Milli Janatková and Jaroslav Kořán will launch their album Songs of the Day and Songs of the Night on May 13 at the Čítárna Unijazz in Prague. The double album is a cross-section of their fifteen-year musical collaboration, which began when they first met in 2010 at the conservatory where they both were teaching. Their joint improvisations gradually took shape during recording sessions in a home studio in Prague as well as at a cottage in Bohemia Forest region. The album is launched at Blue Lizard Publishing.

Building on Kořán’s musical motifs, Janatková layered spontaneous vocal improvisations, later enriched with additional instruments and sound design. The result is a diverse collection of tracks oscillating between energetic improvisation and ambient soundscapes, inspired by the sounds of both nature and the city, as well as the shared playfulness of the two artists. Their work also humorously celebrates simple everyday life and the attentive observation of the surrounding world.

“Milli Janatková appeared in my world as a colleague at the conservatory. We quickly became friends, meeting both over musical instruments and at lunches in the cafeteria, where we would burst into laughter. What followed was a series of musical collaborations, concerts, and recordings. Distinctive compositions emerged, as well as meditative soundscapes in which we play with real-world sounds and a different sense of time.”

Jaroslav Kořán

“A surprising alignment of voice and rhythms emerged almost immediately, and from then on we were planning an album. Time swept away most of the improvisations, but some were captured. We present the work of two graphic artists and musicians who love free expression. With ears wide open and eyes wide, and despite a shared dreaminess keeping our feet on the ground, after fifteen years we release Songs of the Day and Songs of the Night.”

Milli Janatková

Jaroslav Kořán works across music and sound, graphic art, photography, and video, unified by a focus on controlled chance and the use of unusual materials and techniques. He plays a range of percussion instruments, including his own creation, the Clock of Dreamers. His core domain is improvisation, as well as music for film and theatre. He is involved in recording and processing music and sound, filming and post-production, photography, and visual art. In 1992 he founded the improvisational ensembles Clock of Dreamers and The Forgotten Orchestra of the Land of Dreamers. He has collaborated on various theatre, film, dance, and exhibition projects – for example with Petr Nikl, Agnes Kutas, Petr Tichý, Michal Nejtek and Feng-Jün Song, Jan Burian, Milli Janatková, and his brother Michal Kořán. He has released numerous original albums.

Milli Janatková is a musician and visual artist who bridges genres and artistic disciplines. She works in painting, printmaking, improvisation and composition, singing, and plays guitar and percussion. In addition to performing on club and festival stages in the Czech Republic, she has appeared internationally (including India, Nepal, Denmark, France, Greece, Germany, Portugal, and Norway). Her original albums Transformation, To My Roots, Deep, and Quiet, Please! have received awards such as The Independent Music Awards and the LIT Talent Awards, as well as a nomination for the Classic Prague Awards. She has experience with electronics through her collaboration with the project katsa.theo, which earned a 2010 Anděl Award nomination for the album Porto. Janatková’s work expresses respect for health and opens up themes of responsibility through an understanding of stories from personal, familial, and cultural history. After twenty years of teaching and volunteer work, she now works as an independent artist.

Single Wind – Songs of the Day

Art collaboration 2010 – 2026