Biography
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Years Active
2005 – present (19 years)
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Members
- Baranyai Ákos
- Busa Pista
- Demeter Zoltán
- Dési Tamás
- Havas Miklós
Irie Maffia
Being formed in 2005, Irie Maffia soon became a firm favourite with the young party-goers of Budapest, which can hardly be considered a surprise given the powerful medley of reggae, hip-hop, rock and funk they play, and the impressive line-up in terms of the Hungarian underground-music scene. Sena, Busa and Columbo are all well-known figures of the Budapest nightlife. Among the musicians we can find such names as Dermot, the ingenious bandleader and trombone-player, or Jumo Daddy, the Hammond organ wizard.
The band has performed at practically every festival in Hungary imaginable, while their sound system formation (consisting of the DJs and MCs of the band) has been kept busy by the clubs of the country.
The memorable full house release party of the Mafia’s first LP, Fel a kezekkel! (Hands in the air), took place on A38, a popular party boat in Budapest, in December, 2007.
Irie Maffia's first video clip, shot for their most popular song, Hands In the Air, came out in the spring of 2008.
In autumn 2008 the Irie Maffia was one of the 5 nominees for MTV European Music Awards Local Hero in Hungary.
The band's sound system formation holds weekly club nights in Corvin teto, offering awesome reggae music to the Tuesday night audience of the venue.
The popularity of Irie Maffia, however, is by no means restricted to the borders of Hungary. Their first recording in 2006 made use of a dancehall riddim, the Rodeo riddim (formerly made popular by the mighty Seeed), which was released by Germaica Records, Europe’s leading reggae/dancehall record company.
To make the most of the success, the Maffia went on tour to several European destinations, amongst which was the Italian Rototom Sunsplash in 2007, probably the greatest reggae competition of the continent. They came out second with an outstanding performance after the local Italian heroes, which was an immense achievement in the light of the fact that they had had to convince a thoroughly orthodox jury with their rather eclectic and innovative kind of music.
Having fulfilled the requirements of Dutch/foreign trustees, the Maffia took part in Amsterdam's My City Budapest Festival, an event featuring the most important Hungarian bands. They were also asked to participate in a festival in Rovereto, Italy, celebrating the 90th anniversary of the end of WW1, to which each European country's national radio station deputed one band.
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