Bárta Dan, Illustratosphere: Beauty and Blowing Dust - CD

The album Kráska a zvířený prach (Beauty and the Swirling Dust) contains eleven new original songs and a total of thirteen tracks, created either under the watchful arranging eye of Filip Jelínek or as a result of the band jointly feeling out and stretching the basic structure of the songs.

This genre-defying record, with the characteristic Illustratosphere sound—which, nota bene, is also part of the creative work, as the sound design is by guitarist M. Chyška—is, despite the diversity of individual arrangements, a dense and cohesive whole. It is built on a sense of composition, sensitive interpretation, creativity, the powerful musicianship of its members, and Dan Bárta's lyrics, which are distinguished by his unique poetry. Two songs in English, penned by Alžběta Plívová, and one original song in Slovak complement the Czech lyrics well.
"Some pieces are intimate and minimalist, others more elaborate and expansive. I think we've captured ourselves successfully; it's solid, has a nice shape, we've taken a step in the right direction, and I'm almost certain we will delight our fans again and pleasantly surprise the sceptics," says singer Dan Bárta, who recently celebrated his twenty-fifth year in music, summarising the new album.

Originally a one-off project, Illustratosphere was an outlet for the creative and performance surplus of three members of the band J.A.R.—Dan Bárta, Filip Jelínek, and Miroslav Chyška—complemented by the Robert Balzar Trio. Formed at the turn of the millennium, it has proven to be exceptionally resilient despite numerous personnel changes. The first album, Illustratosphere (2000), achieved considerable success, won several awards, and influenced a new generation of Czech and Slovak musicians. The band currently performs with the line-up: Dan Bárta (vocals), Filip Jelínek (keyboards), Miroslav Chyška (guitars), Robert Balzar (double bass and bass guitar), and Martin Valihora (drums).

Tracklist

CD
Jejich déšť / Kráska a zvířený prach / Jako póly / České probuzení / #HeToo / Haifa Hairdresser / Happy Ginger / Hrdina nášho času / Má němá tvář / Než o půltón výš vyletím / Nahá tma / Oblaka dobra II / Echoes of the Egoes of the Heroes