The Uniques

Soon after the fall of the iron curtain, after a period that strained the cultural progress in the former eastern block, in the cement structures that the government called apartment complexes, a new generation was born; a generation whose creative ability would dissolve the uniformed world that their parents called home.

Two representatives of this generation meet, two childhood friends, who after moving around the country multiple times, find themselves in the capitol of Slovakia. At the rightest time, the bassist joins, who luckily responded to a distressed musician-wanted add, and the three pool their cards onto the table of the music scene of the country. The trodden paths of Pišta Královic, Pavel Javorník a Jakub Joštiak often brought them onto the stages of churches, which is evident in their technical sovereignty, angelic voices, neo-romantic lyrics, and somewhat provocative stage presence. All this is enriched by the charisma of Pista’s vocals and the mystical symbology that the boys like to subtly weave into their work. The reoccurring themes that appear in all of the boys' artistry is hopefully evidence of shitfree minds of the trio.

The Uniques can appreciate good composition, especially the best of the decades past. The harmonies and sounds of the 80's, the forceful rhythm of the 70's, the colors and melodies of the 60's, held together with the raw electro that the 21st century has woken us with. The Uniques hold so true to the validity of their signature, that they let none of the many aspiring hopefuls influence their debut, From the Dust. From the production and the mixing, through the mastering and the cover design, to the releasing and distribution of the album, it is theirs. It seems that their trial and error approach was successful, evidence of which is that ‘From The Dust’ has been awarded by various critics as an Album of the Year at Radio_Head Awards 2010. Their name also resonated as a nominee of all 5 categories of this prestigious national awards.

Their first single, ‘Get Your Points’, of 2007, scaled the Slovak and Czech radio charts to positions that only western bands were awarded with. The following successful hit, ‘Stranger’, was followed by a slump of the spreading hype, and many predicted the band's down-slide to dust. These doubts were quickly forgotten upon the enthusiastic reception of ‘Wild’ and ‘Dungeon’, both of which are on the still cooling record. The Uniques is looking to broader horizons than their local scene. As of now, they are racking up points with ‘Mud and Grit’, which only scarcely resembles the indie-rock beginnings of the band.

Their performances impress, full of fun improvisation with a dose of self confidence and energy, that rarely fails to intrigue. The boys have already serenaded audiences at venues like Eurosonic Groningen, Cargo London, CCCP Berlin, SWEAT! Leipzig, Roxy Prague, Radost FX Prague, Akropolis Prague, Fleda Brno and Slovak venues like Subclub and MMC in Bratislava, and festivals like Pohoda, Wilsonic, Planet Festival. Their music also had been featured on few compilations like 2009 DC Shoes’ product DVD.

The band had already moved to Berlin where they are signing a contract with Pale Musik Int. Also they featured on this year’s Eurosonic Festival taking place in Groningen, Netherlands as one of the few bands from Eastern Europe.

Though their music and their name is short of unique, their approach to the music they make and the way they display it on stage earns them the right to wear the title proudly.