From Moravia, a rich musical mosaic

Prague may be the Czech capital, but for independent, alternative and folk music scenes the country's second-largest city, Brno, has been the center of gravity since the 1990s. In 1991, the original Indies Records crew loudly launched their label with the CD Steak! by the notorious hardcore band Meat-House Chicago IRA. In subsequent years, Indies has released more than 400 CDs by a roster of artists that reads like a virtual who's who of Czech independent music, including folk avant-gardists Iva Bittová, Oldřich Janota and Dagmar Andrtová, and post-punk progressive rockers such as Dunaj, Maraca, Už jsme doma and Dybbuk. In their colorful balance of traditional and cutting-edge sounds, the Indies crew has also supported interpreters of the nation's folk traditions such as Jiří Pavlica and his group Hradišťan.

The prolific volume and diversity of the music helps explain why the company split into three separate entities in 2007. Today, Indies MG concentrates on established artists; Indies Happy Trails tilts more toward the past; and Indies Scope actively attempts to balance the nation's vast array of styles and genres.

This Saturday, in the 15th-century Kuřim Castle near Brno, Indies Scope continues to embrace both the old and the new with more than nine hours of live music. Opening the afternoon will be three recently formed bands: Ležerně a vleže, Bardolino and BraAgas bring influences ranging from Wallachia to Morocco as finalists competing for the Česká Spořitelna Colours Talents 2009 award. Most of these groups reflect Indies Scope's current trend toward folk, with the most diverse spectrum being represented by the BraAgas' heady dose of acoustic Gothic, Sephardic and medieval rock.

Tomáš Kočko and Orchestra start the evening program at 6 p.m. with music that has been called a reflection of Central Europe as the continent's "Middle East." Providing a slightly less Balkan vision, contemporary composer and maestro of Moravian traditions Jirí Pavlica and Hradišťan will finish what promises to be several sets of lively progressive folkloric reflections. Topping that portion of the bill will be the country and western-tinged folk-rock singer-songwriting duo known as Zambozi.

As night falls, the festival will plug in the amps and unleash the growling harmonica blues of the ZVA 12-28 Band, who should thrill blues fans with their burning renditions of songs like "Killing Floor" and "Got My Mojo Working." After the last echoes of harmonica notes fade into the nearby hills, Brno's dynamic surrealist rockers Květy will provide a few quieter moments before the hell-bent-for-world-beat sonic assault of Ostrava's Evolution Dejavu drives the party into the morning hours.

Given the folk music orientation of Indies Scope, it's easy to think that the results will always be mild. But, from Hradišťan's hammer dulcimer to Evolution Dejavu's raging samples, the label's bands are constantly pushing the envelope. An example of this expansiveness can be found on Evolution Dejavu's eponymous 2009 debut CD, where the band rolls out a post-rave/post-ragga jam animated by live electronics and global instrumentation. A danceable 21st-century transcontinental musical montage, it's a great antidote to '90s automaton dancefloor tendencies. And, if there is one '90s trend that Indies has consistently bucked, it's that of robotic receptiveness. This is evident even in the label's award-winning CD packaging, which rarely fails to deliver anything but world-class design.

Those with the stamina to take in the full day and night of the Indies Scope Festival will no doubt leave Kužim Castle's courtyard with a wide spectrum of musical impressions. The one-day fest also serves as a reminder that Prague is far from being able to claim a monopoly on Czech musical diversity. With this promising lineup, Indies Scope has once again succeeded in tapping the musical universe in the heart of Moravia.

Darrell Jónsson can be reached at
features@praguepost.com