Compact Disco

Hungarian four-piece Compact Disco is comprised of Behnam Lotfi - one half of the techno producing team Collins & Behnam - and three former members of funk-pop outfit Brownfield: Csaba Walkó, vocalist; keyboard player Gábor Pál and bass player Attila Sándor. They are currently working on their second album which is scheduled for release in Spring 2011. The band has been selected as members of MTV:brand new action, which supports artists with massive promotional activity on MTV over the next 2 years. This year, the group announced a sponsorship deal with Hungarian fashion brand Tisza.

Compact Disco has been nominated in three categories in the 2011 Fonogram Awards: Electronic production of the year; Song of the year and Best Newcomer. They will be performing live at this year’s awards event. Their debut album Stereoid was nominated for "Electronic Album of the Year" in the 2010 Fonogram Awards.

In 2005 Lofti was on the lookout for a talented vocalist when he spotted Walkó on a Hungarian equivalent of TV talent show American Idol. He approached Walkó to sing lead vocals on Collins and Benham’s cover of Seal’s Killer. At that time, Walkó was singing in funk-pop ensemble Brownfield. Fellow band member Gábor Pál, leader and founder of Toy Division, went along and the three founding members of Compact Disco - Lofti, Pal and Walkó - were introduced.
However, 3 years passed before the three got together as a band playing electronic vocal pop music. In August 2008, and they rolled up their sleeves and started working immediately on their first collaboration: the track Fly or Dive.
In April 2009, they took to the studio to add the vocals and finishing touches to their first, as yet untitled, album. The completed album was produced at Gábor Némethy's Groovejack Studio. In July 2009 the album was finished; the band had a name - Compact Disco - and the album - Stereoid - was ready to launch. Independent Hungarian record label, CLS Music, signed the band and released the debut album in December 2009. Soon after its release, Stereoid was nominated "Electronic Album of the Year" in the 2010 Fonogram Awards.
The band began performing live in venues across Hungary and Romania in 2010. The video for the first track to be released off the album, “I’m In Love” produced by Hungarian filmmakers Studio X, was hugely popular. "I'm in Love" topped the Hungarian dance chart The VIVA Club Chart. The original track and remixes entered various international charts including the UK Buzz Chart and the Swiss DJ Chart. The track also scored a hit with acclaimed DJs all around the world including Tiësto, Ferry Corsten, Alex Gaudino, Oliver Lang, Mischa Daniels, Henry John Morgan, Chris Finan, Ant Nichols, and Paul Ughes.
In May 2010, the group reunited with Studio X to shoot the video for the second released track "Without You". May was also the month in which Bravo magazine nominated the band for a 2010 Hungarian Otto Award as "Best New Artist". The band performed an acoustic show in the "Akusztik" series on Magyar Rádió's pop music channel, MR2 Petofi. Recorded before live audience in Magyar Rádió's Studio 8, the session, broadcast in September, was a hit.
A busy Summer followed with Compact Disco appearing at almost all the major Hungarian music festivals. The band covered Hungarian singer Ákos’ work for the Hungarian MTV channel’s ‘Icon’ series and invited Pál and Walkó's former Brownfield band mate bassist Attila Sándor to join them as the fourth member of Compact Disco. In November 2010, responding to a request by Red Bull, they shot their third video to their song "Fly or Dive".

The band has remixed songs for several Hungarian artists, including folk-pop band, Holdviola and their remix of "Bánat utca" was a club sensation. They also remixed popular Hungarian solo artist, Ákos' second single, "A fénybe nézz" from his 2010 album. In November 2010 the band won the popular award MTV brand:new aided by their innovative viral video series "Segíts Antosnak" ("Help Antos!").
At the end of a busy year, as a gift to fans old and new, the band re-released their debut album, Stereoid as a free digital download. In December, Compact Disco began work on their second album, scheduled for release this Spring.