Right at the very beginning of Art Film Fest, on Sunday, 21 June, Trenčín’s main square will welcome an extraordinary group from our western neighbours, the Eben Brothers, whose leader is the well-known TV presenter Marek Eben. The Eben Brothers will perform at Art Film Fest with the rock rhythms of the Vladimír Mišík ETC. Band.
Art Film Fest’s second major concert will take place on Wednesday, 24 June, and fans can look forward to the popular Czech group Kryštof, with the charismatic Richard Krajčo at the helm. Some consider the Eben Brothers to be the most extraordinary band in the history of Czech pop music. Indeed, they don’t follow any of the rules of show business, trusting only their own urges, evidenced by the vast breaks between their albums. The three brothers, Kryštof, Marek and David, arrived on the scene at the end of the seventies. They reaped success with their clever lyrics written by Marek Eben, today a well-known actor and TV presenter. In fact, he has become the most popular television personality in the Czech Republic, and a few years ago Czech periodicals named him Person of the Year.
The sibling trio released their first album Malé písně do tmy in 1984, and it took eleven years for their next CD, Tichá domácnost, to reach completion. It was a huge comeback, for which the musicians received a Gold Disc, which it is said they have yet to collect, incidentally. In 1990 they took a break for Adventní písně a koledy, which they recorded with the legendary Marta Kubišová. And for their remaining album Já na tom dělám, listeners had to wait another seven years. In 2002 they received an Angel award in the folk and country category, and the album went platinum.
From the very beginning, the Eben Brothers have intertwined classical music, folk, rock and jazz in their music. It is therefore impossible to pigeonhole them into a single musical style. The combination of Marek’s guitar, Kryštof’s piano and flute and David’s clarinet and saxophone makes for an extraordinary sound which we could call “Ebenesque”.
“We listened to a lot of Frank Zappa, David was into jazz. It’s basically never happened that one of us has listened to music that another couldn’t stand,” said Marek, who has in the meantime accrued over one hundred television interviews on his programme “Na plovárně” (At the Swimming Pool), as well as an eminent role as the host of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. David studied music at a conservatory and Kryštof is a mathematician. Trenčín’s main square will undoubtedly break into song and dance with the group Kryštof, who dominated the list of nominees for the Czech Academy of Popular Music’s annual award, coming away with the 2008 Angel prize in the categories of Song of the Year and Group of the Year. Fifteen years have passed since Richard Krajčo and company founded the band. In that time the group has taken many steps forward and brought their fans countless first-rate, unforgettable hits. Their debut album Magnetické pole was a smash hit, pulling out all the stops, and their sweet rock catapulted the group to the highest pedestal of the Czech pop scene. The tunes “Lolita” and “Cosmoshop” made a big and unexpected splash. A year later, the album arrived, with the gigantic hit “Obchodník s deštěm”, which confidently shot to the top of the Slovak and Czech charts, and was for a long time the most-played song on the radio.
The genius of this group, led by rebellious Richard Krajčo, is also in how the musicians manage to switch between many musical genres, from pop through jazz, funk and even hip-hop, while always keeping their music tasteful. Richard Krajčo and company aren’t afraid to improvise, and they are notorious for dressing up familiar songs in new clothes.
Right after Kryštof’s concert, on Wednesday, 24 June, the festival café in Trenčianske Teplice will present the diva of the Slovak music world, Jana Kirschner, whose title song from the film Pokoj v duši has already been heard on YouTube by one million people. ———————————————————————————————————– Organizers: ART FILM, n.o., FORZA Production House Co-Organizers: the Town of Trenčianske Teplice, the Town of Trenčín, Health Spa Trenčianske Teplice The Festival is made possible through the financial support of the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic.
General Sponsors: AquaCity Poprad, zdravotná poisťovňa Dôvera
Main Sponsors: Omnia Holding, Tatra banka, Tauris, the Central European Foundation, Slovnaft Official Transport Provider: Lancia Logistics Sponsor: DHL Sponsors: Provimi Pet Food, Dr. Max, Hotel Baske, AVI Studio Official Suppliers: Hubert, Segafredo Zanetti SR, Philips, GS design, Parkhotel Baračka Slovak cinema is brought to you by Zlatý Bažant
Main Media Sponsors: Slovenská televízia, Pravda, Zoznam.sk, Boomerang, Žurnál Media Sponsors: televízia Markíza, FilmBox, Televízia Central, Rádio Okey, Rádio Hit FM, Markíza, Pardon, Cinemax, Kam do mesta, port.sk, kedykam.sk, superobed.sk, ISPA, SITA, Q-EX, Trenčianske Echo
