The Tomáš Kočko Orchestr are one of the great musical treasures of my new home city of Brno.  They band mixes true Moravian folk music, including some melodies with pre-Christian roots (so, at least a millennium of music here), world music and even touches of metal to great effect.

The concept of their latest album is based on the women of Moravia, whose character and strength preserved the culture despite attempted encroachments from within and without.

From the band’s press release:

The songs come from the Moravian folk tradition and talk about the experiences of the great-grandmothers of today’s women through cultural archetypes. These are ancient women’s stories narrated through folk songs. The themes are current, but they share commonalities with the lives of their great-grandmother – they have similar joys and troubles, similar mistakes, but through this, they try to master their fate, their destiny. These are the songs of Moravian women of yesterday and today.

The album is available for purchase directly from the band, who can be reached via email at kapela@kocko.cz.  On January 3, you will be able to stream the album on Spotify, and you can also purchase the disc via the Czech Republic’s coolest indie record label, Indies Records via their website in the next few days.