Manon dies
"Their music blurs all genres in itself - dream-pop vibes, vehement grunge riffs, free jazz and all electronic genres. It was played absolutely perfectly, a great performance of one of the best albums of the year."
- James Thornhill, Under The Radar
"It's not often that a rock band sounds so unique, moves absolutely smoothly through the set, and at the same time has an emotional impact. An overwhelming and transcendent experience.”
- Kevin Cole, KEXP
Beauty, noise and vibration. Manon meurt are masters of contrasts between quiet and noisy passages and are also typical of the epic gradations of their songs. They have been on the scene since 2012 and the current lineup consists of drummer Jiří Bendl, singer, guitarist and bassist Kateřina Elznicová, keyboardist David Tichý and guitarist Kryštof Korčák.
After the eponymous debut EP, their first album MMXVIII from 2018 was produced by the legendary Jan P. Muchow. The recording was nominated for the Apollo Czech Critics Award and the Anděl Award in the Alternative and Electronic Music category.
For their new album, the band once again teamed up with a strong producer personality - British musician and producer Eddie Stevens, who is known for his collaborations with Moloko, Zero 7, Róisín Murphy and Jana Kirschner.
The band, which for several years built its sound on the ruins of shoegaze and the influence of bands like Slowdive, Lush or Ride, moves forward with the new record and deviates from the original nineties inspirations. The new sound of Manon meurt surprises with the ease of natural intermingling of genres - from trip hop to grunge, to ambient folk with dives into the swirling chaos of dream pop. It is the result of the band's creative shift and dynamic collaboration with Stevens. The new album Unravel was released on April 26, 2024 on Minority Records.
The quartet from the Czech city of Rakovník has a rich concert history. They toured all over Europe and the UK, played at the prestigious Dutch ESNS festival, also performed at the Slovenian MENT in Ljubljana, Reeperbahn in Hamburg, Pohoda, Colors of Ostrava, Pop Messe, Nürnberg Pop Festival and others. Anyone who has seen Manon meurt live knows that it is a unique, powerful and beautiful experience.
Jiří Bendl (drums)
Kateřina Elznicová (vocals, guitar, bass guitar)
David Tichý (keyboards)
Kryštof Korčák (guitar)
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The Ills
Two guitars, bass, drums and no vocals. The Ills indulge in a dense and noisy sound, refined by complementary guitar licks and captivating bass lines.
The Ills are classified as post-rock, but in their instrumental compositions you can also find elements of shoegaze, math-rock or prog-rock. They are mainly characterized by live performances, in which musical mastery and intimate passages are combined with punk-like spontaneity and metal hardness.
The band has released five albums so far. After the debut To Wish Impossible Things (2010) and the award-winning recordings Splendor (2012), Zoya (2014), Ornamental or Mental (2016), Disco Volante / Mt. Average (2019). The sixth studio album, Life Is Random, was released in May 2024. On February 29, DJ Kevin Cole premiered the first single from the announced album on the cult American station KEXP and described the track as an "epic, transcendental math rock masterpiece!"
The group, which started in 2008, today boasts a rich collection of concerts and festivals, successfully performing at the prestigious Eurosonic Noorderslag festival in Groningen, Incubat in Tilburg, Iceland Airwaves in Reykjavik, the MENT festival in Ljubljana and Dubleul! . The Consequence of Sound server even listed their concert alongside Björk and Warpaint among the 25 most interesting performances at the Iceland Airwaves 2016 festival.
They also played on the big stages of the Pohoda and Colors of Ostrava festivals, and even Vic Galloway from BBC radio praised them: "Your The Ills are no worse than Explosions In The Sky or Mogwai. At Pohoda, they played a great concert on the big stage, which they absolutely dominated." American radio station KEXP also included their songs in their playlists.
The Ills played club concerts in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Austria, Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary and completed a mini-tour with the Japanese band Tricot.
Ľuboš Hodás (drums)
Peter Berák (bass guitar)
Miro Luky (guitar)
Jakub Szatinský (guitar).
