Jaromír Nohavica is a singer-songwriter, lyricist and translator from Ostrava who established himself on the Czech folk scene from 1982. His albums include Darmoděj, Mikimauzoleum and Divné století.
Jaromír Nohavica is a singer-songwriter, lyricist and translator who was born on 7 June 1953 in Ostrava. According to his own website he lives in Ostrava, and from 1978 to 1999 he lived in Český Těšín.[1]
Studies and first steps
In his native city he completed a general secondary school, then a secondary library school in Brno. He did not finish his studies at the VSB – Technical University of Ostrava. He held several jobs, among others as a labourer and a librarian, and since 1981 he has been a freelance artist who makes his living that way. He did not learn music at school: he plays guitar, violin, flutes and the accordion as a self-taught musician.[1]
He first made his name as a lyricist. He ties his beginnings to the regional groups Atlantis (1967) and Noe (1968), wrote for the rock band Majestic and worked with Czech Radio Ostrava and with leading Ostrava pop singers Petr Němec, Věra Špinarová and Marie Rottrová. In 1981 his translation of the collection of farces Piórka by the Polish poet Jan Sztaudynger appeared in samizdat. At the same time he wrote lyrics to songs by Václav Hlavička for the production Dundo Maroje aneb Lišák Pomet at the Těšínské divadlo.[1]
The 1980s
He first performed in public with his own repertoire, as the website states, by chance, at the Folkový kolotoč held in March 1982 in the Ostrava district of Poruba. He soon joined the most prominent Czech folk singer-songwriters. At the national final of Porta in 1983 he won the audience vote for the most distinctive personality. Among other things he drew attention with the song Pánové nahoře, in which he openly attacks the harmfulness of unchecked rule; he took the text from the French author Boris Vian.[1]
This song and his other lyrics displeased the censors of the time, who, as with other committed artists, prevented him from expressing himself freely. It culminated in 1985, when he was invited to Porta but was not allowed to perform and had to leave Plzeň. The website points to a paradox: at a time when none of his recordings had been released and the media showed no interest in him, he made the top ten of the Zlatý slavík poll for the first time in 1987 and then several more times. His songs spread through amateur illegal recordings and hand-made copies.[1]
Albums
His first profile album, Darmoděj, appeared in 1988 and was compiled from recordings of concerts from 1987 and 1988. The website sees in it the first peak period of his career as a singer-songwriter. In 1989 came the selection Osmá barva duhy and the following year the title V tom roce pitomém. His first studio project was the 1993 title Mikimauzoleum, which ranks among the most important Czech singer-songwriter albums; the arrangements, innovative for their time, were prepared by Karel Plíhal.[1]
The album Divné století won the Czech Grammy for record of the year in the uncategorised category in 1996, which was the first success of a folk record in this competition. It is a thoughtful reflection on the end of the century with chanson passages and also with Russian and Balkan influences. Karel Plíhal and Vít Sázavský took part in the arrangements, and Nohavica plays the helicon on it. With this record he reached a wider audience and the mass media began to take an interest in him.[1]
Further work
In 1994 to 1995 he devoted himself to work for children, which produced the album and book Tři čuníci with rhymes and fairy tales. The lyrics were published together by the publisher Hitbox in the songbook Písně Jaromíra Nohavici. He writes both music and words for theatre productions at the Těšínské divadlo, at the Prague theatre Na Fidlovačce and at the Divadlo Petra Bezruče in Ostrava, and as a lyricist he works with the group Neřež, with Doga and with Pavlína Jíšová.[1]
On the album Folk Swings, released by the B-Side Band with the producer Josef Buchta, his song Plebs Blues was heard in a swing arrangement.[2]
Interview from 2013
In December 2013 Czech Radio hosted Nohavica as an author who performs at small concerts, with the Janáčkova filharmonie and in a large sports arena. He mentions that he rewrote in verse the libretti of three Mozart operas and that he is popular in Czechia and in Poland. Asked whether he is doing well, he declined to answer and explained that whoever starts talking about too many successes will find the devil waiting around the corner. According to him happiness is a state of the soul that comes to a person only for a moment. In his view writing makes sense only for oneself or about oneself, and the worst thing about composing songs is the feeling that the work can be spoiled.[3]