Lichočar /lɪxoʧar/ is a Czech witch folk band from the South Moravian city of Brno. Back in 2019, this unfamiliar, shady name popped into the head of one of us, and oddly enough, three friends decided to find out who or what could be called Lichočar. Was it a demon? A treacherous sprite? A malevolent spirit? We weren’t sure. And the stories of Lichočar began to take shape – in the written word as well as in melody.
Today, we know a little bit more about the fishy character. We know, for instance, that they are a demon of misfortune, a shadow nestled in the heart of Europe; and we know that they have not one, but Three Mothers – a trinity being once worshipped all over the Old Continent in some form. We’re telling a story of a demon who was once going by another name and had nothing to do with bad luck. But as they say, life happens.
Meanwhile, others have joined the band. Today, we have two guitarists, a cellist, a mandolinist, a bodhranist, a recorder player, and four female vocalists; we also use jews harp, shamanic drum, shruti box, Celtic harp or jouhikko in our compositions. We take inspiration from folk songs and old stories, but through improvisation, we create our own, original sound and new music.
In February 2022, we released our debut eponym album related to our upcoming short story collection about Lichočar – also known as the wickman in some parts of the world – whose story we tell.
The album was created with financial support of Music Fund Slovakia.
