„100-year- old songs with a contemporary feeling“
Ponk, an innovative new trio from Moravia in Czech Republic came together in 2013. Moravia has one of the richest living folklore traditions in Europe, with diverse dialects spoken and customs, traditional costumes, dances and musical styles that vary greatly from village to village.
In sum, Ponk’s Postfolklor is a wild trip of an album from a trio with enormous promise. -www.rootsworld.com
“Postfolklor” (2015), Ponk’s debut album, draws heavily on these traditional musical motifs, yet the band manages to give these traditional sounds exciting new life with their unconventional modern treatment.
The unique texture of Ponk’s music is largely down to the sound of cimbalom. Unlike traditional folk musicians, however, Ponk make use of the instrument’s entire sonic and rhythmic potential, often producing sounds reminiscent of a strange new rock guitar. Likewise, the double bass has abandoned its traditional folk sound to follow new melodic, rhythmic and percussive paths. Ponk’s overall sound is complemented by an instantly recognizable “dirty” violin sound, with intentionally non-folk, rock phrasing. Add to this, distinctive lead-vocals layered over creatively constructed harmonies and you have a unique and distinctly post-folklore sound that breaks all boundaries of the genre.
…the jazzy double-bass, the expressive cimbalom riffs and the violin solos with a nearly acid sound… The theme of death is very suggestively expressed by the gloomy mood of the songs. -jazzport.cz
Postfolklor has received positive reviews from all over the world. It was featured in Top 20 World Music Charts Europe and played by radio stations in Germany, France, Connecticut and Alaska. In March 2016, Ponk was awarded Andel music prize for the best Czech world music album of 2015.
This year the trio composed and recorded music soundtrack to „KIV. – King by favour of the divine mercy“, interactive comic with game elements for the biggest local state TV channel Czech Television.
The band was chosen to represent the Czech Republic at international showcase & conference Czech Music Crossroads in summer 2016. Ponk will be the first band ever to sing in Czech language at the prestigious festival and showcase WOMEX – The World Music Expo which will take place this October in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Ponk – Old Lyrics With A New Groove
Ponk members :
Michal Krystýnek – vocals & violin
Eduard Tomaštík – cimbalom & vocals
Pavel Rajmic – double bass, electric bass, acoustic bass & vocals
Press Quotes:
“”An authentic shiver up the spine” Songlines
(Kim Burton, Songlines)
In sum, Ponk’s Postfolklor is a wild trip of an album from a trio with enormous promise.
(Lee Blackstone, www.rootsworld.com)
Ponk, a trio from Brno entertains their listeners with it´s new album Postfolklor full of traditional songs with unusual arrangements. They play the old folklore songs with a tasteful touch of rock, jazz and funk. And they can do it with three folklore instruments only.
(Pravo, Czech newspaper)
They are only three musicians – but without exaggeration, we have not had such an eye-opener for a very long time here. They love folklore music, they play acoustic instruments, and yet they sound so modern.
(UNI cultural magazine)
Ponk’s music is so amazing, so virtuosic, so contemporary and yet so rooted in tradition, that the band can, with a bit of luck and a great deal of good marketing work, readily become an appealing guest at the major European world music festivals.
(Lidove noviny, newspaper)
Ponk, a trio from Brno entertains their listeners with it´s new album Postfolklor full of traditional songs with unusual arrangements. They play the old folklore songs with a tasteful touch of rock, jazz and funk. And they can do it with three folklore instruments only.
(Pravo, Czech newspaper).
They are only three musicians – but without exaggeration, we have not had such an eye-opener for a very long time here. They love folklore music, they play acoustic instruments, and yet they sound so modern.
(UNI magazine)
…the jazzy double-bass, the expressive cimbalom riffs and the violin solos with a nearly acid sound… The theme of death is very suggestively expressed by the gloomy mood of the songs.
(jazzport.cz)
In this „new-urban-roots music,” the double bass has the modern dance music groove, or it plays gloomy blues lines. The violin can present a wild jazz-rock solo with distortion and be a bearer of the pop melodies at the same time. Breaking all boundaries of the genre, the cimbalom is omnipresent in the music as harmony, rhythm and solos. Sometimes it plays hypnotic repetitive figures; sometimes it creates a dream-like sound haze over a song. Ponk is also good in composing unusual song lines and interesting polyphonies. The traditional lyrics and melodies are used with a musicological insight and arranged with the punctuality of classical music composers.
(Lidove noviny, newspaper)