Czech Republic

Aran Epochal is Adam Nenadál’s (the more his band Gnu is brought up by fans, the deeper its current sleep is) solo project.

Yet his debut full-length (marking a departure from a release strategy of 7-inch split singles) was co-crafted by a variety of kindred spirits including Mat Sweet from Boduf Songs or Dana Schechter from Insect Ark.

Rooted in folk as much as the hardcore-punk ethos, “Doba bronzová” is a powerful statement from a musician who does not aspire to make statements for the sake of them. Underground spirit at its best.

♪♫ Listen: “Rovina”

Aran Epochal & Tahle hudba on Twitter, www.

Dizzcock is a core member of the post-rave act Lightning Glove. Released in September 2015, “Elegy of Unsung Heroes” is a full-length follow-up to his acclaimed EP.

He stressed that the album “pays a tribute to all who fought for a better, more equal and solidary world, as well as those who struggle everyday under immense pressure of inequality, individualistic society and hatred of contemporary world”.

Dizzcock, who claimed a surprise win at the recent Vinyla awards for Album of the Year, has managed to compose a straight-in-the face electronic album with a message.

♪♫ Listen: “Turnt Up Goddess” + album stream

Dizzcock on Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter.

Esgmeq were a powerful force of the emo/hardcore scene some ten odd years ago. Their solitary mastermind Sisi has now returned with Esoasisi.

He produces raw music where the powerful vocals are accompanied by violin and piano, the latter performed by Honza, also known for his drumming with the emocore act Esazlesa.

While the music may seem even hostile at first listen, the more one plunges into it, the more it becomes a true purgatory experience.

♪♫ Listen: “Čas”

Esoasisi on YouTube.

No band likes to be labelled as an “all-star project”, however in the case of Gurun Gurun it is not just a pointless label. Uniting (ex)members of B4, OTK or Miou Miou, this band is a very special platform for provocative, yet subtle music.

On “Kon B”, their usual soundscape plays are accompanied by Japanese vocalists, stressing how far from home this band hits. Other guests include the renowned local artists Irena and Vojtěch Havel. Avant-garde electronics? More or less.

No other Czech release got such international acclaim in 2015, partly thanks to the album’s release via Home Normal, a Japanese-UK label. The album was preceded by the no less exceptional “Atarashii hi” EP.

♪♫ Listen: “Atarashii hi (ft. Cuushe)” + album stream

Gurun Gurun on Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter, www.

Before he made himself known as HRTL, Leoš Hort played in jazz, folk as well as grindcore bands. And as he himself claims, it took him some time at realize that instrumental virtuosity is not all that matters. Subsequent steps led him to a status of one of the most closely watched Czech electronic musicians.

His acclaimed album “Dataloss” (released on Bükko Tapes, a label devoted to central and eastern European producers) was born twice, the first recording was lost with a computer collapse.

This unfortunate act led to an even more powerful recording, which is carefully thought through but at the same time prone to deformations and accidents as it was put together on modular synthesizers, which Hort himself crafts under the world-renowned Bastl Instruments banner. Music which is difficult to predict, but pleasurable to follow.

♪♫ Listen: “Komodor Miami” + album stream

Hrtl on Bandcamp, Facebook, YouTube, www.

Already known to beehype readers, the masked musician Kittchen has released yet another album ridden with great sensitivity.

Be it the very specific climate of so-called Sudetenland or the topic of painful relationships, they all come to very poignant terms in his music.

Faithful to his origins, Kittchen still cares about the visual side of his art, his music videos being the most obvious outcome. Kittchen truly grows with every album.

♪♫ Listen: “Sestra”

Kittchen on Soundcloud, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, www.

Mikuláš Odehnal’s (ex-Les, Pime7) new solo endeavour Lišaj is unique in many ways.

After its initial digital release, his first recording named “Szara” was put out on tape (via Genot Centre, Tape-ty) and marks an original blend of abstract rap, field recordings, postrock atmospherics and dark ambient.

Dramatic, yet soothing, after just one EP, Lišaj has become the forerunner of the Czech experimental scene.

♪♫ Listen: “Szara” + album stream

Lišaj on Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Facebook.

Another underground revelation linked to the DIY label/collective NAAB, Nachttante is a duo with a sense for both experimentation and precise, classical instrumentation.

Their set-up prominently featuring guitar, drums and a clarinet reveals that they are willing to play around, their self-titled debut tape (the edition limited to 76 copies only) showing how art rock can be performed without any dull bombast.

♪♫ Listen: “Die Fürsten der Dunkelheit” + album stream

Nachttante on Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Facebook, Tumblr.

Extreme music releases hardly ever make any “universal” best of charts and here comes an opportunity to change the status quo. Perfecitizen label their music as blast core, if we stick to more ordinary genres, death metal and progressive grindcore would be most fitting.

Perfecitizen (who rose from the ashes of Alienation Mental) approach these genres with devotion as well as a will to experiment. The result is crushing, destructive, wild as well as technically potent.

Apart from creating buzz on the local scene, their 2015’s release “Corten” also got kudos from The Black Dahlia Murder’s singer Trevor.

♪♫ Listen: “Crucial Crack” + album stream

Perfectitizen on Soundcloud, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, www.

If only did pop sound like this! Sundays on Clarendon Road are a Prague-based duo whose name is derived from a lazy, but awakening mood on, well, Clarendon Rd., an imaginary quiet place somewhere in the south of England.

Extremely well crafted, yet with the so-called human touch, their 2015 album “Unward” is a record suitable both for solitary wanderings and sharing with those who are closest to you.

♪♫ Listen: “Circles” + album stream

Sundays On Clarendon Road on Soundcloud, Facebook, Twitter, www.