Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: I’ve always felt like an outsider. For a long time, I was afraid of my own voice, I didn’t have many people who understood me.
Growing up, having more girl-friends than boys definitely had a huge impact on me. It helped me understand myself better – emotionally or socially. I think it made me mature earlier.
I grew up emotional and vulnerable. It was always my way. I listened to artists like Melanie Martinez, Lady Gaga, Grimes or Marina; the outsiders. I’d put in headphones and imagine I was performing. Then I started doing musical theatre and learn music (singing and piano) in a local conservatory. That’s where it all began.
Q: Can you describe the musical style of Kristof in three words?
A: Improving. Authentic. Unexpected.
My sound is just as complex as what I’m feeling; it’s raw, it’s heavy, but it’s also fragile. I don’t want to create just for the sake of it. I need it to mean something, to get people to face something they’re avoiding.
Q: How do you stay connected with your fans, and what role do they play in shaping your musical journey?
A: Honestly, I just make music. It’s how I process things, how I work through my thoughts, my story, my feelings – it’s my passion first and foremost. If people like it and resonate with it, I’m glad. But if you hate me, I love it just as much as the people that like me. It’s just a different part of my being or my soul. But if I can cause you to feel such an extreme emotion, I’m okay with it.
Q: You have just released your new album, ‘IT IS WHAT IT IS’. Is there a story behind it?
A: With each project of mine I try to channel that snapshot of my life that influenced me to create; all the lessons I’ve learned and all the progress I’ve made. While I’m constantly learning about myself. Every day, I push myself to do something I haven’t done before.
There’s parts of my life where I felt like I couldn’t speak. There were certain scenarios, there were people around me who were very restricting, people that didn’t encourage growth and development of my creations.
There were times where it felt like everything was happening at once; moving out, being all alone, navigating relationships, questioning who I was, what I was doing. The album became the only space where I could make sense of all that, where I could face the naked truth.
Every time I sat down to write, it wasn’t just about making music. It was about unpacking feelings: uncertainty, exploration, anger, frustration. I might’ve been looked at as mean by some of the people I was unraveling from, but truthfully, I was learning self-respect.
Q: What is your favorite track from the album and why?
A: It changes all the time, but I think THE INBETWEEN is the one that has a special place in my heart. It’s an industrial pop ballad about uncertainty in relationships; the space between love and fear, trust and doubt. A relationship with someone who is promising forever but you don’t know if you can trust them.
I don’t like “forever”. I’m okay with forever on my own. But the moment you tie yourself to someone else, you’re investing a part of yourself in them. And that comes with risk. People make mistakes. They let you down. So before you give that part of yourself away, you have to be sure you’re okay first. Otherwise, you’ll lose more than just the relationship, you’ll lose your footing too. That’s something I’ve learned recently in a relationship.
I’ve also learned how to hold my hardline and get back to myself. There’s nothing I did that I regret, because I know that I tried my best. And if anything, I was able to dig deeper into myself and maybe that’s all the relationship was worth. Now I’m the most consistent in my life.
Q: Can you walk us through the creative process of producing the album?
A: I don’t think there’s ever a choice in what draws you in. The themes choose you. Life has layers. Contradictions. And I’m fascinated by the space in between.
It came from this idea of being caught in a transitional space, like standing on the threshold of something new but not quite stepping into it. That feeling of being stuck in a liminal space, where you’re neither here nor there.
You’re looking forward, but there’s no clear path. But you can’t go back, either. It’s unsettling, but there’s a strange beauty in that ambiguity. You start questioning everything, your purpose, your place in the world. Because nothing is fixed.
These songs kind of became a meditation on the idea that it’s okay to not have everything figured out yet. That’s life, really: constant change, uncertainty and growth. Writing these songs didn’t fix everything, but it gave me the space to understand that some things just take time. Sometimes, you just have to sit in that discomfort and let it be part of your process. It’s like saying, “I’m not where I was, but I’m not where I want to be yet either, and that’s okay.” It was a way to give myself permission to just exist without needing all the answers.
It has completely different approaches in sound. But also- you can never know what’s coming next on the album. I am going where my curiosity takes me.
Q: What has been the most memorable concert or performance for you so far?
A: We are currently making a deluxe version for my album called “is it what it is? (it’s not)”. With acoustic and orchestral versions of tracks, a hyperpop remix, a rock version, a cover and two extra tracks. It’s gonna be fun. When we had these acoustic sessions for a few songs, I really enjoyed performing WORSHIPPED with a guitar.
WORSHIPPED is about accepting unacceptable things for longer than you should have. There were times when I tried to save somebody that didn’t want to be saved. That included a lot of self-sacrifice, which eventually led to me losing myself in the process. It was a hard lesson and I’m glad it’s over and I’m glad the chapter is done.
