Who are we?
STORYUM
To understand what STORYUM is, we invite you to take a little trip back in time!
The first stop is the first year of the millennium. There’s a guy in a village who’s all about football, techno and chicks. One day his father bought a stereo that was a little different from the usual music players of the time: it had a built-in subwoofer. This stereo came with a record that had been dreamed up by a band in England, and on this record was a song that almost came to life when played on the right thing. That band was the Prodigy and the song was Breathe. After listening to this song a million times, he had an invincible desire to create music with such elemental power and energy! And the right instrument for this was the drum. And so our story begins on 5 September 2000, when the young man sat down on the first drum kit of his life. This boy’s name was Joe Janik. After a few months of learning and practicing, he joined the first band of his life.
The next chapter began in the early 2020s.
“After playing in numerous bands and performing at hundreds of concerts, he wanted something more than just playing music written by others. That’s when the idea was born—to start his own band.With the project they had assembled by then, they headed into the studio to record a demo. The studio manager asked what the band’s name should be, since the project needed to be saved under something.’Let’s call it Storyum,’ Joe said—and that’s when the big dream was born.
Our story
The beginning (2021)
Over the years, Joe’s bandmates changed several times, but eventually, a few members became permanent contributors to the project.
Főnök joined as the drummer, Tie as the bassist, and Raw became the lead vocalist. The turning point came in 2021 when Klára joined as a backing vocalist, followed by Görö on keyboards. With this, the solo project officially came to an end, and the formation evolved into a full-fledged band.
The question of the band’s name resurfaced, but all members agreed that Storyum perfectly reflected the group’s identity. Thus, in 2021, Storyum was officially founded as a band.
That same year, they began writing their debut album, We Are The Fire, and also developed their live concert set. From the second half of 2021 onward, they started performing live shows.
We Are The Fire (2022)
In 2022, the album We Are The Fire was released,
followed by a headlining concert in the first half of the year. Footage from this concert was later used in the music video for Generations.
Freedom (2023)
2023 marked a major milestone for the band.
They signed with the H-Music label and released their second full-length album, Freedom, which—like its predecessor—was recorded in English. The album included the track Generations as well.
Following the release of Freedom, Storyum became a regular feature on Slovakia’s Pátria radio, and their songs made it onto the playlists of radio stations in New York as well as in several South American countries.
Toward the end of the year, the band appeared on various Slovak and Hungarian television programs, further increasing their visibility and recognition.
Köztünk nincs határ! (2024-2025)
2024 was the most successful year in Storyum’s history so far.
This year saw the birth of the song Köztünk nincs határ (“No Borders Between Us”), which was chosen by the Hungarian Handball Federation as the official anthem of Hungarian handball. Starting in May, the song also appeared on the playlist of Hungary’s Petőfi Rádió. The band featured in numerous TV and radio interviews, further increasing their popularity.
At the beginning of the year, the band released their third full-length album, Álmokon át (“Through Dreams”), Storyum’s first entirely Hungarian-language album. The record includes Köztünk nincs határ as a bonus track, as well as Indulj el (“Set Out”), a reinterpretation of an old Hungarian folk song with a modern sound. In 2024, the band performed at several Hungarian and international festivals, including one in Ada, Serbia.
In the second half of the year, Igor Almási joined the band, taking on managerial duties. Thanks to this, the band approached the upcoming period with more professional organization and greater opportunities.
That same year, the band had the opportunity to collaborate with the Budapest Scoring Symphony Orchestra, known for their recent work on Star Wars and Wednesday soundtracks. The band’s sound was permanently overseen by Zoltán Cserfalvi Töfi.
Blossoming and Lineup changes (2025)
2025 proved to be a milestone year for the band.
The group was selected to participate in A Dal 2025, and beyond numerous television appearances, they also gave many radio interviews and performed live on-air.
In the spring, they embarked on a nationwide tour with MobilMánia, playing both club gigs and large-stage concerts. In May, they performed a live concert on Petőfi Rádió’s show Hajrá, Magyarok!, and at the end of the month, they took the stage at Barba Negra Red Stage for the first time.
However, the biggest change came on May 31 on the Barba Negra stage: the band officially said farewell to their bassist Tie, who was succeeded by Nagy “Doki” Tibi.
In June, they released their single “Itt nincs, ki parancsol” (“No One Commands Here”), featuring the songs “Éljük át” (“Let’s Live It”) and “Ébredj fel” (“Wake Up”).
On December 19, they will kick off their second major tour, this time with Leander Kills, which promises joint performances across several venues in both Hungary and southern Slovakia.
The Storyum team
Navigation
Information
Newsletter
