What is your name and role within Run Over Dogs?

My name is Szabolcs Czeglédi and I’m the singer and guitarist of Run Over Dogs.

How did you first start playing music?

 Listened to a lot of Nirvana and Pixies as a teenager and got my first guitar when I was 14.

Where are you currently based?

We’re based in Budapest.

How did the band form?

We’re childhood friends with Máté (Máté Gál – bass) as we’ve been playing in rival bands in a small Hungarian city called Kecskemét. I always knew we’d form a band together once we both moved to Budapest. I met Maxi (Tamás Juhász – drums) and Roni (Áron Vilczek – guitar) when I moved to the capital in 2009, started to play music together in 2011 and were waiting for Máté to move to Budapest and form the band in 2012.

You’ve just released your new album ‘Now Let The Monsters Shine’ what influenced the sound and songwriting?

The sound and songwriting were both influenced by feelings this time.  Looking back over the past five years, it seems like a minute where I’m sitting on a propeller plane during turbulence, the chips bags and other merchandise products are flying in the air like colourful Tetris pieces as they land on top of each other in the wrong order so every second is game over and a new game starts. What’s even worse is that while I was sitting on this plane, a series of events – incomprehensible to common sense – shook the world. I got stuck in the room for weeks during the first months of pandemic, sometimes I walked in random forests and for the first time in my life I’ve been thinking soberly and realistically about what had happened to me in the last 30 years and especially in the last 5. Then we’ve spent a lot of time experimenting with the sounds to make sure we’ll express these feelings the best way we can.

How did you go about writing the album?

Most of the songs were written on an acoustic guitar and got their final forms later in the studio. I felt much stronger after composing the songs, I became addicted to writing for weeks and it might even be perceptible that the last songs were written by a more balanced person than the ones before.

Where and when did you record/produce/master and who did you work with?

The album was made in the RH studio – that is also the rehearsal room of the band – so the calming work pace and environment were ensured. Máté Gál, the band’s bassist was the album’s sound engineer, he was responsible for record / mix / master and Soma Nóvé (Middlemist Red, Mordái, Samurai Drive) was the producer of the album. Soma has a prominent role in the orchestration, the dramaturgy and the structure of the songs, and he also brought a new approach with striving for perfection in all details, which was less typical of the band before.

It’s been a while since the last release, any reason for the break?

We’ve had very intense writing and touring periods between 2012 and 2017 and we burnt out quickly. I didn’t find my place on the stage in the last three years whilst I also lost my self-confidence as a composer.

How did it feel to be writing and recording again?

After each recorded track, I felt like I was taking a brick out of my bag and walking home more and more lightly from the studio.

What do this album mean to you?

Now I really think I asked for my first guitar as a teenager to write this album because it made me realize how important it is to me to express my feelings through lyrics and music.

Please tell us about the connection with trauma processing and the creation of this album:

Every track on this album is a monster that for thirty years I raised in silence until they took control over me and forced me into living my life as a monster with them. For the past five years – since I began to reveal my secrets that guarded them – they have grown into giants and delivered coordinated blows against me at the most unexpected times. Writing this album exorcised my demons, my monsters.

If Covid permits do you have any plans to tour?

We’d love to play an album release show early fall 2021 in Budapest, fingers crossed. Our second US tour is also planned for fall 2022.

Who are you listening to at the moment?

I think Big Thief, Amen Dunes and Perfume Genius are my top 3 favorite artists these days.

What do you like to do away from music?

 Exploring cozy restaurants while traveling with my wife! And playing tennis!

What’s planned for 2021?

 Finding the smoothest way to get back to the circle of life.

Favourite food and place to hangout?

My favorites are the tapas plates of Pata Negra Budapest, especially the Chorizo Al Vino Tinto and the Jamon Con Espinaces Chorizo.

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