Release Party: Hello Incognito, Šimanský + T. Niesner

Description

HELLO INCOGNITO The Prague-based musician Hello Incognito, whose real name is Oliver W. Quinn, is coming out with his third studio album Prepare to die, cutie pie. It was released on May 1 under a new label associated with the cultural space Kafara in Brno. The new album represents a shift towards a fuller, band sound and was primarily created in a studio in Brno over three intense weekends. The album features Antonín Mika (guitar), Julian Werl (drums, melodica, recording, mixing, and mastering), and Vendula Pukyšová (bass). While previous works by Hello Incognito were more acoustic, the new album builds on more straightforward arrangements and a rockier sound. The band started from original demo versions based solely on vocals, guitar, and omnichord, which the individual members freely developed further. The result is a recording that sounds more mature without losing the project's characteristic playfulness. Prepare to die, cutie pie remains an introspective album, this time more focused on themes of everyday functioning – social insecurity, pressure, FOMO, or finding a balance between work and personal life. All of this is presented with the irony and humor that is essential to Hello Incognito. The album title refers to the gaming world – specifically to the generic line of enemies before a battle – and serves as a metaphor for the individual songs, which often address personal confrontations with one's fears. Gaming motifs appear throughout the album, either directly or in hints. JAKUB ŠIMANSKÝ Jakub is releasing a new solo album titled “Bez Niesnera” in collaboration with a cultural cooperative from Brno. The release date is planned for September 10 and will be available on CDs, cassettes, and selected streaming platforms. The album contains nine musical stories that oscillate between Jakub's childhood, adolescence, and the present, together forming a monument to the oddities of everyday life in the Czech context, where the good is often hidden. From legendary figures of the santusák, to the beloved dessert of grandmothers that almost no one knows anymore, to the immortal lines of wasted talents. All that cheerful small-town folklore that can significantly influence your life as a fundamental motif. The music clearly expresses joy and playfulness, with new combinations of banjo, guitar, lap steel guitar, and percussion, including electronics and field recording, emphasizing melody as a narrative element, as well as irony and exaggeration. Having fun is the goal. Jakub recorded and mixed the album in the spring of 2026 in Brno and Přerov, and he is also the author of the cover. He was joined by Tomáš Niesner on harmonica for the final sound. TOMÁŠ NIESNER Tomáš Niesner is a Czech guitarist and sound artist operating at the intersection of fingerstyle guitar, ambient, and experimental music. He emerged from the noise rock and DIY scene and gradually developed a distinctive solo expression that combines intricate acoustic guitar techniques with elements of Czech folklore, drone, field recordings, and subtle electronics. His solo albums Aurora and Bečvou represented a significant artistic shift towards introspective pieces based on atmosphere. Bečvou, inspired by a hundred-kilometer pilgrimage along the polluted Bečva River, combines acoustic guitar, zither, modular synthesizers, and environmental recordings into a quietly immersive narrative. The album was included in The Wire Magazine's Top 100 Albums of 2022 and received recognition from The Quietus, confirming Niesner as one of the most prominent voices in contemporary Czech experimental music. In 2025, Niesner released adventus mmxxv, a minimalist reinterpretation of medieval Eastern European Advent songs. The album, recorded on a four-track cassette recorder, works with an analog process and intuitive performance, transforming ancient liturgical melodies into spare, resonant guitar pieces. Conceived as a twenty-five-part cycle, the album invites listeners into a space of quietude, contemplation, and focused attention. The music, stripped of ornamentation and excess modern production, retains only the essential melodic core, making the pieces feel both archaic and surprisingly contemporary. In addition to his solo work, he collaborates with guitarist Jakub Šimanský. Their joint albums Tance neznámé, Všechno dobré, and Jako doma reinterpret the tradition of American Primitive through the lens of Central Europe, blending Czech folkloric sensibilities with improvisation and avant-garde textures into meditative, intricately woven compositions. Niesner is also half of a duo with chomus player Aldana Duoraan. Their debut album Plot, released by the Mappa label, explores the connections between acoustic guitar, brumle traditions, improvisation, and contemporary experimental music. On his 2026 tour, Tomáš will perform solo acoustic sets focused on immersive and intimate listening experiences. His concerts range between fragile minimalism and intense concentration, creating a focused atmosphere suitable for attentive listening in clubs, galleries, churches, and alternative spaces.