When looking for new electronic music in central Europe, Prague isn?t the first place that jumps to mind. Though long a hub for underground rock and punk, the Czech capital is known for producing commercial dance DJs and that?s about it. This reputation is so pervasive that when I asked certain Slovak electronic music savants for contacts in the Prague experimental scene they jokingly replied, ?you mean there actually is a scene??

It seems there is. Since the end of Communism, the Czech Republic?s dance music culture has matured quickly, building popular interest in a range of genres. And in the past few years, a new clutch of alternative electronic composers has cropped up to prove naysayers wrong and change Prague?s reputation.

Czechs first danced to electronic music in warehouses and small clubs in the early and mid-?90s. It was a euphoric time: ?Ten years ago, everybody went to the parties just because it was ?forbidden fruit?. Everybody loved all the styles of music that DJs played,? explains Tom?? Ondr??ek, one of the founders of the dance music web portal www.rave.cz.

By the end of the ?90s, the rave scene hit a boom of giant events. In the intervening years, the country had defined its own distinctive dance scene. ?Ten years ago some DJ from the UK would come and his name was written in 50-centimeter font on the poster,? says Ondr??ek. Today, he goes on, ?things have changed; Czechs love their own DJs like Lucca, Burian, Orbith. Czech people adore Czech stars!?

Since Ondr??ek started the web portal in 1998, the popularity of electronic music has broadened. In the ?90s, he says, ?you were happy for any underground record of low quality? today, people?s taste for genres has diversified.?

Evidence of today?s taste for diverse music is the growing number of alternative projects that aren?t dance-floor oriented. One outlet for this new music is the Muteme label, founded in 2003, where Czech, Japanese, Austrian and Ukrainian artists serve up avant-garde hip hop, beatless ambient compositions and glitchy rhythms.

It?s still hard for the kind of music his label offers to compete on the Czech market, says founder Ale? ?ern?. ?Ten years ago, the house and drum'n'bass [genres were] at the top in the Czech Republic. And this is still the sound of most electronic events today. There are not many new producers and organizers able to compete with established promoters. But I don't want to be so negative: it is changing of course and I hope Muteme is part of this change.?

To push their new wave of electronic music along, alternative labels and musicians are promoting the growth of their community. In addition to releasing music, the Mufonic label lists upcoming events and album reviews of artists from other labels on its website www.mufonic.net. ?The market in Czech Republic is very small,? explains Petr Mare?, who co-owns the label with David Rambousek. ?This is the reason we?ve created a united platform that includes all the activities of the electronic music community. We would like to create an information base for this scene.?

Under the pseudonym Neutrino, Mare? used stylized samples to make groovy future-funk on the split album Rhizomatic Sound, which he shares with Rambousek, a.k.a. Selectone. Mufonic?s recently-released Out of Place Artefacts vol. 1 showcases 14 of the Czech and Slovak Republics? best composers, from the groovy space-lounge sound of Binary Jazz to the meditative ambience of Tom ?en.

Muteme?s first release, muteme.point.0, is a compilation of mellow, atmospheric compositions from the label?s artists that would suit the quiet, contemplative moments of a Sunday afternoon.

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In an attempt to catch listeners, the label offers its albums for free on its website, www.muteme.cz. ?I still see records as promotional, as an introduction to the real experience - the live show. So the releases on Muteme are not final products - they should attract people and make them to come to the concerts,? ?ern? explains.

Innovative and individual, it is hard to confine the music produced by these artists to a single description. If one thing unites the composers, it may be Central Europeans? comparatively limited access to tools. At a time when their wages are several times lower than those in the West, Czechs pay even more for equipment and software than Germans or Britons.

?Creativity is not only dependent on access to technology,? admonishes Mare?. ?The need to keep in step with new events in technological progress is only one aspect of whole process of creating music. You can use anything [to make music] and find your own way.?

Whether due to a strong work ethic and penchant for innovation or growing popular interest, Prague?s electronic music scene is growing.

?There are so many young people who are beginning to play music and I love that! That?s the most positive thing about this scene in the year 2005,? says Ondr??ek, ?I?m really looking forward to the future.?



Eric Smillie