OTK

FRI May 14 10:15 pm Konvikt / ramparts / concert

OTK /CZ

Ondřej Ježek vocals, guitar
Honza Žalud bass guitar
Honza Klempíř vocals, keyboards
Jarda Mugrauer vocals, drums

discography
1993 OTK
1994 Acid
1998 KOT
2003 Sona a Kuva
2008 Okolo


OTK, one of Prague's most essential alternative bands, is headed by the reputable studio producer and sound engineer Ondřej Ježek. The band is related to their alternative brothers-in-arms, Tatabojs, both by longtime friendship and line-up (for a couple of years, Milan Cais of Tatabojs played drums with OTK). Characterized by the persistence of poetic and instrumental twists, OTK's music wavers on the edge of guitar tunes and pleasingly dirty lo-fi noise rock. What makes their songs unforgettable are mainly Ježek's characteristic, melancholic, here and there even shouted or recited vocals, melodic inventions, coarse guitars, refined sound and hypnotically repetitive rhythmic section, and an original sense of humour. In spite of the seemingly raw nature of their music, all band members are skilled instrumentalists. OTK's lyrics are characterized rather by hints, so grasping their message is subject to the listeners' imagination. The unique qualities of the band are reflected by two Czech “Anděl” music awards: in 2003, OTK won this award for their album Sona a Kuva in the Alternative Music category, and their following album Okolo won them the Best Album of the Year award in 2008.


OTK are for sure a precious gem of Czech alternative music.


The seemingly endless sound layers owe for one thing to the original and precisely carried out ideas, but also to the richness of arrangements brought to the point where even a guitar screech sounds like a stand-alone instrument and a fullbloodied means of expression. OTK's songs may be much more properly described by human qualities than by using conventional points of reference. Some of them are calm, meek, cautious, while others are funnily absent-minded and impatient; the melancholic moods switch to playful and easy tempers.


OTK are somewhat present in the standard media coverage, yet they only rarely attract a greater deal of attention. This is quite fair to an extent, since the band does not deliberately seek awareness. On the other hand though, this relatively minor general interest creates disutility as this is certainly the kind of music that may provide reliable answers to a growingly obscuring heap of questions about the development of the Czech non-mainstream music scene.