Nice Traps – the title of Khoiba´s debut album hits the nail on the head, and the cover, displaying a young attractive lady who has obviously trapped an insect, shows: Hear it once and you will be trapped by the captivating melodies of the successful Czech band, trapped in a world of music from which you do not really want to escape anymore. Ema Brabcová, who is not only outstanding at singing, but obviously also playing the synthesizer, and Filip Míšek (guitar, synthesizer) are Khoiba. The band, found in May 2002 and at home in the Czech capital Prague, is completed by Petr Šámal (bass) and Jan Malich (drums). The lyrics are from Ema Brabcová.
The musical history of the members of the band reaches far back. Filip Míšek and Petr Šámal met many years ago and played together in a band called "hummingbird". At about the same time, Filip Míšek started with the band "roe-deer". This is where he met the gifted singer Ema Brabcová. Pretty soon they both knew that they wanted to make a different sort of music - and Khoiba was born. The name Khoiba, by the way, is a fictional creation of bassist Petr Šámal. Nowadays, Ema Brabcová, Filip Míšek, Petr Šámal and Jan Malich concentrate exclusively on Khoiba - with due success.
The sound of Khoiba is an inspired interplay of electronic music and clear, melodious guitar tunes, a creative down-tempo mix full of ideas, that creates an exceptional and special atmosphere. A great part in this surely has Ema Brabcová with her distinctive and expressive voice that immerses you in the partly spheric and catchy Khoiba tunes. The track "Half In" (track 2) is a very good example for this. Khoiba describes their style as "pop and atmospheric music, full of melancholy and positive emotions, sometimes very dynamic, somtimes soft". Each track has its own history and its own inherent emotions. Khoiba are not only convincing studio musicians, but very approachable with live performances all over Europe, which they meticulously prepare and enjoy. Whether in their home country the Czech Republic or in France, Germany, the Netherlands or Austria, they have impressed the audience at more than 50 gigs and festivals. "Live performances are very important to us and always very special events full of emotions. We are pleased when the audience gets carried away and when we get their positive feedback", the band says, and one can tell that music plays a big part in their lives. "The best way to show your thoughts and feelings is music. We are fascinated by music and this feeling is getting stronger every day...".
In Prague, Khoiba is very popular. A popularity that has, in the meantime, reached the whole of the Czech Republic and is spreading rapidly. The band goes their own ways. In contrast to many other Czech bands, Khoiba likes to experiment with musical ideas and does not fit into any pattern: "There are many great bands and many good singers in our country, but most of them sound rather similar and the radio stations mostly play the same things. We put ideas and emotions into our music and realize that our music finds more and more response with the audience”. The cover fits in this context, an eyecatcher, without a doubt, and was designed by the photographer and graphic designer Tomáš Kaidl, a friend of the band. Khoiba has worked with Kaidl already in the past ("Dilemma" EP).
With their debut album, Khoiba has produced an extraordinary first work, according to their motto „Expect nothing but the best“, that shows the potential of the young band from Prague. It´s only a matter of time until you are also trapped by Khoiba.
