After a few years passed collaborating with drummer Pavel Fajt, Iva Bittov? teamed up with Rale guitarist Vladim?r V?clavek to write and record the beautiful two-CD set B?l? Inferno (White Inferno). The singer remains true to her stripped-down aesthetics, keeping arrangements sparse, letting the songs show their power with as little embellishments as possible. V?clavek's acoustic guitar and vocals are often enough to accompany Bittov?'s sensual (and very creative) vocals and violin playing. Tom Cora may add a bit of cello, Frantisek Kucera a touch of trumpet, or children some singalong lines. The songs are long, repetitive in a way similar to nursery rhymes. The mood is kept quiet, Bittov? often whispering in our ears the words of lyricist Bohuslav Reynek. The childlike playfulness of "Kdoule" and "Moucha," the more defiant "Vzpominka," the overdubbed vocals at the end of "Zvon" -- all constitute highlights. Each song seems to be the result of a labor of love between the two protagonists, no detail having been left to chance. And yet, spontaneity permeates the album, mostly thanks to Bittov?'s many groans, shouts, yelps, and other strange exclamations and techniques she derives from Eastern European cultures and the playground.
Tracks:
1. Vzpom?nka 07:38
2. Usp?vanka 06:06
3. Sirka v lou?i 03:44
4. Sto let 04:17
5. Kdoule 06:01
6. Zelen? v?necek 04:38
7. Moucha 09:05
8. More 07:01
9. Star? ml?n 03:36
10. Je tma 02:13
11. Chur? churuj 09:44
12. Zvon 09:43
13. Huljet 03:18
