My official music career began in Finland and I have lived there for so long already that I tend to forget I am actually Czech. That's why I dedicate my very first blog entry to my original home, the Moravian-Silesian Region. It is a region of contrasts: on one side there are large industrial and mining areas and on the other beautiful mountains, rich cuisine and original culture.
I've lived abroad for seven years and every time I come back I notice that the air and environment are still very polluted. The undermined landscapes are not always nice to look at. Sadly, many local people are ill quite often (many local children suffer from astma and other nasty stuff) and the air is so thick with smog it feels like inhaling lead paste. However, I see small positive changes and I hope there will be more in the near future. The region might be polluted but as long as the minds of its inhabitants are not polluted all is good.
My concert tour took me me to Ostrava and Orlová so far and it will continue in Karviná and Nový Jičín. I grew up in these places. The first gig was in Ostrava, the third most populated and sovereignly the most polluted city in the Czech republic.
Ostrava is the heart of steel-making of the country, and the emissions from its factories have caused immense damage to the environment and the inhabitants' health over the years. Just to clue you in, the pollution in the city is four times larger than levels allowed by the EU.*. It would be cool if all those stinky factories could just be closed down but too many people would lose their jobs and the unemployment rates are quite high already.
But I can tell you, these sad facts don't stop the local people from keeping up a lively underground culture!
We played at the underground club Hudební bazar. I absolutely adored the venue! The atmosphere was great and the crowd was amazing.
photo: Tomáš Samiec
From Ostrava we continued our duo tour to Orlová, the town where I grew up. I remembered it as a cluster of grey socialistic blocks of flats with not much happening around and it has pretty much remained the same except that the houses have been painted in bright motley colours.
We played in Futra, another underground club run by young volunteers who love culture and don't want to remain idle. Orlová is lucky to have them! They actually care about humane values and for example support Fair Trade, which is still rare in the region.
I was very emotional during the gig, playing for so many friends and familiar faces who had heard me play ten years ago. I chose a little clip from the gig, it's my debut single "Miners" that is inspired by the hard-working coalminers of the Moravian-Silesian region.
video: Michal Kliment
I hope you enjoyed this one. New videos are coming soon! :)
The tour continues in Karviná and Nový Jičín, so stay tuned.
With smog in my lungs but peace in my heart I wish you all a great new year 2012!
Lucie
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