Kalemegdan Disk - ROCK FROM EASTERN EUROPE

Supraphon Release Information

Breakthrough 80s album: synth sound plus a great voice

Precedens has gone through several evolutionary phases since forming in 1982 before this debut album. After the obscure songwriting of Jan “Sahara” Hedel and the intellectual irony of Lumír Tuček, bandleader Martin Němec fully met the synthesizers and Bára Basiková. The original club shows turned into real concerts in big halls. Atmospheric music was impressively complemented with art accessories. Many themes were touched up to pop appeal without calculated effort.

The just-reissued album from 1988, the first in the classic line-up, bears all these hallmarks. The songs “Černá bohyně” (Black Goddess), “Doba ledová” (Ice Age) and “Dívčí válka” (Girl’s War) showed unconventional hit popularity. Equipped with twin keyboards, the line-up evoked an almost neo-romantic synth feel without losing the role of the guitar. Martin Němec’s music and lyrics were interpreted in a congenially dramatic way by Bára Basiková, then and now one of the most important female voices in the country. Precedens thus logically joined the group of bands waiting for a chance to refresh the Czech music scene: it happened soon after. A reconstructed cover with lyrics, a welcome return of important music.

Tracklist

Side A

1. Odplouváš dál 4:55
2. Kladnej hrdina 3:00
3. Černá bohyně 4:09
4. Nemám se čemu smát 3:57
5. Doba ledová 3:35

Side B

1. Dívčí válka 3:05
2. Den, kterej nic nezmění 4:31
3. Mrazivá noc 3:38
4. Na hlavu postavená 8:24