By Stephan Delbos - Staff Writer
For a group whose name means, literally "We're already home," it's been a long ride for Už jsme doma.
A progressive rock band founded in Teplice in 1985, Už jsme doma have been favorites on the Czech rock scene for more than two decades. With a sound that veers between the complexity of jazz and the energy of rock 'n' roll, they are also one of the most original bands in the country. They are now celebrating the re-release of one of their classic albums in a remastered version with new arrangements and, after a lineup change last year, seem more energized than ever.
A band doesn't stay together for more than two decades and experience the fall of a political regime without seeing a fair amount of changes. While Už jsme doma has undergone several lineup changes, and guitarist and singer Mirek Wanek is the only original member of the band, they have kept up their momentum by recording and performing steadily.
"Since 1990 the band has been freelance," Wanek tells The Prague Post. "We travel a lot all over the world; last fall we played in Israel, the 37th country in our history. We record and release albums all over the world too; from time to time we work with moviemakers and television, so that is for sure a big change in the band's life compared to '85."
Despite lineup changes, Wanek says the most significant changes the group has witnessed have to do with the Czech music scene. Although bands have more freedom now than ever before, he feels some of the originality that was present in the "avalanche" of new bands in the mid-'80s has disappeared.
"Back then bands had Czech names, mostly very funny and absurd. They sung in Czech to a Czech audience," he says. "Now, bands are much more professional and many of them sing in English, hoping to 'make it' abroad. Unfortunately, even the music is very often a copy of some foreign trend. The originality is disappearing, that is my feeling, but maybe I am wrong."
Anyone who has heard Už jsme doma knows their signature mix of straightforward rocking and complex arrangements, including jazz chord progressions and mind-bending syncopation, is not your typical garage rock style. Early in the band's career, Wanek says, groups like Art Bears and Pere Ubu were significant influences, and that sound is present to this day.
"A special part of our sound is paradoxically my non-education in music," he says. "I am self-educated, so many times I am writing scores for drums or trumpet, which are almost impossible to play. The drummer or trumpeter would never find a score like that, probably not even some educated composer, but I am just composing by my ears and my own imagination and feelings, with no respect for musical legitimacy."
The group's upcoming show at Lucerna promises to be a high-energy reminiscence, as the band is celebrating the re-release of their album Pohádek ze Zapotřebí znovuudělání fortelné, originally released in 1995. As Wanek explains, "when we recorded the album, the studio conditions were not good and we had no chance to fix it because of a lack of funds."
"But I love these songs and many of our fans do too. Several years ago I mentioned the project in an interview and one donator appeared and offered money for the studio, so we got a second chance very unexpectedly," he says.
The new album was recorded in Brno and features much more professional mixing and mastering than the original version. But Wanek emphasizes this is not "a carbon copy" of the original album and features new arrangements, new musicians and a new cover.
The new recording is indicative of the general enthusiasm and drive within the band. With two decades of history and having earned the respect of critics and music lovers throughout Europe, the group still isn't resting on its laurels. Wanek says he'd love to score a film and to work with the well-known Czech choreographer Jiří Kilian. And that's just the beginning.
"We never played in Africa and South America, which has been my major dream for many years," he says. "And I would like to realize 12 short animated movies based on the album we just re-recorded. That project is already 14 years old and it is still growing."
What keeps a band going for so long? For Wanek, it's simple.
"The cave of fantasy, where Už jsme doma are located, is so wide and so deep, the research of that space is a full-life job," he says.
Stephan Delbos can be reached at
http://www.praguepost.com/night-and-day/stage/12309-music-preview-uz-jsme-doma.html
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