The nineties were full of changes and new energies in Prague. Concerts were organized in galleries, people listened with interest to emerging bands and new musical directions were followed. In this period, there was a growing interest in alternative art, and Richter Band, one of the leading alternative bands operating in the borders between ambient, new age and meditative music, was in its accession. After years of modest gigging in the late 80s, interest in seeing them perform live began to increase and the band started to tour not just the Czech regions but also ventured abroad.

At the same time, Jaroslav Kořán, a fiddlerophone and percussion player, left the group and began to experiment with his own music. With him, he brought a range of musical experience from playing in the alternative rock group, Vyšší Populár, and the ambient outfit, Richter Band, as well as building and playing hand-made instruments. The fidlerophone, a unique instrument assembled using aluminium pots and mounted on sprung stands, formed the characteristic sound of Richter Band when played in unison with the subtle sounds of Pavel Richter’s electric guitar, and would later inspire Jaroslav to experiment in creating his own instruments.

Although he already owned a sampler and played the piano, as a drummer, he was constantly seeking new percussive instruments and sounds, ranging from water glasses and pots to porcelain plates and salad bowls. In the summer of 1990, he experimented with nails hammered into wood in Šumava, a national park in the South Bohemian regions of the Czech Republic, and the first "Šumava (or village) kalimbas" were created. Together with his brother Michal, they refined the kalimbas, trying out repetitive melodies on them, which they would then record at home and supplement with loops from a sampler and slowed-down tapes.

The newly recorded material, full of rhythms, pre-recorded loops and Michal Kořán's synthesizer, was presented for the first time in public in April 1990 at the Klarisky concert hall in Bratislava. Soon after, Jaroslav met Marek Hanzlík, a guitarist from another Prague-based band, Die Archa, leading to the formation of a new musical trio named Modrá (“Blue”). This led to a fundamental musical shift, with Marek’s prepared guitar bringing subtle harmonies and an unusual sound to the rhythmic structures, complemented by Jaroslav Kořán's slowed-down pre-recorded tapes, sampled loops and voices.

Over November 1990 to June 1991, Modrá made a number of recordings in Jaroslav’s home studio. For “Bohemian Blue”, the most interesting pieces from this period were selected and supplemented with two compositions recorded live at a home concert in February 1991. Although the group was only short-lived, disbanding in the second half of 1991, it represents an important period of musical experimentation and marked the dawn of the nascent Orloj Snivců (“Horologe of Dreamers”), with whom Jaroslav Kořán still performs today.

Modrá - Bohemian Blue CS 2024 [Infinite Expanse]

C60 with on-body printing in jewel case and printed two-sided j-card

Jaroslav Kořán: zither, sampler, percussion, plates, Mačický xylophone, tapes
Marek Hanzlík: prepared electric guitar
Michal Kořán: percussion, sampler, Mačický xylophone, village kalimba, plates cymbals

Recorded and mixed by Jaroslav Kořán, 1990-91, Pagoda Studio, Prague
Remastered by Michal Kořán, 2018, Moon Studio, Prague
2024 issue under license via Blue Lizard