Smoke on the water

As the timeless '60s R&B anthem says, "Summer's here, and the time is right for dancing in the streets." And there's no better time than this weekend, when the United Islands festival offers a continuous array of original music at multiple outdoor venues along Prague's historic riverfront. And it's all absolutely free.

Founded in 2004, United Islands has slowly grown from a struggling commercial event with international headliners to three days of independent European and regional performers. The regional focus is even stronger this year, but there's no lack of diversity or talent. Satisfying nearly every popular music taste, the dozens of acts include rockabilly, folk-rock, Afro-pop, ska, funk, blues-rock, post-rock, world beat, reggae, trance and what looks like an army of DJs.

On Friday afternoon, a distinctly Czech act known as Braagas will open the festival on the main stage. The organizers couldn't have picked a better group to kick off the weekend, as Braagas' brand of folk dips into a wellspring of musical ideas gathered from North African, Balkan and Czech-Moravian sources, delivered with a lively stage presentation. The quartet's 2009 commercial debut Tapas (on the Czech Indies label) finds them filling a gap on the regional musical landscape with a Central European style of folk-rock likely to find wide appeal. Braagas' synthesis will chime well with listeners who enjoy the more rhythmic interpretations of '60s British folk rock by artists like Steeleye Span and Fotheringay, combined with the Gothic sensibility of Scandinavian folk revival acts like Hedningarna.

Reaching far beyond folklore, one of United Islands' strengths this year is a generous sampling of acts that build on the Czech Republic's combined technological and creative prowess. This will show up early on Friday, as Sporto follows Bragaas on the main stage with a set of techno-influenced post-punk, laced with cool hip-hop and pop sensibilities. Appearing simultaneously on the riverbank at the festival's Yornet stage will be the Dope Aviators weaving their trance atmospheres, described in a Prague Post album review as "a psychedelic post-rock walk through Vinohrady's midnight weekend velvet fog."

The word "robot" may have been coined by Czech writer Karel Čapek in his 1921 play R.U.R., but the German band Kraftwerk is generally considered the world's leading purveyor of robot rock. With their 2007 debut CD Čekání na robota (Waiting for the Robot, on the Xproduction label), Midi Lidi challenged that title with 220 volts of lo-fi - evidence that the Czechs are capable of taking the robot musical title back. Midi Lidi is much more than a Kraftwork clone, though, with digital and analog influences drawn from UK synth-rock innovators like Gary Numan and Depeche Mode. Whether their Saturday night set on Kampa will include their equally futuristic visuals was undetermined at press time.

Along with a feast for those who enjoy their music electrified, the festival offers some interesting acts of the unplugged variety. Starting at noon Saturday, for instance, a two-hour riverside session simply titled "Open Mountain Traditional Jam" would be a good place to bring your fiddle or banjo and a jar of moonshine for a whoopin' good time. And world beat fans should take note of Congolese expat Elvis Kititi, who will be presenting a set of smooth African music Saturday night.

There's much more, including a free club night Thursday (see story, page B6). Full information on all the bands is posted on the festival Web site, and the complete schedule is in this week's Calendar listings. Or just venture down to the river this Friday and Saturday for the biggest music and dance party of the summer.

Darrell Jónsson can be reached at
features@praguepost.com