Filip Topol first gained recognition for heading the Czech rock outfit Psí Vojáci from its formation in 1979, while simultaneously pursuing independent work. Recordings often blur distinctions between band and solo projects because the same musicians typically participate, yet the words themselves lean toward more intimate themes. He also appears alone from time to time, accompanying himself at the keyboard. His gravelly timbre, sudden snarls and cries, and fierce stage presence create a distinctive magnetism.
As a gifted youngster he received early piano instruction and encountered Soviet dissident thought and art well before adolescence. His initial public appearance came at twelve, when he took part in the debut staging of the Plastic People of the Universe’s Passion Play before novelist, dissident, and eventual president Václav Havel. Not long afterward he assembled Psí Vojáci alongside classmates Jan Hazuka and David Skála; the band’s first outing occurred at Prague Jazz Days in November 1979. Its confrontational posture and caustic texts—penned by brother Jáchym Topol—placed the group on the Communist authorities’ blacklist. Between 1980 and 1986 the musicians remained underground; Topol studied organ and finished secondary school. Roughly in 1986 a formal sponsor emerged, allowing Psí Vojáci to resume concerts under the abbreviation PVO even though their leader had endorsed Charter 77, the document that later stood at the center of the 1989 Velvet Revolution. Throughout this period he could not support himself through music alone and moved between temporary positions, one of them as a programmer, a circumstance that aggravated an already developing dependence on alcohol.
Once political conditions eased, Psí Vojáci issued official albums and Topol was recognized as a prominent voice in alternative rock. Alongside these band activities he began solo recitals and composed scores for theater productions and silent films. He also portrayed the central character in Z. Tyc’s motion picture Ziletky (“razor blades”), itself titled after a Psí Vojáci number. His debut solo release, Sakramilácku, appeared on Indies in 1995, the same imprint then handling the group’s catalog. That year he joined a live studio session directed by Plastic People of the Universe saxophonist Vratislav Brabenec, released as Konec Léta. Persistent heavy drinking precipitated medical complications; after missing most of 1997 he underwent pancreatic surgery in 1998. He returned to recording and touring with the band the following year and adopted a healthier routine. That personal shift is reflected on his second solo album, Strepy (“broken pieces”). In 2002 Petr Kofron arranged an entire program of Topol’s material for the contemporary ensemble Agon Orchestra.
