Platon Karataev

Platon Karataev
Live in Budapest Park, 2025
Live in Budapest Park, 2025
Background information
OriginBudapest, Hungary
GenresIndie rock, folk rock[1]

Indie folk[2]
(earlier)
alternative folk[3][4]
post-rock[5]

(later)
Years active2013–present
Websiteplatonkarataev.com

Platon Karataev is a Hungarian musical group.

Their music draws from spiritual traditions, including Gregorian chants, mantras, and folk songs. The band's lyrics are in English and Hungarian.[6] The band is named after a character from Leo Tolstoy's novel.[7][1]

History

Platon Karataev formed in Budapest in 2016.[7][2]

Their first single "Elevator" (2016) and first album For Her (2017) made them one of the most streamed Hungarian music artists known domestically and globally.[1][8][9]

In 2018, they took part in Zandari Festa (South Korea) event.[2][10] In 2019, the band performed at other festivals, including Waves Vienna (Austria), Reeperbahn Festival (Germany), and Liverpool Sound City (UK) festivals.[11][12][13]

In 2021, Kultura.hu named them "the most exportable" Hungarian music artist.[14]

In March 2022, they gave an interview to major Hungarian news magazine HVG.[6] The band performed at the Roadburn Festival (Netherlands) in April the same year.[15]

In 2023, the band received the Hungarian Music Awards.[16][7]

Platon Karataev performed at Sziget Festival in 2024 and 2025.[17][4]

Lineup

[14][18]

  • Gergely Balla — guitar, vocals
  • Sebestyén Czakó-Kuraly — guitar, vocals
  • László Sallai — bass guitar
  • Zsombor Farkas — drums

Albums

English period

  • For Her (2017)
  • Atoms (2020)

Hungarian period

  • Partért kiáltó (lit. 'Shouting to the Shore', 2022)
  • Napkötöző (lit. 'Sunbound', 2025)

Awards and Nominations

The Berlin Music Video Awards is an international festival that promotes the art of music videos.

Year Nominated work Award Result Ref.
2026 "Three Cycles" Best Experimental Nominated [19]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Platon Karataev - Rock Hungary". Europavox. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 "Ismét három magyar zenekar lép fel a szöuli Zandari Festán - Dalok.hu". dalok.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  3. ↑ "To Crave the Edges of Speech - The Continental Literary Magazine". The Continental Literary Magazine. 15 April 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  4. 1 2 Marcell, Bajnai (5 August 2025). "A világsztárok mellett a magyar előadókra is érdemes figyelni a Szigeten". Magyarnarancs.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  5. ↑ Hacsek, Sophie (1 March 2023). "Platon Karataev takes you on an unpredictable musical journey". arthereartnow.com. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  6. 1 2 "„Valaki azt írta, ez volt az első koncert, amire nem részegen akart elmenni" - Platon Karataev-interjú". hvg.hu (in Hungarian). 19 March 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 "Platon Karataev". zenehaza.hu. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  8. ↑ "Platon Karataev - GoOut". goout.net (in Slovak). Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  9. ↑ Crowns, Music (5 June 2020). "Platon Karataev launch 'Atoms' LP | New Music". Music Crowns. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  10. ↑ "Magyar fellépők a Zandari Festa-n". culture.hu. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  11. ↑ "Waves Vienna - Archive: Waves Vienna 2019". www.wavesvienna.com. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  12. ↑ "Reeperbahn announced Platon Karataev and Deep Glaze". hotsmusic.hu. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  13. ↑ "Platon Karataev and Vera Jónás has been invited for Liverpool Sound City". hotsmusic.hu. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  14. 1 2 "HOTS: a Platon Karataev a legexportképesebb könnyűzenei előadó". kultura.hu (in Hungarian). 23 March 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  15. ↑ "Roadburn 2022 Line-Up :: Clashfinder". clashfinder.com. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  16. ↑ "Fonogram-díjas lett a Platon Karataev!". Fonogram (in Hungarian). 29 April 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  17. ↑ "Platon Karataev, Louis Tomlinson, Martin Garrix - Ilyen volt a Sziget negyedik napja". Népszava (in Hungarian). Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  18. ↑ "Platon Karataev: Még nem vagyunk nyakig a következő lemezben, de már térdig ér a víz". kultura.hu (in Hungarian). 15 July 2025. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  19. ↑ "Berlin Music Video Awards". Berlin Music Video Awards. Retrieved 2026-04-16.