Velesu

Velesu (i.e. To Veles), the title of the new recordings by Tomáš Kočko & Orchestr, invokes pagan gods. After dedicating his album to the goddess of earth and abundance, Živa, Tomáš Kočko turns to the master of the afterlife, who guards order and time. The rhythm of our ancestors, their dreams, joys, sorrows and fears are pulsing in our veins and souls. Thanks to this, the nine original tracks by Tomáš Kočko can touch every one of his listeners. The recordings offer both thoughtful tracks and dancey songs. Tomáš Kočko, with his great production feel, can interconnect the songs inspired by folklore motives with layered polyphony and at the same time use rock guitars and procedures. The echoes of ancient Slavic cults resonate on Velesu; it is inspired by the world, which denies a strict black and white vision.

The ninth studio album Velesu by Tomáš Kočko & Orchestr thematically follows the previous album Živě. “Both albums are dedicated to old deities. To Živa and Veles. Živa got the selection of the best stuff from our previous albums, recorded live during the concerts in Ostrava. Veles, on the other hand, got pure new songs recorded in the studio in Brno. Živa and Veles, according to the myths, formed a divine couple. Veles is the patron of igrics (buskers) -- old singer-poets -- artists,”  Tomáš Kočko describes the motivations and adds: “at the time of  recording Živě, I already had some songs ready, some were just ideas without any proper melody or lyrics, and two of them were created just before recording Velesu.”  What makes this album different from the previous two albums is the authorship of the songs. Velesu is, unlike previous recordings, fully original. And Tomáš Kočko is not only an author but also his own producer. Some of the songs reached 150 recorded tracks.

It is pretty clear from the chosen topic that the album is not going to be a reckless dancey feast. Tomáš Kočko reaches darker concepts in his songs on Velesu and partially refers to Godula. Even here, he doesn’t deny his positive attitude towards hard music. “After producing three ethno-metal albums, I was soaked in harder music which is quite obvious in my new album,” says Tomáš Kočko. Nevertheless, he doesn’t fundamentally change his style. The musical element remains with the typical Kočko mixture of trans and thoughtful rhythms inspired by both traditional folklore music, metal and folk.