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Big music from a small town

Rising Slovak star Karol Mikloš puts a Central European spin on British rock
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By Darrell Jónsson
For The Prague Post
June 4th, 2008 issue

COURTESY PHOTO
Mikloš is bringing a live band to Prague, along with You Coco, a girl group getting good reviews in Slovakia.
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Karol Mikloš


When: Saturday, June 7, at 8:30
Where: Chateau Rouge
Tickets: 150-200 Kč, available at the door
Even with a clear concept of the poetics of electronic production, Slovakia’s Karol Mikloš delivers melody worthy of his ancestors. “I like to think that my songs have something unique to them, thanks to my Slavic roots being subconsciously injected into the melodies and temperament of the music,” says the singer-songwriter from his home in Trenčín. Sometimes compared to the Smiths or Morrisey, Mikloš’s music reflects the detail of David Sylvian and the dynamics of Bryan Ferry, yet with mellower roots in the Slovak earth.
Rather than working from an international music capital where overproduction can dilute such efforts, Mikloš demonstrates the beneficial limits of a small Central European city on his 2008 release, The Past of the Future (on Prague’s Starcastic Records). Speaking of the local collaborators who help sharpen his distinct and elegant sound, Mikloš says, “All these people belong to a community of musicians that I was lucky to become a part of after moving from Bratislava to Trenčín five years ago. It is a small web of progressive electronic and guitar bands.”
With Mikloš and his crew closely tuned to the electronics and progressive guitar sound of England’s northern cities, the major shock for most first-time listeners is in finding out he is not British. As to where his Slovak pop magic meets Central Europe’s emerging second language, Mikloš says, “I believe that my enthusiasm to learn what my favorite English bands sing about still remains my biggest source of vocabulary, phrases and in particular understanding of the workings of English.” On further prodding, Mikloš confesses, “Plus, I studied at an English-speaking university, and in the past I lived with an English girl for a few years.”
Academic background and personal life aside, Mikloš’s knack for pulling the better threads from the pop music’s weave has been a lifelong obsession. “I always found melody to be one of the most, if not the most, exciting aspects of music,” he says. “This must have come from the joy of hearing music as a child — mostly The Beatles — and later from listening to music as a teenager. I was in love with British indie music, especially the Manchester scene.”
Furthering Mikloš’s compelling sound is the power found in the everyday dramas in his lyrics. “To me, writing music is a way of processing emotional whirls and internal storms,” he says. “The feeling of satisfaction and reconciliation that comes just after you’ve written a good song is just priceless — an excellent therapeutic method. I must say, though, that as my life becomes gradually more settled, I find other subjects increasingly interesting. On the new album, I deal with topics other than relationships, such as “Leaving For England,” which deals with the issue of work-related emigration from the former Eastern bloc. And I’d like more of my future work to comment on life from the external rather than the internal perspective.”
The pleasurable and relevant results of Mikloš’s Vis- a -vis (Millenium Records) led to a nomination as best rock singer in 2002 for the Slovak version of a Grammy, the IFPI Aurel award. But fans of artful rock who attend his upcoming show can expect more. With so many acts these days simply “playing the album” to pre-programmed electronic arrangements, Mikloš assures, “I’m definitely bringing a band to Prague, and it’s very much alive. Except for one song, everything is performed live, with a slightly rougher edge than on the new CD.”
With a lineup that includes Sub N Bus/Nylon Union veteran drummer Matúš Homola, and bassist Uko from the London/Slovak band Radio Rebels, Mikloš has been road-testing his winning formula in Slovakia over the past month. And there’s a bonus for Prague fans: Along on his current tour are You Coco, which he describes as “an excellent new Slovak girl band that’s attracted much attention in Slovakia recently.”

Darrell Jónsson can be reached at features@praguepost.com


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