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Wolf Rec.  Rale : Rale (CZ, 1994)*****
airplay show 1 : Tr.2, "Your white palms" 4 min, Tr.3, "Daremo Inakata" 4 min, Tr.4, "I who can't see" 5 min,
Tr.5, "To je muj návrat" 5 min, Tr.10, "Hourglass" 4 min, Tr.12, "My heart" 5 min 29

With Josef Ostransky and two eastern vocalists (one of both is a Japanese violinist). Very beautiful songs, with guitar, violin, vocals. A favourite if mine. Difficult for me to leave out any tracks. A must-have. One of those albums that each time inspires me to write (poems) during the music. 

Info on http://vaclavek.host.sk/ Audio http://www.vaclaveks.cz/.. Info Ostransky : http://www.boo.cz/..  next CD->
Indies Rec. Vladimír Václavek : Písne Nepísne (CZ,2003)***°
airplay show 1 : Tr.3, "Dragon's Flight" 8 min, Tr.4, "Madman" 4 min 12 102
later at end of show : (Tr.7, "Song" 6 min 18 ), (Tr.8, "Shinanai" 11 min)

The composition techniques are different compared to the first V.V. & the Rale releases which build up ideas with more experimenting and other ideas.  This is a bit more with the guitar improvising in one line, accompanying songs. This guitar technique might have developed here. This is very good as well, but for various songs the words carry the composition as well.  "Shinanai" is a nice (rather proggy) improvisation with other musicians participating.

Info : http://www.indiesrec.cz/Album.asp?ID=240&lang=EN
& with audio : http://www.indies.eu/us/alba/72/pisne-nepisne/?idn=1 Description here
Indies Rec.Vladimír Václavek : I'm the soil, I'm the tree, I'm the machine (CZ, rec.1991-1993)****°
airplay show 1 : Tr.1, "And days like falling angels" 5 min, Tr.2, "I've come" (Chinese traditional) 4 min,
Tr.3, "To Bara" 3 min, Tr.6, "And the heaven is on your lips" 5 min, Tr.10, "Follow my steps" 3 min 20

Very inspired (dual) guitar accompanied songs and instrumentals, with powerful whispery bass voice, inspired arrangements. First track is with Marie Huvarová. Very talented musician and composer. Unique in its kind. Vaclavek's music also always inspires me to write inspirational words. Highly recommended.

Info : http://www.indiesrec.cz/Album.asp?ID=125
& with audio : http://www.indies.eu/us/alba/64/jsem-hlina-jsem-strom-jsem-stroj/?idn=1

VLADIMIR VACLAVEK & RALE
Info : http://www.vaclaveks.cz/vladimir/ &
http://www.indiesrec.cz/Artist.asp?ID=85&lang=EN


Czech chamber-folk/rock, guitar / song music
Vladimír Václavek / Rale / V.R.M.
(played in my radio show)

solo : CD (1993), CD (2003), CD  (2005) ; with Ostransky & Jelinková : CD (1996) ;
as V.R.M. or Vladimir Václavek / René Parez / Milos Dvoracek : CD (2002) ;
with Rale : CD (1994), CD (2000) ; -(see also Deep Sweden and Slede Zive Slede)-
Indies Rec.Václavek, Ostransky & Jelinková : Domácí Lékar (CZ,1996)**° ?
  airplay show 1: Tr.9, "Nemam Jen Oci Krasné" 2 min

Based upon texts from Marie Huvarová and these three musians/composers. A bit more experimental sometimes in melodic field, not making it always easy listen for someone who does not understand the words either. Also some Yiddish songs are included. Maybe the performances are OK but I cannot find
myself easily in the content, mood, melodic foundation, ..

Info : http://www.indiesrec.cz/Album.asp?ID=57
& with audio : http://www.indies.eu/us/alba/123/domaci-lekar/?idn=3


Indies Rec.    V.A. : Czech Alternative Music, vol VII (CZ,2000)**
  airplay show 1: Tr.3, Rale : Soumrak/Twilight : "V Plameni" 7 min 90

While this CD of Rale was sold out I was lucky to have at least this track from this compilation album.
Indies Rec.    Rale : Soumrak / Twilight (CZ,2000)****°

Both guitarists, Vladimír Václavek and Josef Ostranský before were known with their musical group Dunaj. When they met the Japanese violinist Takumi Fukushima and the French-Vietnamese dancer Cynthia Phung-Ngoc, the group Rale came into existence. They made 3 albums.

This third album gives the impression of musically hanging well together within all variation. I don’t know how much of it was deliberately thematic.

