Czech Republic - Moravia

 The historical province of Moravia takes up most of the eastern half of Czechia.  We first head to the city of Olomouc, where jazz pianist Emil Viklický was born in 1948.  He graduated with a degree in mathematics, but music was always his first passion.  He has won numerous awards and collaborated with many national and international acts and is still active.  Here is a live version of a number he wrote in homage to his home town, V Holomóci městě (In the town of Olomouc), a shorter version of which appears on his 2007 album Moravian Gems, in collaboration with George Mraz, Laco Tropp and Iva Bittová.  Alas the album does not appear to be available at present.

Sadly folk violinist and singer Jitka Šuranska died of cancer in 2019 aged just 41.  She was born in Kudlovice in south-eastern Moravia and collaborated with many folk musicians in the area as well as playing solo, before setting up her own band in 2016, the Jitka Šuranska trio winning numerous awards.  This is the opening track to their debut album Divé Husy (Wild Geese) called Jablůška:

Moving on to the small town of Uherské Hradištĕ where Moravia's oldest and best known dulcimer folk band Hradišťan hail from.  The ensemble was formed together with a dance group in 1950 and are still going strong, albeit with some changes in personnel of course.  This is a song from their 1994 album Ozvěny Duše - Moravian Dreams called Okolo Hradišta:

Balfolk band Sprinkle Blizzard were formed on New Year's Day 2018 in Brno and sadly only lasted 3 years before disbanding earlier this year.  The ensemble included Austrian violinist Angelika Hudler, whom we met in Vienna as well as musicians from Belgium, Ukraine and Poland.  They don't appear to have recorded any albums during that time, but they toured extensively before the pandemic put a stop to it.  Here is one of their tunes, a waltz called Baguette Soldier:

Apparently Czech bluegrass, sometimes known as Czechgrass is a thing.  Bluegrass has been popular in this country since the 1940's and they have created there own version out of it, a bit like Irish country I suppose.  The biggest proponent of the genre is a band called Druhá Travá, who were formed in Brno in 1991 around lead singer Robert Křesťan.  Here's a song called Sbohem, Angelina off their 2007 album Dylanovki:

I leave you to ponder on that... Our final stop in Moravia is the town of Svitavy in the west of the region, which was also the birth place of Oskar Schindler.  This is where folk rock band Čechomor were formed back in 1988.  Apparently they were a favourite band of Czech playwright and former president Václav Havel.  They started life as I. Českomoravská nezávislá hudební společnost (1st Czech-Moravian Independent Music Society) playing mostly acoustic folk, but electrified their music in the 1990's.  They are still active today and released a new album last November called Radosti života (the joys of life).  This is a song called Husárska of said album:

That's it from Moravia and see you next time in Bohemia.  In the meantime you can follow my virtual wanderings on my Tripline map.

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.