Sunday Music Show | All stories

Mezi Lopatky, the third LP from Prague group Kieslowski, was one of the most acclaimed local indie releases of 2014. Duo Marie Kieslowski and David Pomahač describe themselves as “urban folk” and “amplified acoustic”, though their downtempo sound and intimate, relationship-exploring lyrics will no doubt put some in mind of England’s the XX.

This week’s edition of the Sunday Music Show focuses on an up-and-coming Czech band called Wild Tides. The surf-punk trio from Prague is the fresh winner of Czeching, a competition for promising Czech musicians organized by Czech Radio. Its aim is to launch one talented Czech band a year onto the world.

Formed by Englishman Colin Stuart, Colorfactory featured several Czech musicians who in their own right shaped the local music scene in the 1990s. Two of the latter starred in the 1996 movie Šeptej (Whisper) and it was Colorfactory’s contribution of several gentle, guitar-based songs to the film’s soundtrack that made the group firm favourites with Czech music fans.

Luboš Andršt is a Czech blues, jazz and art-rock guitarist. In a career spanning close to half a century he has produced over a dozen solo albums, collaborated with leading music ensembles and played with the likes of Paul Jones, Dan Gillespie Katie Webster and B.B. King.

This edition of Sunday Music Show is dedicated to the songs of the legendary protest singer Karel Kryl, interpreted by some of the best known Czech musicians, such as Markéta Irglová, Aneta Langerová or Tomáš Klus. The album Karel Kryl 70 is a live recording of a concert which took place in Prague’s Lucerna Music Hall this April to mark two important anniversaries related to the legendary protest singer - 70 years since his birth and 20 years since his death.

Led by singer-guitarist Ondřej Krochmalný, the Český Těšín-based band Planety received the Best New Act gong at the 2012 Vinyl awards for their debut LP Peklo, peklo, ráj. This year the indie outfit – influenced by the likes of Pixies, Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine – returned with the positively received Nekonečná hudba města zapomeneš.

This week’s Sunday Music Show is dedicated to a Czech composer and band member Jaromír Vejvoda whose work is probably a lot better known than he was in spite of his prolific output.

In this edition of Sunday Music we'll be playing some of the best known songs by popular Czech singer Petr Hapka, who passed away last week at the age of just 70. Hapka worked closely with a number of lyricists but with none more closely than Michal Horáčeck. Together they produced some of the best known hits in Czechoslovakia in the 1980s.

Singer Ida Kelarová is a singer, musician and choirmaster who performs some of the best Romany music to come out of the Czech Republic. But, ironically it was many years before she learnt of her Romany origin and was able to fully connect with her legacy.

For Semafor is a unique album initiated by the Czech music journalist Pavel Klusák on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the legendary Semafor Theatre in 2009. It features 20 cover versions of the most famous hits by Jiří Suchý and Jiří Šlitr interpreted by some of the best known Czech indie bands, such as Květy, OTK or Ecstasy of Saint Theresa.