Biography
Thanks to its singular instrumental makeup, Slede, Zivé Slede swiftly carved out a distinctive voice within the bustling Czech experimental-rock underground. Guitar, double bass, and bassoon fuse medieval festive melodies, art-rock intricacies, and avant-garde dissonance. Connections to Czech figures such as Iva Bittová and Rale stay audible, yet the trio also echoes the medieval-prog manner of Gryphon alongside the chamber-rock and Rock in Opposition approaches of Art Zoyd and Univers Zero, augmented by an extra folkloric flavor and a playful wit.
Guitarist Ivan Palacky found himself bandless in late 1994 once his prior ensemble, Vkfiiky Bfiich, dissolved earlier that year. Seeking collaborators from contrasting backgrounds and viewpoints, he encountered American video artist and bassist Jennifer Helia de Felice, then living in Brno; the pair began rehearsing in January 1995. They settled on the name Slede, Zivé Slede after Felice dismissed Slede, Slane Slede because of her vegetarianism. Several months later, former Vkfiiky Bfiich member Brona Smid, who played clarinet and bassoon, completed the compact trio.
The group gave its debut performance in Brno in September 1995. Most of 1996 passed with limited activity while Slede, Zivé Slede refined its material and clarified its direction in keeping with Palacky’s musical aims. An initial Slovak tour in April 1997 initiated a partnership with Alternative Music Productions, resulting in the April 1998 release of the debut album Milácek Vytvárí Krajinu on Indies, the label also home to Uz Jsme Doma, Bittová, Rale, and Pavel Fajt.
The following month the trio played its first concert beyond the former Czechoslovakia at Jazz Marathon in Brussels. At a later show, Sonore founder Frank Stofer encountered the group and thereafter assisted with its visibility across Western Europe. In May 1999 Slede, Zivé Slede toured France and Spain, added a date in Italy, and maintained an active schedule at home that included support slots for Peter Hammill and Nick Cave.
Sonore issued the French edition of the first album, titled Chérie Sculpte le Paysage, in August 2000. Meanwhile the band concentrated on its second album, Rostliny! Rostliny!, an ambitious work that appeared on Indies in December that year. A second French tour took place in June 2001.
Guitarist Ivan Palacky found himself bandless in late 1994 once his prior ensemble, Vkfiiky Bfiich, dissolved earlier that year. Seeking collaborators from contrasting backgrounds and viewpoints, he encountered American video artist and bassist Jennifer Helia de Felice, then living in Brno; the pair began rehearsing in January 1995. They settled on the name Slede, Zivé Slede after Felice dismissed Slede, Slane Slede because of her vegetarianism. Several months later, former Vkfiiky Bfiich member Brona Smid, who played clarinet and bassoon, completed the compact trio.
The group gave its debut performance in Brno in September 1995. Most of 1996 passed with limited activity while Slede, Zivé Slede refined its material and clarified its direction in keeping with Palacky’s musical aims. An initial Slovak tour in April 1997 initiated a partnership with Alternative Music Productions, resulting in the April 1998 release of the debut album Milácek Vytvárí Krajinu on Indies, the label also home to Uz Jsme Doma, Bittová, Rale, and Pavel Fajt.
The following month the trio played its first concert beyond the former Czechoslovakia at Jazz Marathon in Brussels. At a later show, Sonore founder Frank Stofer encountered the group and thereafter assisted with its visibility across Western Europe. In May 1999 Slede, Zivé Slede toured France and Spain, added a date in Italy, and maintained an active schedule at home that included support slots for Peter Hammill and Nick Cave.
Sonore issued the French edition of the first album, titled Chérie Sculpte le Paysage, in August 2000. Meanwhile the band concentrated on its second album, Rostliny! Rostliny!, an ambitious work that appeared on Indies in December that year. A second French tour took place in June 2001.
Albums