Čechomor celebrates 25 years of Proměny with an anniversary tour
Proměny is not only the title of one of Čechomor's best-known songs, but also the name of the band's landmark album, released 25 years ago. To mark the anniversary, today's Sunday Music Show is dedicated to Čechomor and their most successful album.
Čechomor is a Czech folk-rock band from Svitavy and Prague, renowned for reimagining traditional Czech, Moravian, Silesian, and Slovak folk songs with modern rock arrangements. The group was formed in the spring of 1988 under the name I. Českomoravská nezávislá hudební společnost (Czechomoravian Independent Musical Society No. 1).
Their debut album, Dověcnosti, was released in 1990–1991 and featured eighteen lesser-known folk songs. From 1994 onwards, the band gradually shifted from an acoustic to a more electric sound and adopted the shorter name Českomoravská hudební společnost (Czechomoravian Music Society). Under this name, they released Mezi horami in 1996, an album widely praised by critics as one of their finest works.
In 1999, the band toured as the opening act for the popular Czech rock group Lucie. A year later, they released the self-titled album Čechomor, which also marked the adoption of the band's current name. The album featured singer and guitarist Lenka Dusilová as a guest musician for the first time, followed by a successful concert tour with singer-songwriter Jaromír Nohavica.
Proměny and Year of the Devil
In 2001, Čechomor performed a special concert at Prague's Rudolfinum, accompanied by the Collegium of the Czech Philharmonic in arrangements by British composer and musician Jaz Coleman. Coleman went on to produce the band's next studio album, Proměny, released later that year.
Unlike the band's earlier recordings, Proměny was recorded with the Czech Philharmonic, giving its traditional folk repertoire a rich symphonic sound. The album received three Anděl Awards from the Czech Academy of Popular Music, including Album of the Year and Song of the Year for the title track Proměny. It also included an English-language version of the song, performed by Lenka Dusilová and Jaz Coleman.
The collaboration between Čechomor, Jaz Coleman, and Jaromír Nohavica later led to the acclaimed mockumentary Year of the Devil (Rok ďábla), directed by Petr Zelenka. The film won seven Czech Lion Awards, including Best Music.
This year, to mark the 25th anniversary of their most successful album, Proměny, Čechomor has launched a special anniversary tour. The band will perform in six Czech cities, joined on stage by singer Lenka Dusilová and the Prague Philharmonia.
