Šeptej nahlas - Český shoegaze mezi Východem a Západem – Hroch Miloš (2025)

Bands turned away from the audience, eyes cast down at their feet and the tangle of guitar pedals on the floor. Ethereal vocals drowning in guitar noise. This was what the new wave of independent rock looked like in the early '90s, which the British press dubbed shoegaze.

Even in post-revolutionary Czechia, an independent scene was born: Bands like Toyen, Ecstasy of St. Theresa, Here, Naked Souls, and Sebastians were miles away from everything that had been happening in music until then. British music journalists were curious about what was being played in the former socialist country. Toyen soon performed at the New York club CBGB, Here and Naked Souls were featured on BBC and MTV, and Ecstasy of St. Theresa was the first Czech band to sign a recording contract with a foreign label. Czech bands thus helped shape the global shoegaze sound and provided the soundtrack for the fast-paced time after the Velvet Revolution. Miloš Hroch's journalistic deep dive into one music scene draws from the testimonies of witnesses and takes readers to listening evenings in cultural centers and clubs like Bunkr or Rock Café, as well as to broadcasting and recording studios. The unique story of bands whose careers extinguished before they could truly begin is also a story of transformation and newfound freedom.