He was born in Ostrava in 1953 and has occasionally written lyrics for other artists while having his own day job. Only at the start of the Eighties he began to sing his own songs.
As his ambition grew, his work got more and more political, which prompted the authorities to ban him from performing and recording. He was able to release his first album only in 1988, when the Soviet system was collapsing. He was already 35 years old.
The enormous popularity in his home country has important echoes in Slovakia and Poland as well, where he may not be a star, but can surely claim cult status.
I am introducing him on this blog with this brand new album, which he released last November. Since most of his old music is message-centered, I think "Poruba" is better suited as a gateway to his world rather than a simple voice-and-guitar album.
In fact, the tracklist proves Nohavica's curious spirit, with tense piano ballads ("Empire State"), grotesque doggerels with accordion ("Černá jáma"), and even hip hop experiments (the title track). There are not many singers out there that can claim such a fresh album at the age of 64.
DOWNLOAD (kbps: 320)
