Čechomor

A folk ensemble rooted in the Czech Republic, Cechomor fuses age-old melodies from Moravian and Bohemian sources with contemporary rock instrumentation. Its lineup has shifted repeatedly across the decades, though founders and guiding figures František Černý and Karel Holas have remained constants since the start. The collective formed in 1988 under the full title Ceskomoravska Nezavisla Hudebni Spolecnost, later streamlined to the more concise Čechomor—a designation that directly references the Bohemian and Moravian heritage central to the band’s sonic identity. Its debut recording appeared in 1991, after which more than ten additional albums followed over the subsequent fifteen years and beyond. The eleventh of these, Koledy (Svatecni Cechomor), reached number one on the Czech album charts upon its 2007 release. Trumpeter and accordionist Radek Pobořil, a longtime participant, passed away on August 24, 2021, at the age of 75.