no. 3 12/2000

Central Europian Percusion Ensemble DAMA DAMA is original Musical group, the only one of its kind in the Czech Republik.The music they perform lies somewhere between contemporary classical music, rock, world music and theater. For ten years they successly search for new performs of contemporary music with expressiv role of the rhythm and colours of sound. Ensemble doesn´t avoid electronics and it uses also the instruments made by the members of ensemble, which doesn't exept capacious metal sculpture. Of course there are more ensembles in Europe, which specializes on percussions ( Kroumata in Sweden, Amadinda in Hungary), but none of them as much as DAMA DAMA are concentred with all of the three aspects - compositional, instrumental and multimedial.

Although the DAMA DAMA was officially formed in 1990, the ideas behind the group reach back as far as 1985, when two of its founding members - Dan Dlouhý ( aplied in DAMA DAMA up to the present day like artistic chief ) and Adam Kubíček - began their career in the field of contemporary music as the percussion section of the chamber ensemble Art Inkognito ( Art Inkognito was found in 1985 by composers Zdeněk Plachý and Ivo Medek ).

Once they started getting acguainted with the work of percussion ensembles in Western Europe ( Kroumata in Sweden ) and neighboring countries ( Amadinda in Hungary ) as well as in the Czech Republic ( the Prague Percussion Ensemble, directed by Vladimír Vlasák ), their aim shifted to founding an ensemble of their own, one which would fulfill their musical expections. This meant using transformed elements and influences from ethnic music and the compositional achievments of contemporary Western classical music, combined with the vitality of rock music. At the last phases of existence Art Inkognito was percussion section the only markedly functional part of this ensemble and the eleven-member group was at the begining of 1989 reducated to three percussion players with usual using of piano, violoncello and oboe and with old name Art Inkognito took part in famous Rockfest 1988 and 1989 in Prague.

In its final phase, a typical Art Inkognito concert was made up of eight works "purely" for percussion, one work for solo piano performed by its composer Ivo Medek and one group composition. Given this situaton, it seemed entirely logical to change name and create Dama Dama, a new, four- member percussion ensemble ( Dan Dlouhý, Adam Kubíček, Josef Blaha and Martin Opršál ).
The basic program was clear: interpred original compositions written by members Dama Dama or by Brno composers ( the Brno school of composition centred around The Janáček Academy of Music - JAMU ) and leading world composers for both standart and specail percusion instruments. But the group's evolution didn't stop there. A further step lay in the effort to go beyond the bounds of the ordinary classical music concert by creating a kind of dramatic-musical program. Ensemble started using theatrical costumes and mask, which changed in the cours of the concert, as well as theatrical lighting, a number of special instruments and stylized movement, in order to underscore this idea.

Despite the uneasiness sometimes shown by members of the musical proffesion and even certain members of the group, their idea was received positively by the public at the first concert of this type, which they give in the " Býčí skála" Cave in the Moravian Karst in 1993. This concert, organized by the rock group Bratrstvo, enabled them to begin appearing before rock audiences ( at rock and alternative music festivals and clubs ), as well as the classical music events like the Prague Spring Festival.
From here just one more step was needed to fulfill idea of creating a kind of concert-theatre with original music, script, direction, costumes and specially created instruments, along with sound installations whose visual design was derived from the content of the composition. The result of this came in 1995 with "Vlnoplochy" ( "Wave Fronts") -" musical-visual journeys between the micro-, macro-, and megaworld and the human psyche", a work which was played at the opening concert of the Experimental Music Exposition at the Moravian Autumn International Music Festival in Brno.

Among the ensemble's performance highlights in 1995 was the premiere of the composition "Brána slunce" ( "Sun Gate" ) for solo percussion and symphony orchestra by Vit Zouhar, as part of the Brno State Philharmonic Orchestra's subscription series, and a concert at the Prague Spring International Music Festival in May 1995.

Also I would like to mention the multimedial show "Udolí lidí" ( "The Valley of Men" ). This remarkable project was realized in the Brno Boby Centrum and opened the Exposition of Experimental Music - the Moravian Autumn Internatiolnal Music Festival.

In 1999 Dama Dama performed three times at the Prague Spring Festival ( a special concert in the Archa Theatre, a performance in the Spanish Hall on Prague Castle as part of the Stockhausen's Gruppen For Three Orchestras, and Dan Dlouhý with the violinist Ivan Ženatý in the Rudolfinum Hall ).
In 2000 ensemble prformed at the Days of Czech Culture in Vienna and at the Days of Percussion Instruments in Warsaw. They opened International TV Festival "Golden Prague" and they took part the "Concert for Third Milenium" at the World-wide exposition EXPO 2000 in Hannover.
Dama Dama is winner of the European competition of percussion ensembles in Eschede 1991, holder of the Czech Music Fund Prize 1992, holder of the Czech Music Board Prize 1995 and winner of festival "Mladé Podium 1999" in Karlovy Vary. In 1994 Dama Dama participated in recording the soundtrack for the Czech film "Amerika" , based on the novel by Franz Kafka.
Today Dama Dama has 11 CD on its account.
The question arises, what does name Dama Dama mean. Essentially three versions of its origin exist. First - it can be anagram of names of founding members ( Dan, Martin, Adam ) or it means concentration or self-control in Hindi. Also this name sounds rhythmicly. In Latin Dama Dama means fallow deer. Also some of compositions are called with latin names of animals and even nicknames of members Dama Dama are:

