Sunday Music Show | All stories

In this week’s Sunday Music Show, we will profile a highly prolific and hard-work punk-rock band Totální nasazení, which for some 23 years has been entertaining their audience with whimsical lyrics and upbeat rhythms.

Now on hiatus, The Ecstasy of Saint Tereza have been perhaps THE leading Czech indie band of the last two decades. With guitarist, songwriter and producer Jan P. Muchow their only constant member, EOST have gone through a number of stylistic changes over the years, from shoegaze through ambient to – with second singer Kateřina Winterová – a dance-inspired style that could put one in mind of Bjork.

In this edition of Sunday Music we profile one of the country’s leading classical music ensembles: the Stamitz string quartet which has been captivating audiences at home and abroad for well over a quarter of a century.

The band Docuku, based in the north-eastern town of Valašské Meziřící, rediscovers folk music of Moravia, Slovakia, Hungary as as well as Roma songs, and sometimes come up with their own creations, too. Docuku – meaning together in the local dialect – have put out three albums so far, including Kdybych já věděl which was released earlier this year and features singer Markéta Irglová.

This week we take a look at an established Czech band November 2nd, whose red-headed front-woman and song writer Saša Langošová combines rock, country and pop in her melodic and often fiery songs. Although it has not really found a place in the Czech mainstream music world, November 2nd has been steadily making music for over 10 years, exploring different genres and working with international big names like Suzanne Vega, Tchad Blake, Doug Yowell or Steve Walsh.

Vladimir 518, a founding member of the group Peneři strýčka Homeboye (PSH), is one of the most important figures in Czech hip hop. Five years after the release of his debut solo LP Gorila vs. Architekt, the rapper last month released a much anticipated follow-up entitled Idiot.

Jananas is a hardcore folk band with a distinctly fresh style. It’s so far only album released in 2010 received excellent reviews and got it a nomination for the Czech “Grammy” award Andel. Following a short break last year the band returned this spring with a tour called No More Tears.

Singer and songwriter Zuzana Michnová is one of the most distinct vocalists of the Czech folk rock scene. For many years, she was part of the legendary band Marsyas, and has also released an acclaimed solo album. After a long break, the band recently made a comeback, and can again be seen – and heard – in clubs across the country.

This week’s Sunday Music Show profiles chanson singer, guitarist and composer Lenka Filipová. The singer, who started out as a classical guitar player and developed into a successful chanson singer has enchanted audiences in Prague and Paris and recorded more than two dozen albums in a career spanning more than 30 years.

The 1999 movie Pelíšky (Cosy Dens) is a bittersweet drama set in the period leading up the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia August 1968. Chock-full of names like Václav Neckář, Blue Effect, Waldemar Matuška, The Matadors, Hana Hegerová and Petr Novák, its soundtrack is an excellent primer to the Czechoslovak music of that era and a brilliant compilation by any standards.