Kornél Kovács

Swedish left-field house producer Kornél Kovács turns out bright, buoyant tracks that steer clear of undue solemnity. Born in Stockholm in 1985, he received formal music instruction during daylight hours while absorbing his parents’ record collection after dark. An appetite for electronic dance music soon surfaced, prompting his debut DJ appearance at age 14. He launched his career with drum’n’bass sets, yet interest eventually faded and he set the decks aside for several years. Only in the mid-2000s, once he reached the legal age for club entry, did he resume performing, this time concentrating on house. Within a brief span he secured a residency at Paradise, later advancing to Stockholm’s Red Bull Music Academy. While there, he co-founded the Studio Barnhus label with Axel Boman and Petter Nordkvist. By 2012 his productions were prepared for broader distribution, beginning with the Baby Step/Down Since ’92 single on his own imprint. Additional EPs appeared, chiefly via Studio Barnhus, together with releases on Smallville and Numbers. In 2016 Kovács issued his first full-length album, The Bells, realized after two concentrated weeks in the studio with assistance from engineer Matt Karmil.