MUSIC OVER THE OSLAVA RIVER.

EXCEPTIONAL FESTIVAL RESIDENCY PROJECT.

We know very well that we do not know what kind of concert we will see after a week of composing and rehearsing from the participants of a unique festival project, but we do know that almost every time we will remember it for a long time. And this year, especially considering the line-up including a natural beatboxer, sound designer and jazz saxophonist.
Writing about music that no one has heard before and trying to speak for the creators of a residency project is not so much a risk as it is audacity. However, we can safely assume that it will be an event and, as this year's curator Stuart McCallum claims, an opportunity to look into "a nocturnal sound world in which folk melodies, jazz harmonies, ambient textures and electronic rhythms intertwine".
The British guitarist, composer, former member of the legendary group Cinematic Orchestra, teammate of the Irish singer Ríoghnach Connolly from the duo The Breath and personality of the contemporary jazz and ambient scene tried to be even more specific: „Drawing on original compositions alongside re imagined folk tunes from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, the music leans away from the tradition and towards the submerged: slow moving melodies, fractured rhythms, and a deep sense of space. Acoustic and electric guitars are set against saxophones, keys, synths and beatbox, creating a music that feels at once ancient and contemporary, rooted yet constantly shifting.
Rather than treating folk material as something fixed, this projectapproaches tradition as a living current — stretched, refracted and re shaped through improvisation, electronics and shared listening. The result is music that drifts between intimacy and vastness, shadow and clarity, stillness and momentum.“
Stuart McCallum therefore did not hesitate in choosing co-creators and, without exaggeration, the Folk Holidays residency project has never seen such a line-up.
Jason Singh is a renowned British composer, vocal artist, sound sculptor and beatboxer who, according to Brian Eno, evokes feelings in people that they might otherwise forget. While other artists draw inspiration from what they see around them, he draws exclusively from what he hears. Fascinated by nature, he imitates forests, sea waves or birdsong with his voice, but he is most famous for ambient music created together with trees, mushrooms and flowers. He uses special software to record electrical signals from plants that the normal ear cannot hear and then vocalizes them without the help of any technology. That is why he is called a natural beatboxer and, at the request of David Attenborough, he accompanied the documentary television series Green Planet with his voice.
“Outside, I perceive music through nature, urban environments, architecture, machines or colors. Inside, through my breath, blood, thoughts, movements and skin texture. I become a very small part of a large, constantly evolving composition,” explained Jason Singh, who also extends his vocal art into the musical sphere through collaborations with George Ezra, Sarathy Korwar, Talvin Singh, Shabaka Hutchings and Stuart McCallum.
Belgian saxophonist Nicolas Kummert is primarily at home in modern jazz, but often collaborates with African musicians. He also researches sounds and has developed his own modulation system that allows him to manipulate the sound of the saxophone. He composes music for theater and ballet performances, is requested by film directors and is an active member of the European experimental scene.
British composer, producer and sound designer Oliver Vibrans creates compositions for orchestras, theater, film and art installations. He is the recipient of the prestigious British Ivor Novello Award for his composition More Up composed for the Able Orchestra, an inclusive ensemble of able-bodied and disabled musicians. And when a similar ensemble, Paraorchestra, led by conductor Charles Hazlewood, joined forces with the duo The Breath in the unique and enthusiastically received project Symbiosis, he provided unusual orchestral arrangements that elevated the concert to the British events of 2025.

Photos by Dave Stapleton