CLOU

Originally a quintet with two guitarists, Clou founding member and long-time friend Hube Toasty, unexpectedly moved to Panama in early 2004, ending his short tenure in Clou. The remaining four members Luke Vyhnal a.k.a Lukemo (vocals), Petr Vasko a.k.a Petrock (guitar), Radek Tomasek a.k.a Rae (drums) and Bugsy (bass), went on to record as a five piece in Prague.

Lukemo, Petrock and Rae are natives of the Czech republic, while Bugsy, the bass player, comes from Huntington Beach, California. He moved to Prague in the early nineties and decided to call it home. When asked about how they found their sole American member, singer Lukemo explains, "Bugsy was just this drunk American guy that was trying to hitchhike to Moscow or something, I still don’t know his real name or exactly how we found him". Nice! But despite his mystery emergence, the American influence in the band seems to have helped them develop their English lyrics, making there music more accessible for European and International audiences.

Their debut EP, "First", finds Clou on the power-pop/rock trail: energetic, upbeat and catchy. The songs are deceptively simple, which makes them instantly likeable, and the three songs from the EP later made their way onto several compilations, and a number of soundtracks to skateboard, snowboard or BMX videos.

However, the real breaking point in the career of Clou came in March 2005, when their debut album, "Postcards", was released on Sony BMG. The album was recorded in Prague studio, Bellatrix, with the help of singer Dara Rolins on the song "Postcards", and vocalist Krystof Michal from Support Lesbiens on "A Place".

The album featured a- thirteen- song cocktail of hardcore, punk and rock influenced by pop, and immediately caused a sensation throughout the Czech media. The highly acclaimed album made it into the TOP 80 sales charts at number 10 within three months of its release, and the first single "Island Sun" topped the chart of the most frequently played songs on Czech radio stations. At the moment it is number one in the Czech TOP 50 and number 9 in an international airplay chart TOP 100.

The "Island Sun" video was to become even more successful. Directed and produced by one of Czech's foremost directors of photography, Richard Øeøicha, it first conquered the Czech video charts, and in May was shown in a prime time slot on MTV European and put into rotation, opening the door to the band abroad.

On June 5th Clou successfully performed with Green Day as their support band at a Prague concert in Sazka Arena, and although the band will mostly play live throughout the summer, they will also release the second single from the album, called "Lean On My Shoulder".

So join us at MTV as we welcome Clou onto the international music radar, and shine the spotlight on these newcomers by making them our Artists Of The Week.

HH