avant-pop / folk/etno

2005

A singer, multi-instrumentalist and authoress of music and texts - RADUZA spent very successful year. Sold out concert halls, 3x Czech music awards "Angels 2003" for the CD "pri me stuj" , (Stand By Me) (Best Female Vocal Performance/ Discovery of year/ Best album of year - Folk & Country) and a gold record for the number of sold media.

During February and March, Raduza was spending her time isolated in the studio and recorded new songs. Besides them, she recorded songs that one can hear on her live concerts. This way she created 21 tracks – everything took place in the music studio Largo in Prague. Franti¹ek Raba from the band KOA took charge of the sound direction. On the new album, „V hore“, naturally a few interesting guests took part – for example the guitarist from KOA, Omar Khaouj, above mentioned Franti¹ek Raba with his double-bass and violin, or Ivanka Pokorná with her harp. The sleeve of the CD was, similarly as with the preceding album, designed by Richard Procházka. We have no other choice than to give in to the temptation from the good music and listen to the 58 minutes´long album, which will overwhelm you with songs that again do not miss energy and individual poetics. The pieces oscillate from chanson through reggae towards inspiration by folk or classical music. The whole compilation is floating on the waves of high and low tide. Like this, it is able to lead our senses into the sad places of our soul, to swirl them suddenly with an unexpected and sofisticated music drive.

More about Raduza:
As a singer, composer of music and lyrics and an instrumentalist, Radùza began her career with a sort of blues repertoire playing on the street. She was soon discovered there in 1993 by a Czech singer named Zuzana Navarová. Three days later Radùza was introduced to a wider public in Lucerna at a concert called "The end of Czech culture - no!". In May of the same year she was again performing on the stage in Lucerna as the pre-performer of American pop-star, Suzanne Vega. Radùza then collaborated for two seasons with a band called Nerez. In 1994 Radùza was invited by members of Nerez to participate in the recording of their Christmas CD "Nerez in Bethlehem." She released MC at the firm Black point and in cooperation with the agency, Krach Jiøího Korna, she made a video-clip for Czech television.

In 1996 she performed as the guest of a well-known band, Marsyas, and in February 1996 she cooperated with Michal Pavlíèek and the band, Abraxas, on the filming of a television program entitled "Na Klobouèku". In the summer of 1999 Radùza performed as the pre-performer of Mike Oldfield. Since January 1999 she has performed in the Cabaret of Václav Koubek in Jazzclub ®elezná.

In 2001 Radùza finished her studies at the Prague conservatory, where she graduated from her studies in composition with the spiritual cantata recorded by the Czech Radio. In the same year her first CD called "Andìlové z nebe" ("Angels from Heaven") was released by the company Indies records. She is also the composer of the backround music for the performance "Století touhy"/"Century of Desire"/ at the theatre Archa, "Li¹ák"/"Fox"/, and "Baron z Hopsapichu" /"Baron of Hopsapich"/ at the Theatre in Celetná, Spolek Ka¹par.

As a guest, she participated in the recording of the CD of the Brno band named Cymbelín (CD called "Kolem osy" - "Round the Axis", 2001), cult band Jablkoò ( CD "Cestující v noci" - "Travelling at Night", 2003) and released her author´s CD "…stand by me" (Indies rec., 2003). In January 2003 Brno television transmitted Radùza´s recital "Solo for…", in February of the same year Radùza appeared beside Zuzana Navarová in the program "At full blast" and accepted an invitation to the program "A night with an Angel". Her cooperation with the band Jablkoò reached its peak with the instrumentalisation of a piece of music for the 25th anniversary of the existence of the band Symphonic Jablkoò, when she sang in the Archa theatre with a symphonic orchestra.

Her music is partly derived from chanson, but Radùza is mostly inspired by folk music and the mood of city flash songs, which in her raw presentation offer unexpected musical and text phrases. Therefore she belongs to the youngest generation of Czech alternative music and she is successfully accepted not only in her home country, but also abroad.

The year 2003 brought her awards: three golden Angels (Czech music industry awards) in categories: Singer of the Year, Discovery of the Year and the Folk&Country category. Her last CD “…stand by me” stayed near the top of IFPI CD sales chart for several weeks, therefore it is no surprise Radùza is going to be awarded a golden disc in June.

Her album „...Stand By Me“ has been at the top of the pop charts for a few weeks and so it was no surprise when she was awarded the golden record in June.

In the same year Radùza was awarded The Golden Nightingale Contest award for the artist who has increased in public popularity the most during the past 12 months.

In the beginning of 2005 Radùza went on a tour to France where she tried out her new songs in front of live audiences, which she recorded in a studio immediately after her return. Therefore her last album „In a Mountain“ has rocketed up the charts - again without any media campaign. Critics and audiences have responded very enthusiastically, but Radùza went on a few months later to add some new songs to her repertoire – songs that have not been recorded yet. She played the songs accompanied by the piano (which she used to play before the accordion) and her performances are therefore given a new dimension.

In September 2005 Radùza was invited to cooperate in a new film by Jan Høebejk „A Beauty in Difficulties“. Not only can the audience look forward to songs known from her previous CDs, but to a completely new blues track that was written specially for this film, based on a text of Robert Graves. She is accompanied by members of Koa Band – Omar Khaouaj and Franti¹ek Raba. On this track Radùza plays harmonica solo and she is going to release the soundtrack as she does not suppose she will include this song in any of her future CDs. This blues track has an exotic flavour. It will be the first time the singer trying to avoid being in centre of media attention appears in a movie.
[www.raduza.cz]

TRACKLIST:

1. Dìdek s cibulí / Greybeard with onions
2. Nebe-peklo-ráj / Heaven-hell-paradise full
3. Bylo nebylo / Once upon a time
4. Snì¾í / It´s snowing
5. Blondýnka / The blond
6. Pandora
7. De Nîmes
8. V hoøe / In the mountain (Nigardsbreen)
9. La cartolina / Una cartolina full
10. Teï kdy¾ spí¹ / Now, when you´re sleeping
11. Plachta / The sail
12. Papierosy
13. Vojáèek z cínové lodi / A tin boat soldier
14. Èutora / Flask
15. Mulhouse
16. Na sever (Forde) / Northward
17. Zahrály houslièky / The fiddle played
18. V¹e je jedním / All is one
19. Zas oèi moje / My eyes again
20. Tuti-boty-ré
21. David