Biography
The Czech rock outfit Psí Vojáci ranks among the principal ensembles that emerged from the underground scene under Communist rule and achieved wider recognition once that regime collapsed in 1989. Songwriter, vocalist, and pianist Filip Topol supplies the dominant creative force, a magnetic presence whose literate yet forceful art songs and onstage manner recall the approach of English singer Peter Hammill. Drummer David Skála and bassist Jan Hazuka anchored the lineup from its inception through the early 1990s, after which Hazuka departed and Ludek Horky took over on bass; guitarists and saxophonists rotated through the ranks during the same period.
The designation Psí Vojáci translates as “Dog Soldiers.” Two literary sources are commonly cited for the choice: Robert Stone’s 1974 novel of that title, or the Cheyenne warrior society depicted in Thomas Berger’s Little Big Men. Either way, the name reflects the singer’s longstanding interest in Native American history. Born in 1965, Topol made his professional debut at a 1978 concert by the Plastic People of the Universe; soon afterward he assembled Psí Vojáci with school friends Skála and Hazuka. His older brother, the future poet Jáchym Topol, supplied the initial lyrics. The band’s first public appearance came the following year at the ninth Prague Jazz Days. Although the music drew on the complex forms and romantic sensibility of late-eighteenth-century repertoire, an early punk-like edge, combined with lyrics openly critical of the State and delivered by a fourteen-year-old, quickly resulted in an official performance ban.
For several years thereafter the musicians operated in private, producing three albums—Psí a Vojáci, Baroko v Cechách, and Studio 1983-85 (all reissued in 2000)—that circulated only on illicit cassettes. In 1986 the group received permission to appear publicly under the name Psí Vojáci Osobne and began building a devoted Prague audience. By then Jáchym had moved on to Narodní Trída, prompting Filip to write his own texts. After the Velvet Revolution of 1989 the band accelerated its recording schedule, issuing the EP P.V.O. on Panton in 1989 and the full-length Nalej Cistého Vína on Globus in 1991. Topol appeared in Zdenek Tyce’s 1993 film Ziletky; the next year he collaborated again with his brother on Sestra, and in 1995 he issued his debut solo album, Sakramilácku. The group revisited its earlier material for the 1996 release Národ Psích Vojáku. Following the same year’s release of the somber Horící Holubi, Topol’s health, undermined by years of alcohol use, forced an extended hiatus and surgical intervention.
Returning as a trio of Topol, Skála, and Horky, the band re-emerged in 1999 with Mysi v Poli a Jiné Príbehy and subsequently gained notice beyond the Czech Republic through performances in Belgium, France, and the United States.
The designation Psí Vojáci translates as “Dog Soldiers.” Two literary sources are commonly cited for the choice: Robert Stone’s 1974 novel of that title, or the Cheyenne warrior society depicted in Thomas Berger’s Little Big Men. Either way, the name reflects the singer’s longstanding interest in Native American history. Born in 1965, Topol made his professional debut at a 1978 concert by the Plastic People of the Universe; soon afterward he assembled Psí Vojáci with school friends Skála and Hazuka. His older brother, the future poet Jáchym Topol, supplied the initial lyrics. The band’s first public appearance came the following year at the ninth Prague Jazz Days. Although the music drew on the complex forms and romantic sensibility of late-eighteenth-century repertoire, an early punk-like edge, combined with lyrics openly critical of the State and delivered by a fourteen-year-old, quickly resulted in an official performance ban.
For several years thereafter the musicians operated in private, producing three albums—Psí a Vojáci, Baroko v Cechách, and Studio 1983-85 (all reissued in 2000)—that circulated only on illicit cassettes. In 1986 the group received permission to appear publicly under the name Psí Vojáci Osobne and began building a devoted Prague audience. By then Jáchym had moved on to Narodní Trída, prompting Filip to write his own texts. After the Velvet Revolution of 1989 the band accelerated its recording schedule, issuing the EP P.V.O. on Panton in 1989 and the full-length Nalej Cistého Vína on Globus in 1991. Topol appeared in Zdenek Tyce’s 1993 film Ziletky; the next year he collaborated again with his brother on Sestra, and in 1995 he issued his debut solo album, Sakramilácku. The group revisited its earlier material for the 1996 release Národ Psích Vojáku. Following the same year’s release of the somber Horící Holubi, Topol’s health, undermined by years of alcohol use, forced an extended hiatus and surgical intervention.
Returning as a trio of Topol, Skála, and Horky, the band re-emerged in 1999 with Mysi v Poli a Jiné Príbehy and subsequently gained notice beyond the Czech Republic through performances in Belgium, France, and the United States.
Albums
