Hrubá Hudba (Poland/Ukraine)
Hrubá Hudba, or “raw music,” are a band led by two artists: Jiřího Hradil, a restless spirit and tireless seeker of new sounds, most at home in the nu-jazz aesthetic, and Petr Mička—a folklore expert, musician, and promoter of traditions from the Horňácko micro-region in northeastern Moravia.
Their collaboration yields a dialogical meeting of two worlds, a contemporary tale of roots, which weaves together the raw music of the highlands, electronics, jazz, hip hop, and ambient. It is a natural, unforced encounter, in which popular and experimental music blend with classical folk forms.
What distinguishes the band’s work is both the courage of combining seemingly distant aesthetics and their profound awareness. This is not merely a nostalgic reconstruction of bygone tunes, but a living organism which breathes the spirit of the present. Their reinterpretations of the Horňácko musical traditions are respectful and fresh, as if the musicians were constantly asking themselves what the music of the past tells us about the world today.
