The Tchendos, an electronic band from Prague, but mainly from Žižkov, release a new album after sixteen years called The Tchendos Meet the Universe. Since the first album Kill Death, the band has made a huge step forward. This is reflected in the new sound, in the variety of the recordings from straightforward dance tracks to elaborate experimental tracks, and also in the thoughtful lyrics. As is customary with The Tchendos, they notice the current events that surround us, but also the fleetingness of the moment. They make no secret of their longing to experience the present, their desire to find peace in today’s fast-paced world and their need to dance while they can. In one song they also pay tribute to a brilliant writer and in another to a miracle plant that is unjustly criminalized in Bohemia. The latter features a guest appearance by a great musician originally from Kenya, Fyah Son Bantu.
Only the second album in the band’s nearly thirty years of existence may seem unusual, but for The Tchendos, making music is first and foremost a beloved “after-work hobby” and, most importantly, fun. For example, they only started performing live after sixteen years in the rehearsal room. The band members often bring their own basic ideas to rehearsals, then each adds something of their own, sometimes jamming and then building individual songs from the recordings. But this lengthy style of creation gives them a constant feeling of freshness, of beginning and acts as a prevention of burnout. The final form of the album was therefore several years in the making, at the end of which they selected ten tracks from a giant package of split tracks.
The oldest track on the album, called “Ota Pavel”, was created thanks to the fact that a member of the band Kejda bought a cottage near Berounka. The place where the writer lived his happier times inspired The Tchendos to compose a song that pays tribute to a man who, although he gave out joy and poetry in his work, was in his later years afflicted with severe schizophrenia. The creative but difficult fate of Ota Pavel eventually frames the whole album in an unplanned way.
The album is already out, so listen to it and come to the album launch!
