Loutky v nemocnici (i.e. The Puppets in the Hospital) are celebrating their 15th anniversary, and for that occasion the eponymous band has prepared a new album called Divočiny. The new album brings 14 children's songs from the original hub of Czech musicians who have been helping hospitalized children and seniors in hospitals and sanatoriums, together with some Czech puppeteers, for 15 years. The album also contains the current song Antivirus, which was created spontaneously in the JÁMOR studio during the spring recording. This song, together with others from the current recording, can be heard live these days by patients in medical facilities throughout the Czech Republic. The album is a gift for sick children and by purchasing the CD Divočiny you can support this great project.
The songs are composed by Marka Míková, frontwoman of the band Zuby Nehty, writer, director and principal of Loutky v nemocnici, together with other figures of the Czech and Slovak music scene. The recording was done mainly by those who have been cooperating with the non-profit organization for a long time. Pavla Jonssonová (Zuby nehty), Kryštof Míka (Iritující Pýchora), Jana Tóthová (Tornado Lue), Jaromír František Fumas Palme (Původní Bureš), Jiří Hodina (Mantaban) or singers Krystyna Skalická and Sylvie Krobová. The final sound of the recording was done by Ondřej Ježek in the JÁMOR studio.
The CD is released on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the founding of the ensemble, Loutky v nemocnici. "When we started, no one knew that we would visit almost 40 hospitals and sanatoriums and that we would make 700 visits a year. After humble beginnings at the University Hospital in Motol, we managed to build an experienced and respected ensemble, which today includes 25 actors and musicians, whose art can encourage tens of thousands of children and seniors a year during daily visits, ” says Marka Míková on the occasion of the album release .
Members of the ensemble Loutky v nemocnici can now celebrate their anniversary together with their spectators and listeners. The gates of medical facilities are open to their visits again after the silence caused by the pandemic. During individual visits, members of the ensemble must currently observe maximum hygienic measures, including disinfection of persons, puppets and musical instruments. They use protective shields and drapes. Where it is not yet possible to play in a room or in a games room, Loutky v nemocnici visit their spectators in the hospital at least under the windows of hospital pavilions and in the gardens of hospitals, hoping to see a smile under their face masks. It was for this occasion that a new outdoor performance of Šarivari aneb koronavirový kus was created. It also includes the song Antivirus. In the same way, the other songs that the current album contains were created for a theatrical performance that Loutky v nemocnici bring to hospitalized patients in the hospital.