Would you be so kind to introduce yourself? “Who is Antares?” “What is your history?”
Actually, Antares is the brightest star in the constellation of Scorpius, with reddish shades.
That’s why we have the red and black theme in most of our images.
But of course, as a band, we have a different story. The basic idea of establishing a band without any limits was conceived by Dávid Pap ‘Page’ (drummer) and Botond Kovács (guitar). Ferenc Kolosai (vocals, bass) was Page’s colleague and he simply wanted to play on the bass no matter where or how. We began as a trio and never discussed if we should form a ‘legit’ band. We just wanted to play for fun and jam around.
The first songs ‘accidentally’ wrote themselves and later Dávid Dér (keyboards) joined us out of the blue and completed us and our music itself.
Our first one and a half years were spent rehearsing and songwriting under the radar. Very few people knew about our existence and we wanted it that way.
Then our first public concert was with the Austrian band named Mother’s Cake, and the night was an unexpectedly huge success. Then we won the biggest national talent show in Hungary, which gave us a huge boost.
What was the biggest success in your career so far?
We are honored to have received an Artisjus prize for our first album, and it might sound like a cliché, but for us, success means that we can play to people in our concerts. Our 100% comes out when we perform live. That is what we deeply love above all.
How did you come in touch with Austrian Audio Products the first time?
Our managers Gábor Nóniusz and Gábor ‘Kojak’ Kovács paved the way, and as a team, we have been working together to stay fair and dedicated partners of Austrian Audio.
Our singer believes microphones choose their singers. He sets the bar high and knows exactly which microphones suit his voice well. When he tried out the OD505, not only him but the entire band fell in love at once with the quality and the design that Austrian Audio provides. We were amazed and in an instant got ready to team up with Austrian Audio.
What products are you currently using and where?
Since the beginning of our partnership with Austrian Audio, Ferenc has been using the OC707 mic primarily, but he hasn’t dropped the OD505 either. He also operates a studio where he uses the OC18 for several recordings and is planning to get the CC8 set, shortly. The OC18 mic is the favorite of the entire Antares: Dér uses one for his recordings, Page has a pair for the overheads and Botond applies one that fits his amplifier in the studio and for live acts. It is also important to mention that we are having a lot of fun with the Hi-X15.
What do you like most about the products?
The sound quality is extremely professional and it’s really easy to work with them, and they have a very durable construction. We simply love this combination.
Where can our community find you and your songs?
You may listen to our songs on all the online music platforms and YouTube as well. And of course, live!
What are your next plans? Album or any live shows?
We are very satisfied with our second album, thanks to Gábor Nóniusz, and are really looking forward to writing our third album. It is not an easy job to organize the perfect atmosphere where we can compose from our hearts but we always try to find a way.
Thankfully the concerts are coming nicely.
Any advice you would give young musicians?
Musically speaking, it is essential that musicians should be honest with themselves. If you play for the money, it won’t work like that. You will not create something unique.
It is hard to have a look at your own songs from a third person’s perspective but if deep down in your heart you feel that something is missing from your music, you might need to learn and practice more to fulfill and reach your imagination with your technique. We believe the band members’ personalities are a little bit more important than their technical knowledge. It includes common ground and the goals. And play live as much as you can. It is still the only way to be successful.
How has the music industry changed since you started making music?
Some decades ago it was kind of enough to do one thing at the time. These days, for example, if you are a great singer, you need to know a bit about self-management and marketing, a touch of experience in studio recording can come in handy, and if you play multiple musical instruments a tiny bit better than a beginner, it is definitely an edge.
Thank you for your time. Let’s enjoy your new video. Any thoughts about the video that you would like to share?
We have just recorded our first professional live session with four songs and are about to release them – one every month. We intended to showcase what the Austrian Audio products can do.
As we improvise a lot, our concerts are never the same, so this particular live session is going to be just another version of what we do on stage.
Cort, Hammond and of course Austrian Audio paid a great contribution to the quality and the entireness of the footage, for which we as a band and a production are immensely thankful. We hope you will enjoy it.