Data Koroptev

Czech-Slovak experimental music trio. They made their first public appearance in November 2019. Brought together through a commission from Bratislava’s NEXT Festival, three skilled players coming from diverse backgrounds join forces in a collaborative adventure, on a playground that could be described as an “open paradigm”. In an ever-changing flow of musical interactions, virtually any sound including the most obscure seems to be equally likely. Improvisational guitarist Ondrej Zajac creatively spices up his instrument’s possibilities with effects and electronics, while producer and film composer, Ondřej Ježek together with drummer, Václav Šafka bring life to various objects and small tabletop devices. You could call the resulting collection of tracks a truly free and unbounded experimental expression of the 21st century, bearing the form of a fluid electro-acoustic improvisation. Evocative sonic narratives are carefully knit together from surprising motifs, creating an ongoing dialogue of distinct sonic personas. Often unfinished and imperfect, more transformative than ironic, these fragments coexist next to each other informed by the rich histories of their different musical styles: from circuit-bent noise and industrial, to electronica, post rock and even blues. Sometimes an insistent machine logic arises, manifested in repetitive rhythmic loops which eventually dissolve long before they become established. Through restless exploration of unheard sonic territories, the band’s effort looks toward the future revealing a visionary potential, but at the same time keeping the listener always “in the game”, focusing on the present moment. (Text by Slávo Krekovič)