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This week’s Sunday Music show profiles a respected name on the Czech music scene -Dagmar Andrtova Vonkova. A self-taught guitarist, singer and song writer Vonkova seeks inspiration in folk music and draws on her own experiences, for a truly unique style that has captivated audiences at home and abroad.

This week we are profiling the band Ahmed má hlad (Ahmed is hungry) a band that revives and draws on Balkan and East European folk music, while giving these traditional gems a modern slant.

The Czech hard rock band Katapult formed in the early 1970s to become one of the most popular acts of the era. With its straight-forward, heavy sound and simple lyrics, the trio drew large crowds at a time when rock music was often targeted by the communist authorities.

Republic of Two comprise a pair of songwriters, Jiří Burian and Mikolas Ruzicka. Their debut Raising the Flag in 2010 earned the duo, who both play guitar and alternate on vocals, an Anděl award for best newcomer. Since then the pair have released a remixes LP and another regular album of gentle, acoustic-guitar driven indie inspired by the likes of Norway’s Kings of Convenience.

Today’s programme will be dedicated to the Velvet Revolution which brought down the communist regime in November 1989. The events of November and December 1989 had a very distinctive soundscape: the rattling of the keys that thousands of protesters shook above their heads as well as slogans chanted by the crowds. But the soundtrack to the Velvet Revolution is much richer. A number of songs became unofficial anthems of the political change and the heady days of late 1989 are forever connected with music.

In this week’s show, we will listen to some music by a young singer named Debbi. She’s put out two albums before turning 20, and captured the attention of Czech, and even some international audiences with her husky voice and bubbly personality. Her music has given the Czech pop scene a bit more depth, a few more good songs in English and even a slightly retro dimension.

It has been twenty years since the release of the Czech film Šakalí léta, director Jan Hřebejk's debut.

In this edition of our Sunday Music Show we talk to singer songwriter James Harries. Hailing originally from Manchester, England, Harries has lived in the Czech Republic for fifteen years now, during which time he has managed to record 7 albums and countless film scores.

Freddy Ruppert is an alternative electronic songwriter from Los Angeles living in Prague. At times, ambient, at times melodic and at times wildly inaccessible to the unsuspecting ear; Ruppert’s music always makes for interesting listening. Previously releasing material with the electronic band Former Ghosts, Ruppert went solo when he moved to Prague two years ago, where he has succeeded in making a name for himself with his solo material.

Influenced by the likes of the Fugs, Frank Zappa and the Velvet Underground, the fiercely independent Plastic People of the Universe were a thorn in the side of Czechoslovakia’s Communist authorities. Despite severe harassment, the PPU refused to buckle, continuing to make often abrasive music until a key member was forced into exile. However, after the change of regime the group eventually reformed – and just last week played a special show marking the 45th anniversary of their formation.