwork to reflect the unapologetic honesty I brought about in these 5 songs. The topics I touch upon in the EP are somewhat uncomfortable to talk about (be it abandonment issues, self-image, relationship struggles due to mental health and addiction). I think the artwork does a great job at bringing the theatricality and vulnerability of my songs on a visual level.
Listen to the ‘Disposable’ EP here:
Kieran: On the discussion of music, can you talk about the writing and recording process of this release?
Borka: Songwriting is extremely personal to me. I process a lot of what happens to me in my life via melodies and lyrics, hence why I used to write my songs all alone. For the first time, I let my band in on the writing process, we co-wrote the instrumentals. This EP also involved Stijn Grul as its producer, who also happens to be my boyfriend, which was not always the easiest process. We bickered a lot during the production and recording process because I am so hard-headed and sensitive, but it is also exactly because of our closeness that I built complete trust in him to bring these songs on the next level. Looking back at all of this, I could not be happier to have let Stijn and my band into my songwriting world.
Kieran: Did you take influence from any other artists when heading into creating your new EP?
Borka: I am not the biggest on looking for influences, this was actually quite an issue when we were looking for a direction/reference in sound. When I was asked to define what I would like the EP to sound like, I came up with all kinds of random records that I loved (not necessarily because of the sound but the songwriting – I guess this is the curse of the songwriter….) Eventually it was Julia Jacklin’s Crushing album that helped us towards the overall sound of the EP.
Listen/watch ‘Harvest’ here:
Kieran: The ‘Disposable’ EP talks heavily about your experiences with addiction, relationships, and trauma. Do you find it hard to write from such a personal space or is it cathartic?
Borka: It’s natural to me. Looking back, the first song I ever wrote was a sort of self-induced therapy to get over a heartbreak (I was 15), so I think unconsciously I’ve thought of songwriting as a form of coping ever since. This lyrical vulnerability helped me so much in befriending my darker sides, as well as in learning to accept some of my defining traumas. I value artists who are not afraid to be brutally honest about their personal experiences and hope to stay one of them in the long run.
Kieran: How does your recorded music translate into your live show?
Borka: That’s a funny one – to be really honest, we haven’t performed for quite a while, partly due to a massive burnout I had during Covid, partly due to some health challenges in my band. Since Covid, I have found it very difficult to get out of my bubble again and stand on stage. I felt like life had stopped during the pandemic and somehow I got stuck in that frozenness. But I feel like recording this EP helped me overcome those issues. Now I feel like a new path has been shown to me. So the truth is, I’m so excited to just perform again and connect with my audience again. And I feel like I am finally there again to make this into an interactive thing, which I believe a live show should be about. Because it’s not just about you writing your songs, but it’s about sharing it with the audience and seeing how they react to your story, whether they can relate, and if so, how. And I think I’m finally there.
Kieran: Lastly, what else is on the horizon for you in 2024?
Borka: 2024 threw a pretty huge curveball at me when I was diagnosed with MS earlier this year. I had to slow down quite a bit, so the main focus will be on my health, being mindful about my life, and try to enjoy making music again without pressure. Because actually, besides performing, the part of the process I enjoy the most is writing music and making it into a production with my boyfriend. So that’s where the joy is for me. And besides that I hope to get some opportunities to perform the new material with my band soon.
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