Hugo Race Fatalists

Australian musician, producer, and writer Hugo Race (ex–Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The Wreckery) returns to Prague with his Italian band Fatalists. At Jazz Dock he’ll present a new concert program drawn from the newly announced album I Made It All Up For You, released on the Gusstaff Records label. The record delivers existential songwriting framed by a signature blend of roots music, electronics, “Italian soundtracks,” and desert-rock energy.

Hugo Race began in the post-punk Melbourne scene of the 1980s, was part of the early Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, and founded the cult group The Wreckery. His music flows from folk to lounge, from “trance industrial blues” to psychedelia, from world music to electronics—charting routes from Australia through Africa and Turkey to Berlin and Italy. The core of Fatalists is Giovanni Ferrario (guitars/synths), Francesco Giampaoli (bass), and Diego Sapignoli (percussion). The trio has long developed a union of Americana/blues with electronics and a cinematic, “Morricone-esque” imagination that highlights Race’s dark baritone and storytelling drive.

The new album I Made It All Up For You follows a series of successful recent collaborations—with Michelangelo Russo (100 Years), Steve Kilbey of The Church (Speed of the Stars), and Gianni Maroccolo (The Vigil, winner of the Premio Ciampi). The band recorded the album by Puccini Lake near Florence. Guests include Jennifer Charles (Elysian Fields)—her voice graces “I Collide” and “Broken Love,” with lyrics by author Alannah Hill—and longtime Race collaborator Michelangelo Russo, whose otherworldly electric harmonica shapes “Against The World,” “Born To Fly,” and “Open Field.” The new work grew from acoustic sketches written in a remote mountain cabin in Italy during a winter blizzard. Seeking “something melodic and beautiful in defiance of reality,” Race rewrote an initial batch of twelve songs, arriving at a compact collection about transformation: darkness and light, endings and beginnings—and, above all, the way we live through change.

The Prague concert will weave premiere pieces from I Made It All Up For You with a survey of the Fatalists’ earlier work. Expect weighty ballads, spacious passages, and a cine-noir atmosphere that becomes physically intense in a club setting; the evening’s backbone will be delicately melodic yet raw music at the crossroads of Americana, blues, and alt-rock.

Hugo Race – vocals, guitar, sampler; Giovanni Ferrario – guitar, keyboards, vocals; Diego Sapignoli – drums, electronics; Francesco Giampaoli – bass guitar.

Tickets: until April 26 – seating 800 CZK, standing 400 CZK. At the door on the day of the concert – seating 900 CZK, standing 500 CZK. VIP ticket: 1200 CZK (seating right by the stage in direct contact with the band).  If you purchase a seated ticket, there is no need to reserve a table. Club discounts do not apply to this concert. Thank you for your understanding.

Band website: www.hugoracemusic.com