Alvaréz Peréz

Alvaréz Peréz - Dark rock 1993 Alvaréz Peréz came into being in 1993 and the original band members were: Ellen Kosová - guitar/vocals, Jan Cupák - bass, Martin K. - guitar. Drum machine was used for rhythm section. This crew recorded their first demo with two songs in 1994. Etheric female vocal, guitar noise backgrounds, hypnotic drums....this is how the music journalists described their beginnings.

Alvaréz Peréz - Dark rock 1993 Alvaréz Peréz came into being in 1993 and the original band members were: Ellen Kosová - guitar/vocals, Jan Cupák - bass, Martin K. - guitar. Drum machine was used for rhythm section. This crew recorded their first demo with two songs in 1994.

Etheric female vocal, guitar noise backgrounds, hypnotic drums....this is how the music journalists described their beginnings. The song “Velryby (Whales)” gains some success in the radio show “Demoparáda,“ competition for newcomer bands on the Brno radio station Hady (independent music station that doesn’t exist any more). At this stage the band performs in clubs together with some popular rock bands and at underground festivals. 1995 Still the same line-up recorded an eponymous demo recording with 12 songs. Mysterious and dark recording includes also the first version of “Lavondyss,” a song inspired by a book of the same name written by the author of dark fantasy novels Robert Holdstock. The recording got very positive reviews.

Ellen is compared to Patti Smith a their music to Fields of the Nephilim, Sonic Youth or Jesus and Mary Chain. Their music is also called “gothic rock” for the first time. They play live with Priessnitz, Despondancing or Bast, a band from Prague. One of the shows is shot by the tv station Cabelplus. 1997 They record the single “Melancholie” where they combine features of gothic and classic rock. 1998 In the beginning of the year 1998 the first “real” drummer Libor “Sinclair” Kornia joins the band.

This changes the style and sound of Alvaréz Peréz and it causes some discord among the band members. One of the original members guitar player Martin K. decides to leave the band. He is substituted by Martin Křivý, who is then only 17 years old. Together with this young and talented guitar player, they start preparing new material.

They experiment with keyboard sounds. They take part in the music competition Rock Fest Dobříš where the singer wins a prize for the best vocal performance. 1999 The drummer Sinclair leaves A.P. because his work doesn't allow him to continue. In his stead comes David Holý (ex. Bratrstvo, Tibet).

With him they record their debut album "Mare Ingenii" that is released by Uroboros Records. Co-producer of this album is Dušan Neuwerth, now a well known producer, and its godmother is a writer of vampire novels Jenny Nowak. The reviewers in Czech as well as foreign magazines (German Totem, Belgic The Original Sin) are praising it. The Czech TV shoots an interview with the band and a video for their cultural monthly "Salón moravskoslezský" that is presented several times on CT2 channel. 2000 Personal problems seem to have no end.

In the spring 2000, guitar player Martin Křivý decides to give up playing guitar for good and leaves the band. Before long, the drummer Sinclair also leaves and goes into the South-american jungle to seek his soul. This cruel blow was cured partially by the new excellent keyboard player Michal Závěrka and drummer "Titán"(ex Morpork, Nahrat, Re). After the neverending search for a new guitar player, Jan Cupák takes up guitar and passes bass to Ellen.

The newcomers brought some new energy and ideas so in very short time they have new material ready for a new album that they release (self-release) in 2001. It's called "Milovat je umírat...(Loving is Dying)" and the Czech reviewers reaction to it is rather vague. 2001 The band tries to promote their music also abroad and the tracks "Ledová královna, Lesnění, and Medusa" are played on the well known internet Gothic Radio that is based in California and in special programs in Spain and Canary Islands. At the end of this year, Michal Závěrka leaves for England to study and he is substituted by "Pollo04." This keyboard player had been involved in purely electronic projects before he joined Alvaréz Peréz and this has great influence on the new sound of A.P. Also at live shows Hana Vyšovanová joins the band as guest backing vocalist. 2002 In the spring they play together with Belgic The Breath of Life in Prague. The band performs abroad, in Switzerland and Germany. The farthest they play is Barcelona.

This year is very successful for A.P. They also play at the "Festival Fantazie" EUROCON in Chotěboř, an international literary festival, where they meet Mr Robert Holdstock, whose books inspired some of their lyrics, in person. The fans of fantasy, horror and sci-fi didn't want to them to stop playing and the band gained many new fans. 2003 The beginning of the year 2003 seems promising. In the competition of the German music magazine Sonic-Seducer "Battle of the Bands" they end up on the magical 13th position with the song "Vtělení" among other 50 bands from Europe.

In the spring the band goes on a five-day tour to Germany (Berlin, Leipzig, Chemnitz, Neukirch, Greifswald). Then in summer, enclosed in a cold and dim cellar studio in the White Carpathians(East Moravia) they record their new official album "Thanatophobia." It is released in October 2003 by the publishing house Netopejr together with a book of short horror stories. Diskography: Demo 94 MC Eponymní 1996 - Act Records MC Melancholie 1997 - Act Records CD Mare Ingenii 1999 - Uroboros Records CD Milovat je umírat ... 2001 - Vlastním nákladem CD Thanatophobia 2003 - Netopejr User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL..