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First of all, Ian, how did the idea for Music on Request come about?<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ian Mikyska<\/span>|<\/span>Photo: Barbora Navr\u00e1tilov\u00e1, Radio Prague International<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n “I’ve had this idea floating around in my head for probably about ten years. There was a very specific moment I remember\u2014I was taking the 22 tram from the centre, from Malostransk\u00e1, up towards Prague Castle. There’s a moment when it turns onto Chotkova Street, and you get a few seconds of a beautiful view of Prague before the tram continues.<\/p>\n “It’s really only four or five seconds, but it’s something I always look forward to on that particular tram ride. One day, I waited for the view, enjoyed it, and then thought it would be great to write a piece about this moment\u2014about this view on the ride.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Photo: Mapy.com<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n \n “One day, I waited for the view, enjoyed it, and then thought it would be great to write a piece about this moment\u2014about this view on the 22 tram ride.”<\/em> <\/p>\n “Then I started brainstorming more generally about writing music\u2014not just for listening on a bus or train, but for a particular ride with a specific duration and the landscape around it. About three years ago, I brought the idea to Nikol\u00e1 \u0160tefkov\u00e1, a producer at Prague Quiet Music Collective. She really liked it, and we decided to approach Czech Radio. That’s when things really got going.”<\/p>\n How many composers took part in the project? And how did you choose them?<\/strong><\/p>\n “There were six composers in total, working with seven cities. Two pieces were in Prague, and then one each in Karlovy Vary, Ostrava, Olomouc, Brno, and \u00dast\u00ed nad Labem.<\/p>\n “Generally, we work with composers who share our aesthetic\u2014quiet, reduced, often slowed-down or pared-back. But for this project, the idea from Czech Radio\u2019s Vltava station was to expand geographically, to avoid making it Prague-centric and to encompass the whole country.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Karlovy Vary<\/span>|<\/span>Photo: archive of Paul-Henri Perrain<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n “So we commissioned composers who weren\u2019t always stylistically close to our usual aesthetic, opening up the possibilities. We generally chose people with a relationship to the city and its public transport, though not always a straightforward one.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ostrava<\/span>|<\/span>Photo: Guillaume Narguet, Radio Prague International<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n “For example, Jakub Rataj chose the bus in Karlovy Vary that he took as a teenager to rehearsals with his band\u2014it inspired him. Daniel Sk\u00e1la has lived in Ostrava his whole life, and the trolleybus goes from the conservatory where he studied and now teaches. Lucie P\u00e1chov\u00e1 hasn\u2019t spent much time in \u00dast\u00ed, but the city attracts her.<\/p>\n “Eden Lonsdale, who wrote the second Prague piece, lives in Berlin. He came to Prague for a short residency and spent a few days riding trams, metros, and buses. By coincidence, the line he took included the stretch of the 22 I mentioned, with its beautiful view. It\u2019s a lovely ride\u2014popular with both tourists and Prague residents.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00dast\u00ed nad Labem<\/span>|<\/span>Photo: Jana Volkov\u00e1, Czech Radio<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n When you approached the composers, did you give them any specific instructions about the length, the form, or how the music should sound, or did you leave it entirely up to them?<\/strong><\/p>\n “The sound of the music was entirely up to them. The instructions we did give were that the piece had to be for a tram ride, and that there would be two versions\u2014one including a sound recording of the ride, so you hear the tram, the stops, and all the other sounds.<\/p>\n “The other version is just the instruments, so people can listen directly on the tram. We didn\u2019t specify the length precisely, but most pieces ended up around 5 to 15 minutes, which is ideal for the project.<\/p>\n “We also specified that the pieces should be as site-specific as possible\u2014they shouldn\u2019t just be autonomous compositions you could play anywhere, but should incorporate the element of the ride.”<\/p>\n Tell us more about this, because as you said, there are two versions. One is purely instrumental, while the other includes the sounds of traffic and the ride itself. How does it actually work?<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Prague Quiet Music Collective<\/span>|<\/span>Photo: Tom\u00e1\u0161 Vod\u0148ansk\u00fd, Czech Radio<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n “You can find both versions online on the Czech Radio website and elsewhere. If you want to listen at home with an idea of how it works with the ride, you can play the version with the sound recording.<\/p>\n “But the main goal is to take the version with only instruments. You put on headphones\u2014ideally noise-cancelling or enclosed, but still letting in some outside sound\u2014wait for the 22 at Malovanka, press play as it arrives, and experience it on the site.<\/p>\n “The recordings are freely available and will remain so. Our dream is that, over the next few years, someone might go to a festival in Ostrava or visit Karlovy Vary and listen to a piece on the tram or bus\u2014gradually working through all seven compositions.”<\/p>\n How will people find out about the project unless they listen to or follow Czech Radio\u2019s Vltava station? Will they actually discover it on the tram or metro?<\/strong><\/p>\n “We discovered during production that it\u2019s virtually impossible to put advertisements on specific public transport lines\u2014the logistics just aren\u2019t geared for that, and advertisers generally don\u2019t need it.<\/p>\n “There will be some ads on trams, buses, and trains, but not\u2014unfortunately\u2014on the 22. Or if there are, it will be by accident.”<\/p>\n
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![\"Ian](\"https:\/\/english.radio.cz\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/rcz_lightbox_v2\/public\/images\/4f237514458c54a90c17ee2ecc500c96.jpg?itok=cOM4_HfD×tamp=1761036993\" "\\"Ian")