Next Friday at 4:30 p.m. we will be screening a documentary called Ostrov Hudby Film (Island of Music) in world premiere in Forum Groningen as a part of ESNS 2019. Ostrov hudby Film (“Island of music” in English) is an independent documentary about the alternative music scene in Slovakia. It features interviews with Slovak musicians and labels, captures the atmosphere of local summer festivals and zooms in on the flourishing club scene. What are the inner workings of the music industry outside of the mainstream? What is the measure of success for Slovak musicians? Can we even speak of “a Slovak sound”? More info: http://ostrovhudby.sk/en/film → read more

In less than a week, Dutch Groningen will be transformed into a city with the highest concentration of music professionals in the world. Thanks to Czech and Slovak focus at ESNS 2019, 21 artists from our countries will have a chance to present themselves in front of them. However, other Slovak bands will also have their opportunity at a parallel, more alternative Pinguin Radio Showcase Festival. The Wilderness, Raptor Koch and Vojdi are going to playing in one of the biggest bars in the centre of the city, De Drie Gezusters, during the Thursday night within a programme curated by Pohoda. → read more

Last year, Miroslav Tóth presented himself with “The Quartet of Tentacles Reaching Out” composition (dedicated to the memory of J. Kuciak and M. Kušnírová), which was delivered in the world premiere by the Kronos Quartet. He also performed with Thisnis project, which is representing Slovakia at ESNS 2019 next week. Miroslav is also going to perform at Pohoda 2019, this time with Slávo Krekovič and other musicians with their project Shibuya Motors nominated for the RHA (Radio Head Awards) in the experimental music category. The best one-sentence description of this band provided the-aardvark.cz: “The came, destroyed us and left us grinning.”    → read more

Millennials’ favourite guy, Vernor Winfield McBriare Smith IV – known as Mac DeMarco – will make Pohoda 2019 sway to his summer BBQ soundtrack and casual surf-rock. This 28-year-old Canadian singer and multi-instrumentalist managed to release three albums and two LPs during half a decade, with Pitchfork labelling the first two albums "Best New Music" in their praising reviews. However, don’t let yourself be fooled with the lazy-dreamy records when it comes to your concert expectations. Mark Beaumont of The Guardian wrote the following about his concert at London's Brixton Academy: "After lulling the crowd with seamless sunny tunes, the Canadian pop eccentric breaks into a final act of stupendous abandon, magic tricks and yodelling." → read more

Eurosonic Noorderslag 2019 with focus on music from the Czech Republic and Slovakia starts in 11 days. Our production crew comprising Michal, Suzanne and Rasťo were in Groningen yesterday to check out the venues where bands from Slovakia and Czechia will be playing as well as localities where our installations will be placed. The rest of the team with some additional helpers were wrapping pohoda gifts for the 4,000 delegates who will be attending ESNS 2019 to discover our music. Keep your fingers crossed for us ;) → read more

Pohoda 2019 will feature one of the most famous voices in history – Liam Gallager is coming to Trenčín. Thousands of readers of Q magazine and listeners of Radio X called him the biggest frontman of all times. After a several years long break, the founder and singer of the legendary Oasis and Beady Eye came back with a fantastic solo album As You Were last year. It immediately became the number one of the British chart, selling more copies in the first week than all the other albums in the TOP twenty of the aforementioned chart altogether. Shortly after his comeback, Liam received Best Live Act and Icon Award at Q Awards, Godlike Genius for his music industry services at NME Awards, and nominations for the Brit Awards and NME Awards for the Best Singer and Live Artist. As the headliner of the TRNSMT, Benicassim and Isle of Wight festival last summer, he swept the attenders up with his mixture of new and old hits, and we are very pleased that he will fantastically end Pohoda 2019 this summer. → read more

Pohoda 2019 will also see a UK post-punk-dance duo Sink Ya Teeth. In June 2018, Maria Uzor and Gemma Cullingford released their debut Hey Buffalo, which was listed in BBC’s Album of the Day and praised by the media such as Pitchfork, The Guardian, The Observer, Q Magazine or Mojo. In the column “One to watch”, The Guardian says their “take on punk-funk is as infectious as it is emotionally engaging”. In their music, Sink Ya Teeth mix post-punk bass links with electronic dance music, distinctive vocals, interesting harmonic keyboard structures and solo passages.  → read more

A discovery from Austria – indie rock duo Cari Cari – will be playing Pohoda 2019. Radio FM4 listed their track “Summer Sun” in Top 3 of the 2018 Best Tracks. Volume compares them to The xx or The Kills in their review. The Rolling Stone named them the biggest surprise of last year’s Primavera. The duo is singer and drummer Stephanie Widmer and guitarist Alexander Köck. They have lived in London, Hamburg and also Melbourne, from where the singer sneaked didgeridoo and jaw harp into their songs. Their debut was EP titled AMERIPPINDUNKLER. Songs from this EP appeared in TV series Shameless and The Magicians.  → read more

Pohoda 2019 will also feature the performance art duo Faka. It's comprised of the well-known South African queer artists Fela Gucci and Desire Mare. Except for music, their eclectic scope includes performance, literature, video or photography. They presented themselves at Berlin Biennale, FLOW, Melt! and Unsound festival, and also collaborated on the Versace fashion show. Musically, they primarily take inspiration from the gqom genre (minimalistic, highly percussive interpretation of the African house music). They pride themselves with the EP Bottoms Revenge (2016) and Amaqhawe (2017). They can deliver the record live extremely well, as confirmed by Resident Advisor, who included their performance at this year's Melt among the 5 most important concerts of the festival (along with Mount Kimbie or Modeselektor b2b Apparat). → read more

The indie-punk band LIFE will also play at Pohoda 2019. In June 2017, they self-released their debut Popular Music which BBC 1 included in the selection of the best albums of the year. According to Kerrang! magazine, the album "stokes the fires of change", and the German Musikexpress jokes in the review that "if there’s something good about Brexit, it's just a new punk wave in England." The review also includes IDLES, to whom LIFE probably feel the closest (next spring they’re going on a tour together). Anger and aggression can be felt in the engagement with which they criticize the situation in society, but at the same time, there is also a great deal of vitality in their music.  → read more