First track starts, "Twilight", with a kind of song interpretation in French by Laurent Letourneur, who sadly died (at age 29) a few weeks before finishing the complete recording. This song comes with an original guitar arrangement and improvisation, which is in between a variety of styles. Then it bursts out with crow-like vocals by Vladimir V., (-crows are also considered to be the birds announcing death-), and with the steady Rale-participator Takumi on the background, singing in English, with even more fantastic inter-layered acoustic guitars and cello’s. For me experiencing these arrangements alone, during the song, is very moving, perhaps because they are so fantastically woven. The last few seconds are an outburst of energy. After that this variation continues. “Amenoyuki” is based upon Japanese lyrics by Chiharu Mamiya. With “V Plameni” the crow-sounds come in again. This is a song similar in style to what we heard on the first album, with double acoustic guitars, violin, and whispery baritone vocals, and also some female vocals again, partly in French, and partly with some pure vocalisations, something which throughout the album will have several variations as different aspects of some kind of shamanistic approach in singing. By this song I am once more inexplicably, deeply moved. Like after the first song, this is followed by a less complex and more peaceful moment. “Biale Mrozy” has lyrics by Kenneth Rexroth and Krzystof Kamil Baczynski, is a calmer song. “Moondance” has a “rocky” uplifting whirling dance rhythm, with weird powerful vocal hushes, and chamber music arrangements. It works a bit as a saltarello, with fastening madness and rhythm. “Zablesk 5” sounds like an Eskimo song improvisation, close to natural/nature sound inspirations. “Bludiste” then is another song based upon lyrics, by Jaime Torres Bodet & Juarroz, in Spanish. It’s played by guitar, percussion, violins and narrated with a sombre but very passionate energy. Some female vocals sing once more like before, in a pagan ritualistic way. The energy then takes a ride from an acid-chamber music style to some kind of flamenco-folkrock. “Zablesk 6” after that is some kind of rhythmical breathing song. “Nedojdes” is a bit different, and uses distorted electric guitar with acoustic double bass and hand percussion; it is an acid-proggy improvisation, with other female ritualistic vocals. In some sense and to some point it is dark. Not on execution, but in content. Last track, "Zablesk 7" concludes with vocals and ritualistic rhythms, which are slightly liberated now, humming but still shamanistic.

Info and audio : http://www.indies.eu/us/alba/107/twilight-soumrak/?idn=1
First album listed at part 1 Czech Indipendent Folk
Discography Vaclavek : http://www.nejnejnej.cz/vrrminfo.htm
This album entry : http://www.indiesrec.cz/Album.asp?ID=19
See also Rale on http://vaclavek.host.sk/
Live pictures on Czech article : http://www.musicserver.cz/clanek.php?id=2688
Indies Rec.      Vladimír Václavek : Ingwe (CZ,2005)****

Like before, Vaclavek has a foundation with another level of content in his music. This time the music is inspired by mythology stories of North American indigenous people, the Inuit people and the old China (Ingwe is “Blue Hawk” in the Xhosa language of the Kalahari desert). Also like on his previous album, a text by Lorca has been used on “Návrat / Return”. On this track, the music itself is partly improvised, with a rather jazzy edge on repetitive patterns with room for improvisation, and with some contribution of electric guitar, well performed with wahwah pedal by Peter Binder on “Return”, reminding me also that Vladimir not only is a completely acoustic guitarist, as part of Rale or solo, but is or was also part of rock groups like Dunaj, or has been inspired before by more jazzy influences like in his group Cikori, of which some musicians participated for his solo albums. On "Pak / Then” Chinese vocalist Feng Yün Sung improvises with some fragility. Also "Muj Sen / My Dream", and "Hádanka / Riddle" have the same qualities and elements as on "Navrat", with the electric guitar as second instrument, and another small part by Feng Yün Sung. They have the elements of a sophisticated soft rock song, have similarely a more jazzy improvisational warmth, and there’s the use of great electric guitar. Last concluding spherical track, “Písen/Song” has odd arranged experimental elements of vocals, piano, harp, and percussion as well as other instruments. It sounds like a minimalist tribute to some shamanic or some other kind of exotic times.

Definitely an album for repeated listening pleasure.

Audio : "Co mi chybí" (What I miss), "Návrat" (Return), "Pak" (Then), "Muj sen" (My Dream), "Hádanka"
Info : http://www.indiesrec.cz/Album.asp?ID=312&lang=EN
Info & audio : http://www.indies.eu/us/alba/30/ingwe/?idn=1
Info on Vladimir : http://www.vaclaveks.cz/vladimir/h_english.html
from homepage : http://www.vaclaveks.cz
Dutch review : http://www.subjectivisten.org/caleidoscoop/archief/002097.php
Czech articles : http://www.freemusic.cz/kratke_zpravy/kz5357.html
& http://www.archatheatre.cz/main.php?s1=program&id=404
& http://show.idnes.cz/show_tipy.asp?r=show_tipy&c=A051220_150218_show_tipy_kot
G.ParrotVladimir Václavek / René Parez / Milos Dvoracek : Na Druhé Strane(CZ,2002)***°
airplay: track 5, “Three Hares”  6 min, Tr.8, "On he other side" 9 min -15

Acoustic crossover fusion song-driven rock trio (acoustic and art electric guitar with drums, percussion, and vocals), with help from Marcel Bárta, sax/clarinet, Peter Tichý, double bass, and somewhere Ivan Acher, fono vox. Each track is 5-10 minutes long, and has good worked out arrangements, with guitars mostly and with a sophisticated feeling. Very good.

Audio : "I still wasn't born", "Three hares"
Description on https://www.tamizdat.org/...
French info on band : http://www.rock-jazz.cz/kapely_vrm_fr.php ; Label page : http://www.noise.cz/g.parrot/
Info on Vaclavek's homepage with more audio : http://www.vaclaveks.cz/vladimir/desky_vrm.html