Dan Dlouhý - Dama Dama
Martin Opršál - Marmota Marmota
Adam Kubíček - Axis Axis
Jan Řihák - Jacona Jacona
Stanislav Pliska - Stelio Stelio
Ctibor Bártek - Conger Conger

Today Dama Dama is constituted by four players ( even it's personaly variable ), who play premiere of the most of the Czech authors' compositions for solo percussion instruments. The group is classified with in ensembles of classical music, but this specification is not very precise, because Dama Dama operates with elements of jazz and rock, ethnic- and folklore-music, with basic aesthetic platform established in elements of classical music. As it was told, the tendency of Dama Dama is represent of confines of theater and music, which makes the audience at concerts move concentrated.
Dan Dlouhý says, that aim of this endeavour is - void classical music of seriosness. They don´t make fun of classical music, but they only want to bring the music out of flexibility of concert halls.
Program of Dama Dama covers collosal spectrum of classical and popular music. They plan their own compositions, that composed by Dan Dlouhý ( he studied composition on Janáček Academy of Music at Alois S. Piňos ) and compositions of Czech authors ( I. Medek, A. S. Piňos, D. Forró, M. Kopelent, K. Husa etc.) and foreign authors ( S. Reich, J. Cage, I. Xenakis, J. Bosseur etc. ).
On the question, how much is he affected of styles, which are out of border classical music, Dan Dlouhý answered: " Essentially all, what is out of classical music, it interests me more than contemporary classical music. For me compositions of second half of 20th century are dead… " He says, that they logicaly come to rhythm and colour after possibilities of working with tonheight and tone affinity was beaten. When he composes for traditional instruments, mostly he uses then either in prepared form or in extrem positions or the sound is picked up and electroacoustic edited.

In some compositions by Dan Dlouhý it appears a special sound-technical effects of layer, which are a treshold of perception and it is necessary to activate a " pheripheral hearing" to catch it. It is a fine music, which doesn´t need only a good recording aparates, but also a guiet parts of day - if it is possible. It is known an opinion that in the music of Dama Dama there are sounds, which can provoke the burst unconscionsness. Some of critics think that the music of this ensemble is scenic or that the scenic part is such important that most of compositions are lossing their expression and it is not possible to critic as a pure music. Dan Dlouhý says that he is not suprised at their opinion, because in his compositions he tries to experimentate maximally and to make as much bizard way as is possible in the melodical and harmonical lines, which can flure together to undistinctly mass of sounds and is effective apparently filmed formless ground.

On the performances Dama Dama surprised with the quantity of instruments. That are the traditional instruments - timpani, bells, vibrafon, xylophon, marimba - and the instruments less traditional ( the copies of the exotic cultures instruments ) and the self-made instrumnts - Dan Dlouhý has about 900 of them. ( In September 2000 were his instruments exhibited in The House of Art in Brno). Apart from the percusions Dama Dama use piano ( normal or prepareted form ), synthesizers, special brass or string instruments ( thuned guitars, zithers ), electronical instruments ( theremin ), human voice, and also use the human body as an instruments. When is neccesary to use the instruments which anybody of members can´t play, they invite a guest player ( Jana Horáková - electrical violin, Daniel Forró - syntesizer expert ). Dramaturgicaly are performations propared very precisely. All compositions continue with no pause between them. Choosing of compositions is made to culminate. To see this ensemble of percussions it mean to see a ritual. They don´t try to perform some primaeval magic or mysticity, they only offer the harmony with rhythm to the listener.

In 1994 Dan Dlouhý together with Lenka Župková created duo KONVERGENCE like a chamber and theatrically verse of ensemble Dama Dama. This ensemble use considereble technically dispositions of both of players and contemporary musical technics ( electronic musical instruments, half playback ), a lot of special instruments and theatre elements in cooperation with graduates of scenography on JAMU. Since 1995 itead of Lenka Župková works in KONVERGENCE Jana Horáková.

"Musicaly visual projects of ensemble established new interprectaly poetics, which is demanded today and which helps to contemporary production of composers to assert where it couldn´t be possible with the ordinary access of interprets. Once it will be the task for musical historics to rate, how much Dama Dama determined the evolution of musical thinking in part decades, firmly now a days it is possible, that it´s function is specific an unnegliqible".

Petra Hniková

More info:www.damadama.cz