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Artists / TRABAND Traband is a sextet led by Jarda Svoboda - one of the most unique contemporary Czech singers-songwriters. The instrumental composition of the group includes vocals-accordion-clarinet-banjo-trumpet-tube-basstrumpet-guitar- percussion and they play a number of styles ranging from world music, brass music, and jewish klezmer to Prague street or pub band music, an overall style which they themselves refer to as dechno. The band started to play in 1995 as Prague rock'n'roll trio (electric guitar, bass, drums) but after a few years they swapped electric instruments for acoustic ones (tuba, trumpet, clarinet, accordion, banjo, drums) and adopted influences of Czech, Gipsy and Jewish folk music, sailor ballads, and Prague pub-songs. Although most members are still in their twenties, all of them have been excellent musicians with many years of both theoretical and practical experience. Jarda Svoboda ranks among the most outstanding singer-songwriters of current Czech scene and - while on stage - the band delivers their original music with unusual burning zeal. The year 2000 witnessed the release of Traband's first regular album on Black Point with great critical acclaim and numerous subsequent concerts, radio and TV appearances including WDR in Bielefeld and SFB Berlin. In 2002 Traband has played clubs and festivals in the Czech Republic, France, Poland, Germany, Slovakia, and Corsica. The new album, called Road Movie was released on Black Point Music in November 2002. Jarda Svoboda - clarinet, accordion, guitar, vocal Jana Modráčková - trumpet, vocal Evžen Kredenc - banjo, vocal Robert Škarda - tuba Jakub Schmid - euphonium Petr Vizina - drums Discography Road Movie (2002) Kolotoč (2000) O čem mluví muži (1997) Excerpts from the interview of Jarda Svoboda with UNI magazine 1/2001: The music of the band is inspired by city folklore. Sometimes the sound is almost antique. Do you find the old days better? Jarda: There has always been some folklore mingled with rock'n'roll in our music. We use all kinds of music of the 20th century. Traband is an up to date rock band but we use different means of expression. Why did you change the guitar for the clarinet? Jarda: The sound of the instrument is my voice, my other self. It is very similar to the human voice. I like the soft, wooden sound of the clarinet, the squeaky voice. It is my hysterical mistress. Why is it that you sing very often about the sea, about ships? Jarda: Most of my dreams take place in the water. I am either swimming or diving or in my mother's womb. Water gives you the feeling of weightlessness, safety. The ship in my lyrics is only a symbol. A ship is a family, a community of people who decided to share life together. It keeps people together - it serves as a common idea, direction where to sail. In that sense I have always been a sailor on many boats. I left some of them before they sank, some I cowardly deserted. But if I happened to be in a storm on the rough sea, I would forget the desire to rhyme or play a tune, I would be afraid. But I guess rhyming or playing tunes is all I am good at. Booking: Capricorn Promotions Štěpán Suchochleb U dubu 12 147 00 Prague 4 Czech Republic Phone: *420-244467667 Fax: *420-244467669 GSM: *420-608-909302 email: capricorn@internet.cz http://capricorn.internet.cz All Music Guide on Traband... Artist: Traband Album Title: Road Movie Date of Release: 2002 AMG Rating: **** (4 stars) Road Movie marks a big change of direction for Czech Republic's Traband, even though line-up and instrumentation remain basically the same. On Kolotoc, the group's first effort released in 2000, accordion, banjo, trumpet, tuba and drums were used to perform festive pub songs inspired by Klezmer and Slavic traditions with a hint of rock and funk. On this second opus tradition took a hike. Instead the group focuses on brass-heavy ska-rock and street funk - and it works out great. This new direction gives their music a slightly more personal twist. OK, it did loose some of its "Czech identity" in the process, but this more mainstream format would be a pain only if it yielded ordinary music. "Cerny Kafe" ("black coffee") and "Mela Jsen Já Pejska" ("I've had a doggie") are irresistible numbers, inviting to dance to and sing along despite the language barrier. Fans of the lighter ska from the Stomp label (Kingpins, New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble) will appreciate. Other highlights include "Road Movie" (with the wahwah guitar putting every cliché where it belongs) and "Holubi/Skodná" ("pigeons/vermins"). The use of a tuba instead of an electric bass, euphonium instead of trombone, and banjo in place of a guitar still give the music a fanfare flavor that is surprising at first, but 45 minutes later their brand of rock makes so much sense you'll wonder how you used to go through the day without it. - François Couture Artist: Traband Album Title: Kolotoc Date of Release: 2000 AMG Rating: **** (4 stars) Kolotoc is Traband's first album. Clarinetist Jarda Svoboda wrote all the songs but one. The group's music takes its source from Balkan and klezmer traditions, while adding a modern folk twist to the melodies and making the best out of very unusual instrumentation. Imagine clarinet, trumpet, banjo, tuba, and drums partying through sailors' songs and Jewish wedding music. While the roots of the music can recall groups like the Klezmatics or France's Soldat Louis, the actual sound is closer to a klezmer version of Ceux-Qui-Marchent-Debout or Polémil Bazar, something between cabaret and street fanfare. Moreover, Svoboda's vocal delivery, when added to the all-acoustic lineup, can evoke the Violent Femmes or Louise Attaque. The arrangements are inventive and often verge on circus music (a border deliberately crossed in "Cirkus Praha"). Highlights include the sailor ballad "Panenka Barbi and Marlborou Men," the high-octane klezmer-punk "Kolotoc" (even though the lyrics are too cluttered), and the groovy mid-tempo "Historka z podsveti," which, with its anticlimactic chorus, provides a nice change of pace. It's not the most original music among the much-populated field of the late-'90s back-to-trad movement in alternative European (and Québec) music, but Kolotoc comes through as a thoroughly honest and enjoyable record. Don't miss it on account of the Czech lyrics; they are not essential to appreciate it. - François Couture http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Alrf6zfi2eh2k or http://www.allmusicguide.com