The 2005 album Mezi světy (Between Worlds) gave Lenka Dusilová the reputation of a mature musician capable of looking for new paths to her own expression.
Three years later, she's coming back as the lead singer of a new ensemble on a new album entitled Eternal Seekers. Working together with jazz composer Beata Hlavenková, the band Clarinet Factory and poet Bogdan Trojak, she has created her most sophisticated and demanding album so far.
Eternal Seekers is not music for everyone and it is not suited for any occasion. That is probably why the album was published in a small intellectual series by the weekly Respekt.
If you have so far labelled Dusilová as a nonconformist rocker, you will have to accept the fact that she has now moved to a rather different area. Already in her previous album she started leaning towards a more contemplative, even mysterious expression, and Eternal Seekers is a natural continuation of that trend.
Beata Hlavenková studied composition in the Czech Republic and the US, and she has worked on a number of jazz projects. She is currently the leader of her own trio, accompanied by Rasťo Uhrik on the double-bass and Pavel "Bady" Zbořil from J.A.R. on the drums, as well as occasional guests including Ilustratosphere's Jiří Slavíček.
The Clarinet Factory, a quartet of Prague's Academy of Performing Arts graduates, have in the past 10 years devoted themselves to experimentation, exploring the limits of the instrument.
An indispensable part of the ensemble is the author of most lyrics, Bogdan Trojak. The poet and vintner was awarded the Magnesia Litera prize for Czech literature in 2005.
Eternal Seekers are above all a demanding record. If you are looking for something to play while you drive or work, or if you just need to populate your computer playlist, then grab anything else, as Eternal Seekers would be a very bad choice. The album is designed for those who want to concentrate on the music and savour it.
At first you will probably get excited by the perfect quality of the recording, produced by Milan Cimfe, which exactly fits the proportions of Eternal Seekers' music. A bit later you will recognise Dusilová's handwriting, which dominates the whole record.
Yet, she has not overshadowed the other project participants. Beata Hlavenková's jazzy piano background and the Clarinet Factory's winds will soon plug in, complemented by guest bassist Tomáš Liška and two percussionists from Lenka's own band, whose rhythms enhance the singer's dominating influence.
In general, it's all about jazz, minimalism and, again, the eternal exploration of new paths. The style could be roughly likened to Bárta's Ilustratosphere.
When listening to Eternal Seekers, it may be a good idea to open the booklet instead of a bottle of wine and follow the lyrics with your eyes. Trojak's poems, full of abstract metaphors, are hard to grasp on paper, let alone in a song. His fascinating, colourful and original poetry gives the project an extra dimension by arousing a dialogue between you as the reader and you as the listener.
The only objectionable feature of Eternal Seekers, one that can be traced throughout the whole playlist, is that the music tends to be somewhat mannered and sterile. The project combines the work of top musicians with brilliant lyrics - but it is precisely the perfect, polished forms that somewhat obscure the imperfect human qualities that would like to be heard, even if the singing were a bit out of key.
Eternal Seekers: Lenka Dusilová, Beata Hlavenková & Clarinet Factory. The CD is sold as a supplement to the weekly Respekt.
