Budeč

Budeč is a solo project by Olaf Olafsonn inspired by medieval folk music, dungeon synth aesthetic and the field recorded practice. The debut album was produced in only in a month around the turn of November and December 2020 in the Gates of Hell Studio, located right below the former settlement of Budeč. All instruments were performed by the author, with female soprano vocals recorded inside the rotunda of St. Peter and Paul on Budeč Hill. In the first week of December, the first video for the single Gloria, directed by Jiří Schlesinger, was released at Budeč’s youtube channel. The video consists solely of the pictures of the Budeč settlement and its nearest surroundings and it sticks to the DIY aesthetic – no one else was involved in making it. DCCCXCV The name of the album, 895 spelled in roman numerals, is highly symbolic, signifying the founding year of the rotunda of St. Peter and Paul by the Bohemian ruler Spytihněv I. The year of the establishing of the rotund is also the symbolic beginning of a new musical project. The symbol of nativity is present in three forms– in terms of its form, DCCCXCV is a Christmas “Messe”, based on the Latin “Messe ordinarium”. The album contains seven compositions in a strict order and tells the story of shepherds who heard the angel‘s voice and started their journey to welcome the Redeemer. Pastoral motives are symbolised by flutes and drums and, on the other side of the spectrum, the musical markers of the Higher Power are symbolised by synthetisers and female vocals. The whole recording is underpinned by the soundscape of the Budeč hill recorded in December 2020.