Music in Czech lands in the 20th was tumultuous, to say the least. The artistic freedom of the early 20th century shifted during World War I under Nazi occupation, flourishing again after the war. With the rise of the
Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, arts were "
destined to play a great role in the socialist education of the masses," which meant artists were to portray "life as it should be according to Marxist theory." Some bands shifted to more politically acceptable performances, while others went underground. The
Velvet Revolution lifted limitations, and artists who had performed illegal shows in private now shared their underground sounds and sights with the world. The
Plastic People of the Universe (who some
credit with bringing the Revolution) could be considered to embody the Communist repression of the 1970s and 1980s in their gloomy, despair-driven music, with
Už Jsme Doma showing a different side of Czech music,
representing the exuberance of liberation.
Už Jsme Doma literally translates to
we are home, but also means something more like, "well, there we go" in Czech conversation. While Exuberant is a great way to describe the band, perhaps Emotional is better. Within a single song, they can shift from a drunken bar-room sing-along into something akin to high-speed punk, and then start sobbing in their next song, only to reach ecstatic highs again. Their sound has been
shaped by their membership, which started with
one trained member, Jindra Dolanský. Though trained on the clarinet, Jindra played the saxophone (along with singing backup and being a co-composer), which has been part of the distinct sound of the band. Another key element of the band has been
Miroslav Wanek, lead singer, bandleader and (co-)composer since the band's initial re-forming in 1986.
10 years after their initial formation, UJD were the stage band for
The Residents' live musical play,
Freak Show Live in Prague, as well as the
Freak Show Live CD-Rom (discussed
previously). Six years later, Jindra left the band in late 2001, to focus on his family and stop the constant touring schedule of UJD. The band continued, and new arrangements of old material used keyboard, guitar lines and vocal melodies to replace the saxophone instead of hiring a new member. In October 2006, a grand 20 year anniversary show was performed in Archa Theater in Prague. The first half of the show covered the history of the band, with the return of Jindra Dolanský on saxophone, while the second half was the current line-up with a 20 piece choir. This show was recorded, and released as 20 Letů (20 Flies or 20 Years, translated as 20 Flyears). In 2006, trumpet player Adam Tomášek was hired as the first horn player in the band since Dolanský's departure. In October, 2007, the band returned to the United States for their first time since 2001, and continue to play.
Interviews:
May 1997, and
February 2008
--- Videos -----------
Hollywood, the band's first music video (1993)
Amen (incomplete) and
Kreslak, Uprostred slov, showing the band's love of costume.
Live in 1999 part 1,
part 2.
I believe these are from their 2006 reunion show, even though they are titled as being from 2005:
Kovbojska
Julecek
Tvar (with captions)
Jassica
Napul
Hollywood
Kuzelina
Jo Nebo Nebo (one of their first songs, included as a hidden song after the last track on their Best Of compilation entitled
Fifteen Drops of Water)
Live in 2007, with Adam on trumpet
More live audience videos (add &fmt=18 after any video URL for "high quality" youtube videos)
posted by filthy light thief at 4:47 PM on April 4, 2009 [1 favorite]