Compact Disco is a Hungarian electronic music band and musical producer trio based in Budapest, founded in 2008 by three musicians of varying musical backgrounds.
Lotfi, Pál and Walkó first met in 2005, when Behnam Lotfi's techno producer duo, Collins and Behnam planned to produce a cover version of Adamski and Seal's Killer and was in search of a vocalist. He saw Csaba Walkó in an American Idol type talent show and asked him to sing the vocals for the cover. Walkó that time was singing in a funk-pop band called Brownfield and asked a couple of members of this band to accompany him to the recording session. One of these members were Gábor Pál, who was also the leader and founder of the renowned Hungarian nu-jazz ensemble, Toy Division. This was the first time when the three musicians met.
They were selected to represent their home country after winning the national final with the song Sound of Our Hearts and invited guest musicians for A Dal and subsequently to the Contest to fill the 6 member quota: Krisztián Szakos, the co-producer of the song and singer Helga Wéber, former lead singer of popular Hungarian pop band, Unisex for primary backing vocals. Secondary backing vocals were performed by keyboardist Gábor Pál. However, the song finished in 24th place in the final.
After the Contest the popularity of the band remained high filling the summer concert schedule almost fully. Szakos also appeared at some of the larger performances as a guest. During this intensive summer period, tensions arose between Attila Sándor and the three founding members regarding the future of the band and each individuals role in it. At the very beginning of the band’s two-month hiatus starting in mid-September 2012, these debates culminated in the decision that Compact Disco will prepare and start its Autumn-Winter 2012 Tour and continue afterwards without Sándor, becoming a three-piece again. Since then they have continued to perform as trio.
Lotfi was one of the five jurors for Hungary in the 2016 contest in Stockholm.