I was becoming a very angry person- angry mostly at myself. I couldn’t see things as they were for a long time. And that was because the environment was less than ideal.
Now in any relationship, I tend to take the backseat- to observe. I like to collect more information before I come to a conclusion. That’s something I started doing in order not to be blinded by anything, so I could stay present and see things as they are. But that doesn’t mean I’m not a leader. I think I’m both: a leader and an observer. And one doesn’t cancel out the other.
Q: Reflecting on your body of work, each song holding its unique significance, could you share a particular track that stands out to you personally? What makes that specific tune special, and why does it hold a place of pride in your musical journey?
A: STARVING.
For me this song encapsulates the idea of being trapped in a one-sided, emotionally coercive relationship, also in a physical sense. Where your own emotional hunger and needs goes unmet.
For a long time, I was putting my needs in the background.
You start to hate the body they kept taking from, because it feels like it betrayed you too.
But it ends with a promise: next time, I won’t let my body starve for love again.
There’s also a music video to STARVING, a choreographed contemporary dance piece blending fluid dance with ballroom undertones. It features and was choreographed by Eszter Mándli, a longtime collaborator of mine who previously appeared as a featured singer on my earlier track ‘The Designer’.
We created the whole movement concept for STARVING together.
As soon as the song was written, I knew it needed a visual counterpart. I hadn’t shown that side of myself before, but this track demanded it. It was always meant to be a dance video.
So I called Eszter, who has a background in contemporary dance and she’s gone through similar emotional patterns as I have, so she understood it instinctively. We wanted to project what an unhealthy relationship feels like – how control can hide behind affection, when someone’s taking advantage of you, controlling you and how physical intimacy can become a tool for manipulation rather than connection, all through misbalance, tension and repetition.
We met up for a few sessions and shaped the piece quickly. We were on the same page the entire time, like always. That’s why I love working with her. We just get each other.
Q: Exploring the diverse creative processes within the music industry is always fascinating. Could you provide insight into Kristof’s unique approach to crafting music? From the initial spark of an idea to the finished song, how do you navigate the creative journey and bring its musical concepts to life?
A: For instance, I was reckoning with anger at the time I wrote TIT 4 TAT. That was the initial spark. It started as a note in my phone – just a few words about turning the tables and reclaiming myself. People have this idea of me as soft-spoken, emotionally driven, maybe even a little too naive or forgiving. And sure, I’ve got tenderness in me. But there’s a line. And once you cross it, I’m not here to make you feel safe anymore.
I always say I’m like a peach. Soft on the outside, sure. But there’s a pit at my center that’ll break your teeth. Don’t underestimate me just because I seem soft.
During the time I wrote it, I was trapped in a mess that I needed to dig my way out of- and like I always do, at the end I figured out how to handle it.
There were people in my past who tried to change me in multiple ways– even by manipulative tactics. It was always frustrating but I went with it and that’s where the fault is- you should never go along with something, you should correct it and call it out and address what it is. That’s part of growing up and learning and taking back your power and taking control of the situation. This track came from years of swallowing my anger, playing nice, making myself smaller to keep peace and having my self-respect completely destructed. At some point, all that suppression had to go somewhere and TIT 4 TAT is where it landed.
In terms of production, I wanted to channel that emotional eruption into something physical. So I built it around this heavy, punk-ish foundation; loud drums, distorted bass, and these glitchy, electric textures that feel like static in your head. It’s chaotic but deliberate.
The recording process was just as raw, I knew that day I wanted to scream, which felt almost therapeutic, kinda like a primal scream session. I needed to get that anger out of my body. You don’t want to hold into such feelings, it makes you ugly. For me, that’s what the creative process is – transforming something messy and internal into something tangible. Every song starts with a feeling, even if I can’t name it and it ends when I finally recognize myself in the sound. Like a puzzle piece.
Q: As we wrap up our conversation, looking ahead, what aspirations or dreams do you have for Kristof, and what message would you like to share with your fans as they continue to accompany you on this musical journey?
A: I recently moved to Budapest to study acting & theatre and to pursue my career as an artist– it’s a reset. So many new people, new situations.
I’m leaving behind dead weight: habits, people, excuses. And I’m no longer running from myself. I feel like for the first time I can actually bloom, thanks to this new environment. I finally feel free. And I’m already working on my next record with new people. It’s very exciting.
What I want the listeners to take away is that it’s okay not to have all the answers. You will always figure it all out eventually. The album doesn’t solve anything. It just helps you ask the right questions. And maybe helps you feel less alone while you sit with them. Sometimes it’s about just sitting with the uncertainty and learning from it. We tend to rush through those moments, thinking we need to get somewhere else to feel fulfilled. But most of the time, the real transformation happens in that in-between.
That’s what IT IS WHAT IT IS stands for: learning to live in the uncertainty and make peace with not knowing, but learning.
