Para at Pohoda 2019
Pohoda 2019 will also host the latest winners of Rádio_FM listeners’ award for the Album of the Year at Radio_Head Awards 2018 – Para. For over two decades, the band has been successfully confirming their reputation of the top concert band. Their gig at Pohoda will take place on the opening day of the festival – Thursday.
29. March 2019
Para has recorded seven albums since 1995, but the basis for their success is how they can sell them live. A few years ago, guitarist Jožko Rezník and acordeonist Tibor Kökéni from Kokavakere Lavutara came and fit perfectly into the band. The dominant essence of their performances is a lot of energy and entertainment, however, they don’t avoid even more serious themes in the lyrics. Bassist Matúš Vallo said in an interview for Rádio_FM that the main themes of their songs are love, friendship and politics. When they presented a video to the latest song "Žiadne slová, iba činy" in April 2017, Lasky said for NOIZZ the following: "It's a stirring song. However, we did not respond to anything specific, but we would like people to wake up a little. "
They continued in the established trend on the latest album Našou Krajinou. The front cover with a modified painting by Ján Grotkovský suggests a greater interest in society. As Vladimíra Gahérová writes: “In addition to streams of entertainment and romantic motifs, there are also tremendous waves of social criticism coming at fans.” According to Hudba.sk, the band has never sounded so professional and matured. An exceptionally strong moment on the album is the speech of Mrs. Lýdia Piovarcsyová who in January 1945 as an 11-year-old ended up in a wagon heading to a concentration camp, but with the help of a doctor she managed to escape to Prague. Unfortunately, the other members of her family weren’t so lucky. Para has numerous fans, thus their civic engagement can turn into walking on thin ice. The result of voting in the municipal elections as well in the Radio_Head Awards showed that fans of Para are in favour of their musical and social direction.
"Para can afford to record the second worst song in the history of Slovak pop music – Žena. They can sing about herds of deer and do other interesting things, but they still remain extremely attractive. The mixture of different personalities from the bon viveur Lasky through well-organized Matúš, dreamy Danko, the Englishman Jožko, the gentleman Tibi to the group "lagerfeld" Sado combines greatly and creates a unique mixture of songs they play with such verve that they can convince the dreampop youth as well the older rockers. Para has a secret that just works ” – said an unnamed member of our agency about this musical definition of one of the many faces of Bratislava.
Due last year's campaign as well Walter Schnitzelsson's new album, Para has been performing less recently. However, these days they are on tour again, and in summer the Pohoda 2019 attenders will get a chance to see them as well.