Marta Kubišová was the most popular Czechoslovak female singer of the late 1960s, heading for an international career but banned by the communist regime until 1989. Compiled from the Supraphon archives, this 1966-1970 selection focuses on her roughest songs, with plenty of fuzz guitars and funky beats, punchy horns and razor-sharp organs underlying her deep and soulful voice.
Marta’s first professional recordings for Supraphon date back to 1963, when she was aged 21. After spending three years singing jazzy tunes in provincial theatres, in late 1964 she followed her discoverer and mentor, the composer and future Supraphon producer Bohuslav Ondrácek, to the renowned Rokoko theatre in Prague. There she performed with superstar Waldemar Matuška and with her later Golden Kids bandmates Helena Vondrácková and Václav Neckár until 1968.
In November 1968 Kubišová, Vondrácková and The Golden Kids. They recruited a rhythm section of young beat musicians, giving the sound a progressive contemporary touch. The horn section, on the other hand, featured top players from various pop, jazz and even classical orchestras. This explosive blend of personalities was responsible for some of the funkiest grooves that emerged from the rather conservative Supraphon studios.
In 1969 Marta Kubišová and The Golden Kids recorded dozens of songs which were released on numerous seven-inch singles as well as on two albums: “Micro-Magic-Circus” and “Golden Kids 1” (aka “Music Box No. 1”). The repertoire contained original compositions as well as cover versions of international pop, beat and soul hits with Czech lyrics. Within the group Marta was usually given the soulful or melancholic material, as it would suit her deep and dark timbre.Additionally, Supraphon finally released Marta’s first solo LP, “Songy a balady”, presenting a more personal selection of songs.
Unlike most other Czechoslovak mainstream artists after the 1968 Soviet invasion, Marta was not scared to stand up for her opinions in public and her choice of lyrics reflected the cheerless political and social situation in the country.
Hence at the peak of her popularity she became unbearable for the communist regime. By the end of 1969 she disappeared from radio and TV broadcast, and from February 1970 on she was prohibited from performing in public at all. Her last Supraphon single from summer 1970 - ‘Jakoby nic’ b/w ‘Hare Krišna’ - was already pressed, but save for a handful of “stolen” copies the complete edition was destroyed by the communist censors. (Vampisoul is reissuing this 40-years-lost vinyl gem as VAMPI 45049)
Marta spent the next 20 years as a working mother, and also as a brave spokeswoman of the dissident civic movement Charter 77 with her close friend and the future Czech president Václav Havel. Eventually, with the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in late 1989 and in the slipstream of the “Velvet Revolution”, her voice returned to stages and recording studios. She sings actively to the present day.
Extensive notes covering Marta Kubišová’s career by compiler Lukáš Machata
