Section Archive Music Profile
Buty – the pop innovators from Ostrava
The north-eastern city of Ostrava, with its mining, iron and steel
industry, was once known as the steel heart of the Czech Republic. But it
has also long been home to a lively arts scene. The band Buty is one of the
most original as well as most popular groups from the region.
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Karel Kryl – the Czech "poet with a guitar"
The Czech folk singer Karel Kryl is the subject of this edition of Music
Profile. His well-known debut album “Bratříčku, zavírej vrátka”
was published six months after the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia
which crushed the Prague Spring in 1968. A year later, he emigrated to
Germany. He worked for Radio Free Europe in Munich, where he died in 1994.
Kryl is considered one of the most important figures of the anti-communist
movement.
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Karel Plíhal – one of the Czech Republic's foremost folk singers
The Czech singer and songwriter Karel Plíhal is the subject of this
edition of Music Profile. Plíhal, who comes from the Moravian town of
Přerov, released his eponymous debut in 1985 and has become one of the
country’s leading folk artists.
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MIDI LIDI: electro, video, love and plankton
The young Czech electronic band MIDI LIDI, currently on tour promoting
their second album, “Hastrmans, Tatrmans & Bubáks”, have been
around since 2006. They first made their mark a year later with their debut
album “Čekání na robota”. Combining intelligent beats with different
samples and minimalist lyrics, MIDI LIDI’s music radiates a certain
warmth, joy and, dare I say, love. The whole experience is enhanced by
original video art accompanying their performances which are drawing larger
and larger crowds. Besides their albums, MIDI LIDI also gained critical
acclaim for their original music to the 2009 Czech film “Protektor”.
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The weird and wonderful Jablkoň
In 1977, a mailman, a math analyst and an actor got together to make some
rather strange and wonderful music. Jablkoň, as they called the band,
started off playing gigs in places around Prague that didn’t insist on
specific genres. For as you’ll hear in today’s Music Profile,
Jablkoň’s music rather defies easy explanation; a brand of distinctive
folk blended with jazz, rock and more that’s often called world music.
Except when it isn’t… More
Žlutý Pes: a dogged feature of the Czech rock scene
This month’s Music Profile features the Czech rock band Žlutý Pes—
which translates as Yellow Dog. They have been one of the most successful
and longest lasting features of the Czech musical scene.
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Jiří Dědeček – the first singer-songwriter to become PEN club president
This month's Music Profile will prove a treat for polyglots in particular.
In this edition, we're taking a look at the back-catalogue of
singer-songwriter, translator par excellence, and head of the Czech PEN
club, Jiří Dědeček. For songs about postmodern romance, moneychangers,
military secretaries, and the Czech town of Žatec, tune in to Music
Profile.
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Vlasta Redl – taking Moravian folk to another level
Moravian folk music has long and rich traditions, and many artists work
with its motifs in creating their own musical style. One of them is the
“Walachian Bard” Vlasta Redl. He started his career in the mid 1980s in
a band that was very well received, but eventually looked ever closer to
the traditional Moravian music for inspiration.
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Iva Bittová - a phenomenal avantgarde singer
Iva Bittová is a phenomenon in contemporary Czech music – the avant-garde
violinist, singer and composer has developed a music style all her own,
blending the music of many cultures into what she terms her "personal
folk music“ and drawing deeply on her emotions and the sounds of nature.
Her vocal utterances range from traditional singing to chirping, moaning,
yelps and deep throat noises that keep audiences mesmerized. Her style is
not easily defined but perhaps one of the most accurate comments made about
her is that she brings the human voice back to the natural world in a way
that transcends barriers and touches audiences the world over.
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