The music of Panta Rhei

Alex Szalay and four others formed the band Panta Rhei in 1974. Panta Rhei played mostly progressive rock and electronic music. The original members were Alex Szalay on guitar, Andras Szalay on bass, Kalman Matolcsy on keyboards, Csaba Beke on drums, and Eniko Acs performing vocals.

Quick terms

Panta Rhei: The sixth-century B.C. Greek philosopher Heraclitus’ saying, “Everything flows, nothing stands still”

Progressive rock: musical genre which gained popularity in the 1970s; draws influence from classical and jazz; musical complexity

Electronic music: produced largely by electronic components

Panta Rhei recorded and performed between 1974 and 1982. Its first album — Panta Rhei — was released in 1980.

After Panta Rhei “officially” broke up in 1982, three of the original members — both Szalay brothers and Matolcsy — continued to record as p.r. computer. Their second album, released in 1983, was entirely electronic music and titled p.r. computer.

In 1998, after p.r. computer reverted back to Panta Rhei, it released a third album — Epilogus. This album contains pieces recorded between 1984 and 1987. In 2002, Panta Rhei released a collection of songs with a book about the band.