¤ Szabolcs Szőke & Evelin Tóth, Venice, Italy, CZ95 Centre
Articles in print: Corriere del Veneto, Il Gazzettino, La Nuova
October 27, 2005

¤ Ektar: Dove Song

With a little exaggaration I could say that the voice of the dove has a Portuguese colouring, at least I claim to detect the characteristic sorrowfull melancholy in the voice of Evelin Tóth and the guitar of Dániel Kardos. This easily discernable sensitivity is what differentiates this album from other works of Szabolcs Szoke (the gadulka player leading the group). His exceptionally consequent oeuvre (especially with tin-Tin) and disciplined style seems to have been broke by this album. Ektar offers a wider range of possibilities interraction and unification between the musicians and there audience. Ektar, an Indian word means this one string is what the four musicians converge into (the fourth is Róbert Benkő contrabass) where Far East, Europe and the Balkans meet... and so much more. This album has been published by an almost virtually small label in Győr. Difficult to acquire but genuine miracle in itself it's the epitomy of how a single fragile and gentle dove can be the massanger of the winds of change arriving even if it has to struggle against the mainstream. Expect a beautiful moving experience.

László Távolodó Marton, Magyar Narancs     2005. május

¤ On a single string

The music of Ektar emanates continuous reneissance which makes their performance lucid and light; the underlying potential streaming paralell to the music, drags the audience with itself, and surfaces during every piece. It's especially worth paying close attention to their music since we are able to discern motive which have yet to appear on the scenes of Hungarian jazz, folk and improvisational music.

Zoltán Végső, Élet és Irodalom     2003. szeptember

¤ Ektar: Dove Song

Two veterans, Szabolcs Szőke and Róbert Benkő, and two youthful talents, Evelin Tóth and Dániel Kardos, constituted this special group int he autumn of 2002 when it introduced itself to the audience at the GyőrFree Music Festival. The Dove's Song is already their second album. They play a marked, individual contemporary, improvisational chamber music with influences from Africa, Far-East and the Balkans. Their stringplay is united into one single sound: as their name suggests. The composed parts of their pieces are woven together by collective imrovisations and melody variations; beautiful, intimate, light meaningful music, without cramps and jabber.

Béla Szilárd Jávorszky, Népszabadság