We are meeting in an Asian-European restaurant in Prague’s Vršovice, which is owned by one of the band members, DJ Mike Trafik. Forty-seven-year-old Michal Opletal, or Orion, devotes himself to his music.
Vladimír Brož, alias Vladimir 518, is engaged in the creation of comics, books, illustrations and graphics. He is also very interested in architecture. Mike and Vladimír are also fathers of families.
Even so, they meet, are friends and give concerts. In a few days, the biggest concert of the year awaits them in Ledárny in Prague-Braník, and in the fall a club tour as well. They are said to be able to stand on stage and get things going even better than years ago.
“Actually, we are still the same. We are fascinated by the fact that nothing changes. We are left with basic chemistry and basic setup. I think that the chemistry of the band has been exactly the same since 2005, when Trafik joined us. That’s why we may not even perceive that time so strongly. It’s still a constant thing,” said Vladimir 518.
“I think the chemistry has matured, or matured. Now we are reaping the fruits of our labor… So we do this consistently, but now they are juicier,” added Michal Opletal alias Orion.
Photo: PSH band
Michal Opletal alias Orion and Vladimir 518 in the background.
The gentlemen are certainly not doing anything about their increasing age. “It’s just really maturing. It’s better now than it was. We didn’t have that much self-confidence before. And now it’s not so much about self-confidence in the sense of puffing up, but in the sense of knowing yourself,” said Vladimir 518.
“This self-awareness gives us greater self-confidence, joy and relaxation,” they agreed.
Forty on the neck
“When I imagined that I would be 40, I certainly did not imagine what I am living. I actually still feel like a little boy, and in a good way. At the same time, I accepted some responsibility, I guess I understand that there are some limits. If there were photographers like us, this country would be in paradise,” said Vladimir 518.
It is music that is a kind of escape from reality for artists. “However, we have been doing it since the beginning so that it is part of our life. It’s not done in a showbiz way, like we run off somewhere and invent new alter egos. Of course you can hide behind it, but it’s actually quite intertwined with our lives,” Orion explained.
“It’s us. Everything we do to that music. Even if you cut yourself off mentally in order to rest, it’s still you with everything you do around you,” added Mike Trafik.
We cut it enough. And even if I see that a broom is coming, he says that it’s normally a carving.
Vladimir 518
It is said that with increasing age, even their demeanor did not calm down, rather the opposite. “I feel that if I look at those old concerts, the period of the repertoire is clear that it was very soft, then came rock ‘n’ roll, which was electronic and harder, then came other solo projects like that. I experimented a lot with different styles of music, we went back and forth in different ways, but today, when I look at the concert, it is quite strict,” Vladimír said.
“We cut it quite a bit. And even if I see that, for example, a broom is coming, he will say that it is normally a carving,” he added.
Photo: Petr Hloušek, Law
PSH concert and Vladimir 518 in the foreground.
According to Vladimír, PSH is not and never was a band that was only tough. He said they always oscillated between different positions: “I’ve always liked that we’re a band that works with emotions. So it’s not only hard, but it’s also gentle, and we’re able to suddenly let the concert fall completely to the bottom into some kind of emotion, when it’s delicate. I feel that this spectrum of emotions is quite typical for us. It’s kind of our signature.”
“And that transformation doesn’t just have to be softness versus hardness, but it can also be simplicity versus complexity. Like some intellectual complexity between direct communication,” explained Vladimir 518. “And all with nobility,” Orion added with a smile.
Will it ever end?
The end of PSH has been talked about several times, specifically in 2011. Last year, they presented a film about their life together at the film festival in Karlovy Vary.
“I can’t be mad at the filmmakers for shooting it differently. I should have lived differently. I won’t change it now,” commented one of its protagonists, rapper Vladimir 518, last year after watching the film PSH The Neverending Story.
It was the film adaptation of their joint path that could seem like a dot after a common path. But the opposite is true. “Every time you media thought it was over, it wasn’t. On the other hand, when it wasn’t talked about, it was almost over,” said DJ Mike Trafik.
Last year, in Karlovy Vary, they presented a film about the history of the band – PSH Nekonečný kýrobé. Video: Bionaut
“These dips are probably normal. You can never keep it up just like this. And the fact that you fall and you categorically fail is actually the engine to get out of it. It never got to the point where we thought it wasn’t worth it anymore… that we burned out and felt it was shit,” said Michal Opletal.
“We have our own internal integrity that holds us together,” added Mike Trafik.
“We’re actually doing it for ourselves. The fans then help us to do it as well as possible. Then we can give it all to them so they can enjoy it. If it wasn’t strong and solid from the ground up, it wouldn’t be able to work like this,” Opletal added.
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“It’s true that I came across one interesting thing. And that’s the end. We played with it like crazy at first, then it was these concepts that we so theatrically released among people, then we really believed that we had to leave it, so we thought that maybe we will release the last record or something .. And I certainly had several moments when I thought that I definitely want to move my life on a different track, but somehow we are not able to do that. And at the same time we have that freedom. By telling yourself that it can end at any time, it gives you a lot of strength. That life in finitude is terribly liberating. You know you can do it, or that you want to do it, but the thing doesn’t allow you to do it. For me, this is the most authentic message that it makes sense to do it,” Vladimír described his feelings.
“Now we’re just at a stage where we’d rather keep our mouths shut and not say anything out loud,” he added.
Photo: Aerofilms
Trailer: PSH The Neverending Story
The guys released their last album in 2019, it’s called Debut and it really should have been the last. “At that moment we really believed that this was the last album, so far it is,” added Vladimír.
“I did a solo album before that,” Orion said. “Vladimir is working on an album with 7krát3, Trafo is working on his solo album. And we always invite ourselves to those projects and know about each other as part of that. And in addition to that, we play our joint concerts,” he added.
“If you’re asking about an album, of course it’s possible in the future, but right now it’s not on the agenda. We’re doing our thing and we’ll just see,” added Orion.
Concert in Ledárny
PSH is planning its next concert on Wednesday, September 6 in Ledárny, Branice. “We will play there with a live band and have guests there. The singer Katarzia, the band 7krát3 and Zuzana Tvarůžková will arrive. It will be just under two hours long and composed of our best stuff. We are looking forward to it, it is our biggest concert and in our home environment,” outlined Michal Opletal.
In October, the guys plan to take a break from PSH, and for the last two months of the year, they will start again on their club tour.
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2023-09-05 05:17:00
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