Václav Havelka + Alois Göbel

Description

VÁCLAV HAVELKA One of the most prominent figures in Central European independent music opens a new chapter in his work.A Snake Crawling Up A Broken Ladder is a deeply personal album that connects contemporary folk, ambient, psychedelia, and Americana. With extraordinary international acclaim, it presents Václav Havelka in his most mature and personal authorial form to date. With the band Please The Trees, Václav Havelka has performed hundreds of concerts across Europe and North America over two decades, winning Anděl and Apollo awards, and consistently linking the Czech independent scene with the global music environment - not only as a musician but also as the curator of the international music program MeetFactory in Prague. This openness to collaboration across musical scenes is naturally reflected in his solo album. A Snake Crawling Up A Broken Ladder, released by Animal Music and distributed in the USA through Primordial Void, has received significant international attention. Media such as The Quietus, The Guardian, Aquarium Drunkard and Raven Sings The Blues praised its exceptionally personal atmosphere, depth, and ability to connect the tradition of American folk with contemporary European sound thinking. The album was created during several years of recovery from serious health complications. From a period of physical limitation emerged music that offers focus, silence, and extraordinary emotional strength instead of grand gestures. Critics highlight its natural connection of contemporary folk, Americana, psychedelia, ambient, and experimental music. The recording features musicians from projects such as Swans, Lambchop, Tindersticks, Six Organs of Admittance, Wooden Wand, Jerusalem In My Heart, Slim Cessna's Auto Club or Silver Jews. Among them are Thor Harris, William Tyler, Ben Chasny, James Toth, David Boulter, Tony Crow, Matt Swanson, Radwan Ghazi Moumneh, Rebecca Vera, Munly Jay Munly, Marisa Anderson, Dana Janssen, Vojtěch Havel, Tomáš Niesner, Ondřej Krátký, Alois Zatloukal, and Dallas Acid. After the exceptionally well-received album launch at Atrium Žižkov, the project enters a new concert phase. Alongside more intimate performances, a new concert band has been formed from prominent figures in the Czech alternative scene, which pushes the songs into more open arrangements and even more intense concert forms. As noted in the review of the premiere concert, the new lineup gives the songs another dimension and opens them to previously unknown energy. Václav Havelka's concert is not just a presentation of a new album. It is a thoughtfully constructed musical story, where intimacy alternates with eruptive energy, silence with powerful soundscapes, and precisely crafted songs open up to spontaneous improvisation. Havelka's characteristic voice, hypnotic guitars, and the new band create a concert experience that naturally appeals to audiences of contemporary folk, alternative rock, Americana, and experimental music. A Snake Crawling Up A Broken Ladder presents Václav Havelka at the peak of his creative journey - as an author who can transform deeply personal experience into a universal musical statement with extraordinary international reach. ALOIS GÖBEL Fragile songs from the graveyard about the search for hope. Under the singer-songwriter alter ego Alois Göbel hides the originally Uherské Hradiště violinist Alois Zatloukal. The founder of the band Rusty Cowboys has played on numerous albums of domestic jazz and world music - randomly with Jablkoň, Slávek Janoušek, or Václav Havelka. His solo debut Musí se žít was released in the autumn of 2024, inspired by his sister's serious illness. Reflective lyrics carry a dark poetic spirit but are also full of a desire to find hope. Alois Göbel has a uniquely rich sound, where violins, jazz piano, and guitar distortions meet.