Bert & Friends: Ten years of creating their own musical universe
Czech psychedelic pop band Bert & Friends is celebrating a decade on the music scene. Led by frontman Albert Romanutti, the group has built a distinctive world with surreal lyrics, colourful visuals and a mix of genres.
Since debuting with the single Haluzinace in 2016, the group has built a reputation for its psychedelic pop sound. Led by frontman Albert Romanutti, the band has created a unique mythology around itself. Romanutti often says that every song needs its own universe, and many of the band's tracks feature fictional alter egos. Bert & Friends even describe themselves as "the most famous band of 2050, travelling back in time to perform their greatest hits from 2049."
Over the past decade, the band has received numerous accolades, including an Anděl Award for Best Music Video, the Apollo Award for Innovation in Music and the Žebřík Award for Breakthrough Artist. Their debut full-length album, České moře, released in 2024, was praised by critics for creating an entirely new musical world, with one reviewer calling it "nothing short of genre-defining."
Virtuoso band beneath extravagant surface
Looking back on the band's first decade, Albert Romanutti says the journey has exceeded anything he imagined.
"We've gone into space – somewhere I never even dreamed we could reach. More and more people keep coming to our concerts. What we do has a wonderful energy, and it keeps inspiring me to think about what's next and just how many songs we've created.”
Bert & Friends is a project that, beneath its extravagant surface, hides a virtuoso band that combines many ingredients – including electronic music, jazz, soft rock and the kitschy aesthetics of the 1980s – to create a unique genre-defying world full of lightness and imagination.
Over their ten years of existence, they have gained many fans not only in the Czech Republic but also abroad, and just a few days ago they performed at the Colours of Ostrava festival. This year, however, they still have many more concerts ahead of them, not only in the Czech Republic but even in Taiwan.
