Artist Profiles: Čankišou

Čankišou in 2011 – Photo by Petr Volgemut

Czech band Čankišou was formed in 1999. Several musicians, who until that time played in various bands, decided to play world music. The band dug up an old legend about Canki people, learned its language and collected musical instruments from all around the world: didjeridu, jembe, yabbara, flutes, saxophones, percussion, mandolin, bass guitar, drums etc. The band is influenced by many global sounds, Arabic, African, Balkan. All these influences combined with the rock history of each band member created a new genre called ethnobigbeat brass band.

Čankišou’s music is based on energy and substantial wind instruments which force everybody to dance. Concerts are often accompanied by belly dancers.

The first CD was called Music of the Canki people and was released in 2000 and the second one, Dense ju, two years later. The third CD, Gamagaj, which is inspired by the book Baudolina by Umberto Eco, was released in September 2004 by FT Records. The band also released various music videos.

The band: Karel Herman – vocals; Zdenek Kluka – vocals, drums, percussion; Jan Kluka – drums, jembe, percussion; David Synak – flutes, didjeridu, saxophone; Roman Mrazek – bass; Rene Senko – tenor saxophone; Martin Krajicek – mandolin.

Discography:

Hudba lidu Čanki (Supraphon, 2000)
Densé Ju (2002)
Gamagaj (Supraphon, 2004)
Ukopnutý palec (2007)
Best of 1372–2007 (Supraphon, 2007)
Lé La (Indies Scope Records, 2008)
Faÿt (Indies Scope Records, 2011)
Jak na příšery (2013)
Supay (2015)

Author: Angel Romero

Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.

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