SOLE

From Bratislava to the world: Sole is a new Slovak World-Jazz ensemble that draws inspiration from traditional songs of many countries, compellingly brushing against the grain with new elements and tones. The result: a unique fusion of jazz, folk, and world music. The debut album “Elos” impresses with original arrangements of traditional folk songs. Singer Júlia Kozáková sings in Romanian, Bucharian, Spanish, Swedish, and Slovak! The Romanian and Balkan traditions are, of course, not neglected on the ensemble’s debut. Vocals, piano, accordion, bass, and percussion merge into a harmonious whole, enabling a lively musical dialogue.

Sole aims to make the multilingual album songs accessible to their listeners. For this reason, the five members came up with something unique: they asked their friend and lyricist Eva Thonhauserová to write a few verses in Slovak and English for each song, reflecting the essence and meaning of the song. These can be found in the booklet. Each song is given its own colors and graphic elements corresponding to the cultural space from which the song originates. “All these verses together form a poem that we named Elos – just like the album,” says Júlia Kozákova.

“Even though the songs come from different countries, times, and languages, their themes are universal. They are human. They speak to us, and we give them a contemporary sound; we find in them things with which we connect. That’s why we named the album Elos. It is a reflection of our band name Sole, just as we have found our reflections in these songs from different times and places,” says the singer about the album’s creative process.

Singer Júlia Kozáková is already known in her home country as a solo singer through her debut album “Manuša” from 2022, which earned her the award for the best Slovak World Music Album. She was also nominated for the “Best New Talent Award” by the European Upbeat platform.

Pianist Ľudovít Kotlár is a well-known jazz pianist in his homeland. He has previously collaborated with Grammy winner Wayne Escoferry. Kotlár has also built a career as a pop singer in his home country.

Double bassist Ľubomír Gašpar is a multi-instrumentalist known in Slovakia as a solo cimbalom player. In 2021, he released the solo album “Ľubozvuk,” which won the award for the best Slovak World Music Album.

Accordionist Filip Urda won the Music Fund’s prize at the “New Faces of Slovak Jazz” competition. He is also active in the ensemble Especias, which combines swing, jazz, classical music, folk, and Latin.

Drummer Juraj Raši is a sought-after Slovak musician, producer, and educator who studied drums at the University of Graz under the guidance of American drummer Howard Curtis.