Czech Republic - Moravian-Silesia

 From Slovakia we cross another border into the Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, another country I haven't physically been to.  I don't know that much about it either, except that they essentially invented lager beer, the famous Pilsen-style from the town of the same name (not to mention the original Budweiser, which is a far cry from the flavourless American imitation).  The country is essentially split into 2 main regions, Moravia to the east and Bohemia to the west, with a bit of Silesia spilling over the border with Poland.  As for the music scenes, it seems to alive and well and buzzing with creativity.  

So arriving from Slovakia we begin our journey in Moravian-Silesia, namely in the small town of Nový Jičín (famed for hat making), where singer/songwriter Vlasta Redl was born in 1959.  He has been a member of various bands, most notably folk-rock band AG Fleck, and headed his own band for a while, snappily named  Skupina která se jmenuje každý den jinak (The band that has a different name every day).  It is as a solo artist, just playing his guitar and singing, that his folk roots come most to the fore, mostly singing self-penned songs with a dose of poetry and humour, so it would probably help if I understood the language.  Here's a song called Boze muj:

Although Folk-Pop duo Tara Fuki met in Brno they were both born in Czech Silesia.  Andrea Konstankiewiczová was born in Frydek-Mistek and Dorota Barová in Třinec and both play the cello to which they add various other instruments, including hang drums.  They formed their collaboration in 2000.  Their music is described as haunting, moody and soulful with a strong feminine force.  Apparently they sing mostly in Polish rather than Czech, because they feel the language sounds softer, more melodic.  Here's the opening track to their 2007 album Auris called Lej Lej:

Moving on to the city of Ostrava, which is the capital of the Moravian-Silesian region and home to the annual Colours of Ostrava music festival, which is next scheduled to take place from the 13th-16th July 2022.  This is where singer/songwriter Marta Töpferová was born in 1975.  She emigrated to the USA at a young age, where she settled in New York and was greatly influenced by Latino music.  In 2012 she returned to her homeland and soon started a project called Milokraj returning to her roots and singing in Czech for the first time and collaborating with other Czech musicians. They released a self-titled album in 2013.  This is a song called Jabloň Zapomnění off that album:

Next we are heading to the small town of Bruntál in the Jeseniky mountains, where sisters Ida Kelarová and Iva Bittová were born to a Slovakian mother and Romani father also from Slovakia.  They both made their separate careers in music.  Ida Kelarová, the elder sister, was born in 1956.  Her second husband was Welsh and moved to Czechoslovakia with her, but they were soon forced into exile as he was suspected of being a spy by the Communist regime.  They lived in Wales and Denmark, but after the Velvet revolution in 1989 she soon returned to her homeland.   In 1999 she set up her band Romano Rat (Gypsy Blood).  This is a song form her 2008 album Gypsy Blood called Andro Pani Pejlom (In the water I fell):

Younger sister Iva Bittová was born in 1958 and has already had a mention in Slovakia as being part of the Angrusori project.  Her speciality is the violin and she has moved away a bit further from her roots than her sister with what has been described as an avant-garde, experimental folk.  It's certainly difficult to categorise it in any specific genre as she uses her voice and violin in her own compositions.  Here is a song from her self-titled album (re-released in 2006) called Proudem Mleka (River of Milk):

That's it for today.  As usual you can visually follow my virtual travels on my Tripline map.  Next stop is the rest of Moravia.