The photographer Barka Fabiánová is visiting mostly Prague musical scene but if you are lucky you can meet her also in front of the foreign stages – i.e. on the festival LIFEM in London or in Garana Jazz festival in Romania. She wanders Slovakia, Austria or France.

Her photos complete articles in cultural magazines like Full Moon or Uni, on the websites Full Moon Zine, Musicweb, Jazzport, Protišedi, Afro.cz or they decorate the booklets of Czech or worldwide musicians. Next to the musical world we can often find landscape in her work, either the Brittany secluded spaces or marine which fascinates the artists now as it did hundred years ago, or melancholy mysteries of Finland.

She herself admits: “I prefer smaller clubs and festivasl because right there you have a chance to be really close to music. I am not in the photography of great stars but more in the emotions which music raises, both on the side of the musician and audience. I try to capture the atmosphere and the musical message and I am glad that sometimes I succeed in some measure.”

She succeeds without any doubts and the proof is visible in the expressions of the musicians in moments of deep focus or melancholy reflection. New expression, land and culture with each photo. The Inuit with a deep voice Tanya Tagaq, excellent Cabo Verdean guitar player Tcheka, Swiss jazz trumpeter Erik Truffaz and guitar player Emilie Zoé, energetic Balkan brass band Fanfare Ciocarlia, renowned British musician and producer Ben Mandelson, legendary Moon people Sun Ra Arkestra, wild nymph from the Ivory coast Dobet Gnahoré, sensual Lebanese Yasmin Hamdan, genial Indian percussionist Trilok Gurtu or Brazilian beauty CéU. These and tens or rather hundreds more brings the agency Rachot (Racket) to the Czech clubs and festival stages for already twenty-four years.

Thanks to Barka’s photos it is very easy to remember the splendid performances of the musicians from all over the world or to looking forward the next music season.

(Anna Mašátová, musical journalist)