1.HomeTable
DVA : Kapitán Demo (CZ,2006-2007)****
This acoustic/electric avant-pop duo has been in existence since 2005. In 2006 they home-recorded 3 cd’s, “Nunovó Tango/Elektro a Kusto” and “Lappop/soundtrack Ice Techno/Lapland Tales”, and “Rings for mobile telephones”, as well as a soundtrack for the German expressionist film “Das Kabinett Des Dr. Caligari”. The Czech theatre company DNO performs „Ledové techno/Lapohádky“ (Ice Techno/ Lapland Tales) with the duo as contributing musicians. The 80 minute cdr I’ve received, called “Kapitán demo/Captain demo” is a compilation of the best of their works, but has more or less the first two albums complete. Used and mentioned instruments are vocals, guitar, beatbox, accordion, loopstation, saxophone, clarinet, violoncello and “others”.
The first demo part, which is the “Tango” release, is their most acoustic project, and pretty much is like a humoristic circus kind of dance, with up tempo guitars, lots of vocal fun, including funny words (-words like penguin and pipidou and fafafe for instance on “Pingu Hop”-) and perhaps lyrics, no matter which language (Czech, German, French), imitating sounds, lip-and-tongue rap, and whispers, and happy sax, really good. Two persons with a multi-track here obviously enjoyed themselves a lot, making controlled harmony of nonsense, art.
On the “Lappop” release this word reminds me of the laptop, of course, but I guess will also refer for some fun reason to Lapland. This is music composed for a theatre show. The titletrack “Lappop” sounds like unplugged electro-pop, while the other tracks also use rhythmical electronic sounds, amongst the previously used word, guitar and sax creativity, in song, now with adding also a few sounds from rhythms, loopstation (looped and reverbed sounds), and just once, an electro treated voice. The result of this section could be a great alternative to the existing electropop/teenybob genre.
This is followed by some tracks from the silent movie “Kabinet of Dr.Caligari”. The music is a combination of acoustic rhythms, and a chamber music feeling mixed with folktronica. The German song “Friend Alan” is in fact a very beautiful, romantic song, using the fun elements completely seriously. In the movie it is a rather directly confronting clip-like moment, at the same time it makes the song memorable. Hearing the soundtrack on its own it is clear how much the group manages to make very interesting music. Another memorable moment amongst the quieter flow is “Opera Eidam”, an instrumental built from a rather mysterious and freightening sequenced sound. All tracks have fresh harmonies and rhythms, and are entertaining with a well produced sound with attention to sounds, and to rhythmical pleasure. There is a returning song orientation, amongst the instrumental tracks.
From “Ringtones for mobile phones” I only have 5 short tracks, which are all associated with specific phone calls, built with electronica, voice, and mixed sounds mostly. This sound like another clever idea-related musical concept, showing a surreal and imaginable and ready to visualize musical world which expresses these calls from a different level of direct translations into sounds and ideas. “An uncle from Tyrol ringing” is of course a rhythmic yodel singing, an “old-time radio ringing” sounds as if the radio sounds makes rhythms of a telephone ring, trying to reach the other.
The demo proves this band is ready for recognition, and I hope they will have a proper CD and distribution soon.
2.HomeTable DVA : The Cabinet of Dr Caligari -the DVD- (CZ,2006)***°
film-music combination :**°°; music on its own **** ; movie on its own : ***°
I like very much German expressionism in cinema, but I never saw Robert Wiene's “The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari” (1919) before. Now when I did with DVA’s soundtrack, it does not seem to be one of the greatest movies from those days (but still much better than the overestimated "Frankenstein" for instance), but it is a pioneering movie in its kind, and is still pretty enjoyable, and with an interesting idea of a story. The group here pretty much resumes their capabilities, and for a big part the music fits with the movie, for another part the movie seems to be more the inspiration, like a clip for some music and also a song, which makes, just now and then, the story a bit more fragmented because then it almost deals with two worlds, one with the story, and one with the image of inspiration. The movie has a few moments where it is just slightly confusing or fragmented, so also a few of the mixed ideas makes it more difficult to follow, making the experience two layered, but still it comes all together in the end. To some degree a piano improvisation like I am used to hear still is the easiest way to combine with a move, but with a certain challenge this contributes as well, with the extra factor of recognising the groups own fun of making it. A sad part which was interpreted with use of kazoo was a confusion to the senses, which I wouldn’t have preferred like this (ie. making fun of a sad moment is inappropriate, I think). Very expressive and absolutely fitting is the point where the somnambulist tries to kidnap the girl instead of murdering her, like he was supposed to do, with raving sax. And also the circus-like theme is something which fits with the groups foundations easily as well. Carrying and keeping the whole range of expressions of a movie serious is not always successful 100 %, but as a soundtrack on its own it is surely worth hearing.
Remark of group afterwards : "The review to Caligari is interesting for us because we have got one theme at home last 2 months. The theme is "czech irony". Its something like this: some situation is sad, horrific... and we play ironic or funny music or in some czech movies every sad situations must be funny (sorry, its very difficult to describe it) in czech language you must use too many curves to said something weightly and at the end you must make a little little joke. We dont know, why it is (I have one privacy and little superficial theory: the cause is language - for example for polish people is czech language very funny).
So its very interesting for us, we said to ourself one month ago: in some places in Caligari we use czech irony and we dont know: is it good way? one of those places is a part with kazoo."
