Sunday Music Show – Best of 2020

This ‘Best of 2020’ special edition our regular Sunday Music Show features a wide range of Czech artists, who experiment in and across a variety of genres – rock, pop, jazz, hip hop, swing, indie and electronic music. Each track has made the best song (or album) list of a prominent Czech music critic or publication. 

We start off the programme with Aneta Langerová, a veteran of the Czech music scene, with the title track from her album “Bílý Den” (White Day). It’s a song about finding peace of mind, inspired by Jack London's novel of the same name.

Then we have the title track from “Kupředu!” (Forward!), the latest album by the band Schodiště, who for over three decades have been experimenting with energetic rock, rooted in the ska tradition but with something of a Celtic flavour.

We shift gears into electronic mood music with a track from the band Bert & Friends, recently nominated for the prestigious Anděl Award in the Discovery of the Year category. Called Piš mi básně (Write me a poem), it’s from their mini-LP Panna a netvor (The Virgin and the Monster).

Following that we have Sarah & The Adams, whose name derives from that of singer-songwriter Šárka Adámková, a keyboardist who favours the Wurlitzer electronic piano and also plays the ukulele. The song is called “Pověz mi” (Tell Me), and once again, it’s a title track.

Complementing that selection nicely is another keyboard ballad, by songwriter David Pomahač. It’s called “Do tmy je daleko” (It’s far to the Darkness), the name of what may be the most personal album of his career. In comparison to his previous project, the urban-folk duo Kieslowski, it marks a shift towards electronic music.

Moving on to catchy pop, we have the Hills 97 project, which is the brainchild of Adam Mišík and the talented young producer Enthic. The track that we have selected features Benny Cristo, a former Czech pop idol finalist of partly Angolan heritage, who was chosen to represent the Czech Republic at the Eurovision Song Contest. It’s called “Máma říkala” (Mama said).

Slowing down the pace, is one of the youngest songwriters now making a splash on the Czech music scene – Amelie Siba, a guitarist who sings in English. She gained an online following over the past two years and released a few singles and an EP. This track we chose is called “Tristan”, from Siba’s debut album Dye My Hair, which has been nominated for Vinyl and Apollo awards, the latter given out by the Czech Music Critics’ association.

We end our special ‘Best of 2020’ edition of the Sunday Music Show with a witty ditty by songwriter and pianist Michal Horák, in a duet with rising star Tereza Balonová. She turned twenty this autumn but already has an EP to her credit. The song is called “V toleranci”, which in the context of this love song could be loosely translated as “You’ve got a chance (with me)”. The video was shot in the interior of the Petrof Gallery in Hradec Králové, which adds beautifully to the atmosphere.

·     Aneta Langerová – “Bílý Den”
·     Schodiště – “Kupředu!”
·     Bert & Friends – “Piš mi básně”
·     Sarah & The Adams – “Pověz mi”
·     David Pomahač – “Do tmy je daleko”
·     HILLS 97 - ft. Ben Cristovao – “Máma říkala”
·     Amelie Siba – “Tristan”
·     Michal Horák, ft. Tereza Balonová “V tolerance”