I’m a fan of the indie record label Z Tapes, run by Filip Zemčík out of Slovakia. He’s turned me onto some amazing bedroom artists, and now he has a blog, START TRACK, where he highlights interesting things he finds on Bandcamp. Consider following.
Slovakia
[Music] Hrdza – Neskroteny
Slovakia is producing wonderful music, but has almost no exposure in the world stage, which is maddening. Quality musicianship in genres as disparate as World Music, experimental and classical has been frankly astounding.
The folk scene is especially healthy, given the energetic, bouncy and rhythmic performances given by Hrdza. There is a fire under these musicians, who possess a sort of sunny optimism, that is absolutely refreshing to hear. Those of you who enjoy Celtic music might well find something worth grooving to with these guys. It’s really that lively.
To get a taste of their sound, check out the Spotify link listed above and give a visit to their website (unfortunately in Slovak only, I’m afraid) to find out a bit more.
[Music] Katarína Máliková – Pustvopol
There’s not a lot of music I could compare Slovak chanteuse Katarína Máliková to. Her sound is utterly unique, and I could only imagine bands like Dead Can Dance as sharing her ethereal vibe. The instrumentation could fit somewhere comfortably between folk, fusion and Fourth World Ambient (think Jon Hassell).
For fans of these genres and of artists like Loreena McKennitt.
[Music Podcast] Adam Kvasnica – Jazz To Dance
Another fine podcast by Slovakian vinyl hound Adam Kvasnica! The only problem here is that we’d really love a track listing. Otherwise, this is, hands down, the best podcast on Mixcloud!
[Music] New CD “Piotrology” Lukáš Oravec Quartet
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/new-cd-piotrology-lukas-oravec-quartet/widget.js/
Our friend, the Slovak band leader and trumpeter Lukáš Oravec, has a new release forthcoming, and he is crowd-funding it. We wish him much success!