OSRS has had a lovely little sit down with the one and only Albert Černý as well as an exclusive photo shoot with the former front man from Charlie Straight. He talks achievements, his former band, influences and what the future holds for him and his new project Lake Malawi.
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We have just heard the news about Charlie Straight, it’s the end of an era…
Charlie Straight aren’t going to continue due to us all having different visions, but for me I don’t regret it, I don’t regret what we did or where we were or anything really. It’s been a dream for me anyway. Doing what I enjoy, playing and making a living.
Have you met people along the way and throughout the recording process that you want to continue working with on your new projects?
I’d love to carry on working with everyone but being trapped on a submarine on four wheels for the past 7 years makes things difficult, but there are good memories. Hopefully, I think what we did with Charlie Straight still counts somehow. Funny things happen, like my drum teacher actually ended up becoming my drummer!
Are you wanting to pursue things on your own now you are at a different point in your life musically or try and continue in the existing foot steps of Charlie Straight?
So I’m working on a new band already, we’ve been working on a few rehearsals and we are called Lake Malawi. For me things won’t change that much, It’s still my songs, my music and lyrics. I’m still going. Of course it’s going to be a bit harder now because as Charlie Straight, we’ve had the brand of the band name for 7 years. We’ve had articles in papers, played with the Red Hot Chilli Peppers… It’s strange being in this new situation but very refreshing.
What direction has the band gone with for new material? Is it the same sort of path sound wise?
Very similar. Bands I adore are Phoenix, I like Everything Everything, I really like James Blake, Magical Clouds as it’s a bit darker and I love Bon Iver. That’s the reason I picked the name Lake Malawitoo.
So how are you enjoying your time in London while you are over here?
It’s great; I just met Guy Fixsen who produced our last record with Charlie Straight. He said to me, remember to talk about your Oyster. Then I remembered it’s been my third Oyster in the last 3 months. They got lost with all my money on it. So now I have one dedicated pocket and it doesn’t leave it.
How does the process work with you when it comes to creating new songs and the writing process?
I tend to sit down, take some time on my own somewhere. Music and lyrics tend to come together. There is this song on the Album called Too Many Knives. It was recorded in a church in our home town, in the East of the Czech Republic., very far from anywhere really. We went there because Michael had the keys of the Church, because he used to play the organ there when he was at school. We went there half secretly…
It’s not much of a secret now…
(laughs) I know. But we went there with Guy (Fixsen) with the organs and the live acoustics of it. It was really great.
Are there any rituals or things you have to do before recording when you are in the studio or performing a live gig?
You need people you are comfortable with and you trust. It’s good to have people around that you trust when you record, in order to accept the criticism. At the same time, you virtually get naked whilst performing with them, you expose yourself… artistically of course… (laughs)
Ha of course! So if you could collaborate with any musician, alive or dead who would you chose?
Hmm
…you can have more than one…
yeah? (laughs) thanks, I’d really like to work on a song about Barcelona that I have ready with Justin Parker who wrote Laura by Bat For Lashes with Natasha Khan, who also wrote ‘video games’ with Lana Del Ray. Id love to work with him, I hope that it will materialize.
Do you have a lot of influences during the writing process then?
I’m staying in Holloway Road right now, with a gay couple. On the first night of my arrival I found myself sitting in the living room and their neighbor Alice. They started telling me their life stories, like Alice hitchhiked from the East Coast to the West Coast in the 70s. One of them, he’s from Lebanon, escaped the civil war. He was showing me the bullet trails across his chest, so I was just sitting there thinking ‘this is crazy stuff!’ It’s these sort of stories that I find really inspiring. That’s why it’s great when you meet people who change your perspective on things. Now I’m going to have to write a song about Alice!
Speaking of memorable stories, what’s the most memorable gig you’ve ever been to?
It’s a very strange story, it has to be Bat For Lashes, I went to their gig in Slovakia. I was listening and at the end of the gig I went over to a bench, sat down and started to cry. I didn’t know why, it doesn’t normally happen to me. It felt like there was an enormous weight on my shoulders. The following morning, my best friend and our manager Vojta, called me and said ‘I just wanted to tell you that last night I had a BBQ at my girlfriends place and this drunk guy came into the garden with a gun and was shooting at people. I’ve been giving interviews to the national news about it but it actually happened’. I was like, what the… Well it’s interesting. It made me change my view on certain things. I became a bit more, thankful and grateful and optimistic. I’m going to remember that gig for a long time.
What are your plans with the new band Lake Malawi?
My plans are to record this first Lake Malawi single and then release it in January or February. So in 2014 I’d like to come to the UK again with the band and play as much as we can here.
