Get ready for export. Meet Czeching 2016 nominees
The six-member jury composed of Czech music experts nominates six bands that are considered to have the best chance of making it abroad.
Czeching also offers a platform for critical talks, a radio show, a competition between the top candidates, essential support for the winners of each edition as well as a calling card abroad for Czech non-mainstream artists. Czech Radio will provide the winning band selected from among the nominees by a international jury of music experts, journalists and producers the opportunity to appear at the Eurosonic showcase festival and to make a professional recording which will subsequently be sent to European radio stations associated with the EBU (European Broadcasting Union).
This year’s winners will be announced on September 27 at a special Czeching showcase. The event will include a public discussion on the topic of music export and showcase of all the nominated bands. There will also be a special guest performance by Sevdaliza, the Dutch singer and producer with Iranian roots.
FEBRUARY
This up-and-coming four-member band from Ostrava has only been around since last year. Last February they released their debut single “Hide Me Under Autumn Leaves”. The band qualifies as a post-indie band, and their music attests to their ability to create atmosphere and to express subtle emotions. They are currently on tour, and their debut album is scheduled for release at the end of the year.
A review in Fullmoon magazine described their talent: “You can simply hear that February has something special in their blood, something fresh and unheard, which, in itself, is exciting.”
februarymusic.bandcamp.com/releases
soundcloud.com/february
MAYEN
Mayen is a Prague-based band playing guitar dream pop. It was formed in the summer of 2013 as a solo project of Lukáš Vydra, a former guitarist of the synth pop Girls on Drugs (presently called Deaths) and an exceptional vocalist. They made their mark on the music scene by releasing their debut EP Wonder Years containing four songs evoking the nostalgic spirit of late summer.
Since then, Mayen has played many gigs throughout the Czech Republic and Slovakia, supporting bands such as Blackbird Blackbird and Glass Animals. Their current EP Elegy was produced by Igor Bruso from the Berlin-based Deaths collective.
facebook.com/mayenband
mayenmusic.bandcamp.com
HIMALAYAN DALAI LAMA
The duo Kryštof and David originally formed a punk band together. They set out on their DJing path in 2015 but remained attached to live instruments forming a project called Himalayan Dalai Lama – a fusion of electronic dance music, chill wave, indie-pop with trap elements, live drums and bass free of samples. This year, the band released their debut EP Lama and proved once and for all their talent by producing a remix for Arms and Sleepers and touring several European cities.
They are known for tweaking their beats with, for example, a hit song and turning their shows into a hell of a party.
soundcloud.com/himalayandalailama
facebook.com/himalayandalailama
ZABELOV GROUP
This band consists of accordion player Roman Zabelov from Belarus and drummer Jan Šikl known also as a member of Soliloqui and as a composer of modern classical music. The Zabelov Group dishes out a dramatic fusion of electronic ambient, jazz and world music while mixing up a cocktail of sounds from electronic instruments, various effects, samples as well as live drums, accordion and vocals during their live shows.
The band was formed in 2012 and has already released two EPs. They are working on their new album scheduled for release at the end of the year.
zabelovgroup.com
soundcloud.com/zabelovgroup/lek
ORIENT
The members of Orient met back in high school and have played in several bands together. Their current project found its feet in the fusion of synth-pop and post-rock. But instead of neat dance electronica, expect to hear a more emo sound. Atmospheric beats and electronic pad samples intertwine with live guitar lines and vocals with a touch of the rowdiness of new wave and black metal.
Orient’s music has so far been released on a compilation of the Stoned To Death label. The band is currently touring and recording their debut album.
or13nt.tumblr.com
youtube.com/watch?v=0YjJhd-aCoM
BA:ZEL
The music production of Czech-Polish duo Ba:zel can be characterised as melancholic sound combined with etheric uplifting vocals. A project by the versatile Daniel Vlček and singer, pianist, flute player and composer Ewelina Chiu has been influenced by cold electronica and classical music.
The duo has also successfully performed abroad and spent some time at an artistic residence in the Netherlands in 2015 where they also laid the foundation for their debut album eye draw(s) the line, self-released in June of this year.
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Komplet obsahuje dva šumavské romány Ze světa lesních samot, V ráji šumavském a povídkový soubor Mrtví se nevracejí z pera klasika české literatury Karla Klostermanna (1848 - 1923), který tomuto kraji zasvětil celé své dílo.
