Sunday Music Show | All stories

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This edition of the Sunday Music Show features music by ‘Hlas’ coaches Pepa Vojtek, R&B singer Dara Rollins, Slovak rapper Majk Spirit and 1980s pop star turned producer Michal David.

On our Easter Sunday Music show we profile Tomáš Kočko a truly versatile musician who combines folk, rock, ethno and jazz. Tomáš Kočko and Orchestra have 9 CDs to their name, including Hodovnice which draws on the way of life, traditions and legends of the inhabitants of the Beskydy Mountains.

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.