Red Bug – the band of Levente Kókai

New album · 2026

Egy hajóban evezünk

For years I played music on ocean liners. Life on the water taught me that people aren't so different after all: we all try to stay afloat and somehow find our harbour. That's what this album is about – a journey across countries, peoples and dreams that doesn't judge, it simply shows.

“We're all in the same boat. All of us. Everyone. Everywhere. One by one, and together.”

Érkezünk
Iránytű
Csobbanás
Papírhajó
Nem tudjuk még
Nincs több kifogás
Ráadás
Scorsese
Rationale
At the Edge

Listen now CD in the shop

The story

The journey

My songs grow out of my life. It is a road that began in Vojvodina and led me across countries, seas and cultures to where I am today.

1991Vojvodina → Kecskemét

Two suitcases

When the Yugoslav wars began, we had to leave Vojvodina and start again in Kecskemét, Hungary. As I sing in “Nincs több kifogás” (No More Excuses): we packed everything we had into two suitcases.

Learning yearsBudapest

Kőbánya Music Studio

After the Kőbánya Music Studio I spent three years playing on Scandinavian ferries between Stockholm, Helsinki and Tallinn – my first taste of life on the water.

2008Hungary → Finland

Ten years in Helsinki

Drawn by the Scandinavian way of life, I moved to Helsinki – my second big move, this time north. For ten years the city was my home.

2014 – 2016Finland & Hungary

Maze of Oblivion

In 2014 I founded Red Bug with musicians from four countries: the rock of the ’70s and ’80s, a touch of jazz and Balkan folk. Our first, English-language album is about the maze of oblivion – how our memories blur, and how we get lost in the labyrinth of our own choices.

MeanwhileOn the world's oceans

Years on ocean liners

For years I played on ocean liners with singer Petra Lovas. That's where every ship and harbour on the second album comes from.

Kókai Levente és Lovas Petra — Levente Kókai and Petra Lovas · Photo: András Rablóczky

2023 – 2024Homecoming

Live at Dabas and Hosszú vizeken

I came home and started the band again. The concert in Dabas became a live album, then came the EP “Hosszú vizeken” (On Long Waters) and the Budapest club gigs.

Red Bug, 2024 — Photo: Sándor Bikali & Dávid Zsoldos

2025 – 2026Budapest

Egy hajóban evezünk

“Scorsese” is a tribute to the film director Martin Scorsese. It came out as a single, with our first music video, which nods to Robert Palmer's “Addicted to Love”. In May 2026 our second album was released. At the launch show at Muzikum, Budapest, we were joined by Robert James Robson (The Rays), the Kuna brothers and Zsuzsa Garda.

Red Bug a Muzikumban, 2026 — Photo: Gergely Horváth & Richárd Réthy

Discography

Releases

Egy hajóban evezünk

Album · 2026

Tracks

Érkezünk
Iránytű
Csobbanás
Papírhajó
Nem tudjuk még
Nincs több kifogás
Ráadás
Scorsese
Rationale
At the Edge

Hosszú vizeken

EP · 2024

Tracks

Felkel a nap
Sohasem
Ugyanaz a harc

Live at Dabas

Live album · 2024 (recorded 2023)

Tracks

Division
Are We Lost
Electric Saw
Broken Lake
Bug
Fairy Dreams
Karóval jöttél
Anna örök
Hasonlatok
Felkel a nap
Sohasem

Maze of Oblivion

Album · 2015

Tracks

Division
Are We Lost
The Hedge Is Growing
Tea in a Maze
Electric Saw
Broken Lake
Fields of Endless Hope
Bug
Fairy Dreams
Answer

Watch

Videos

Scorsese

First music video · 2025

Érkezünk

Official music video · 2026

Anna örök

Poem by Gyula Juhász · live in Dabas, 2023

Karóval jöttél

Poem by Attila József · 2024 (music: Péter Krékits)

Live

Concerts

Upcoming

No concerts announced at the moment. New dates will appear here and on our social media.

Past concerts

15 May 2026Muzikum, BudapestAlbum launch: Egy hajóban evezünk · guests: Robert James Robson, the Kuna brothers, Zsuzsa Garda
10 April 2025BackStage Pub, Budapest
15 March 2025Muzikum, Budapestsupporting The Getnos
19 September 2024BackStage Pub, Budapest
9 April 2024Turbina, Budapest
29 September 2023Rombusz – Bálna, Budapest
8 September 2023Kossuth Művelődési Központ, Dabas
2 September 2023Bornap, Abda
12 May 2023Pomáz
21 November 2015CHTH, Helsinki
28–29 November 2014CHTH, Helsinki

The band

Levente Kókai & fellow travellers

I founded Red Bug in 2014 and have led it ever since. The songs come from my story, and musicians gather around them. The line-up changes from era to era, but the music and the message stay. I've been shaped by bands and artists like LGT, Tátrai Band, Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, Toto, Leonard Cohen and Goran Bregović.