Locations

ČRo Wave Stage: Czechia’s Freshest Discoveries #UIOP

The Czech Radio Wave Stage, as the name suggests, will be presenting new artists who had won the favors of the program managers at Wave Station. You can expect some projects that have become quite popular, such as Manon Meurt and Wild Tides, and some who are still waiting to strike it big yet have caught attention at the Czech Radio Wave programs of Startér and Czeching.

Sky to Speak was initially an ambient project and now they are opening the stage on Friday with their synthesizers meandering along beats played live.

It is unlikely one could find a discovery fresher than Himalayan Dalai Lama. They appeared in Startér only in May. This is a duo from Brno that skillfully combines electronica and live beats in a Zen balance one would expect from Tibetan monks.

Dalekko is a pop band from Prague that is built around the creative duo of Džian Baban and Pavel Sajner. It delivers smart pop music, excellent lyrics and rock melancholy. Really the best of the Czech scene.

Another discovery attributable to Startér is Ghost of You, a quartet from Brno. The band’s natural talent for songwriting mixes with unusual arrangements. The boys love Kid A and it shows in their sound.

The first performer Saturday program has is Vogjetgraik, a solo project by the drummer Vladimír Staněk. His music is spiced up with the looper and synthesizers that he controls but the rest of his body keeps broken beats – similar to the work of the electronica legends, Boards of Canada.

Blue room are coming from Roudnice nad Labem, bringing ethereal post-rock, alternative rock and they might just as well throw in a fantastic cover of Thom Yorke.

The next act is the smart pop by Fred Madison from Valašské Meziříčí that will take you to the sunny beach in a split of a second.

Manon Meurt, a shoegaze quartet from Rakovník, was quite spectacularly the support for the Irish legends, My Bloody Valentine. Reviewers have said in unison that there is nobody else in the country who could work up the guitar planes with such delicate harmony. Last year the band released the eponymous EP on vinyl, won the listeners’ choice at the 2014 Vote For Your Favourite Czech Song, intrigued all foreign members of the jury and they were the only Czechs, nominated by Radio Wave, to appear at Eurosonic, the most prestigious show of musical talents in Europe.

The top of the evening is the trio Wild Tides who believe their biggest asset is that they come from Letná in Prague. Their songs might be simple, yet they are catchy and could be easily classified as surf punk or garage, but best see for yourself.