Nina & Její Kapela Ach, Boze Zvedni Telefon (My God Has A Telephone)

In the late sixties in Czechoslovakia there was a short-lived movement of artists passionate about American rhythm & blues and soul music. They released dozens of 45s - mainly Czech covers of popular American soul tunes - that are rarely to be found nowadays. Now, a small Czech label Memory Records Prague wants to renew the tradition of Czech soul covers reworking the songs from the contemporary soul scene.
„Back in the sixties, many foreign tunes were remade in Czech language and some exquisite though little-known records were produced. We love these records and now we aspire to renew the tradition of Czechoslovak quality covers. That is why we collaborate with contemporary Czech artists and inspire them to rework some of our favorite soul and funk tunes. And we release these tracks on 45s,“ says the founder of the label Milan Dedera.
Memory Records Prague is a collective of vinyl enthusiasts drawn together by the love for soul and funk music. After releasing their first 45 record with two little known Czech covers of Otis Redding´s and James Brown´s songs recorded in the sixties, they decided to go a step further and produce their own recordings. They initiated the formation of a brand new studio band of renowned Czech musicians and started reworking different contemporary soul tunes. Finally, they decided to record a Czech version of a track they had been excited about for long time. It was My God Has a Telephone originally released by The Flying Stars of Brooklyn, NY in 2017 on Colemine Records.
There are two versions of the songs that resulted from the recording session at the end of 2019. A smooth Czech vocal version to be found on the A side and a special heavy soul Hammond version on the B side. The studio band coming together just for the recording named themselves after the vocalist´s name – Nina & Její Kapela (meaning Nina & Her Band in English). The record was released on 14th February in a limited edition of 300 copies. The vocal version of the song immediately drew attention of the Czech music radios.
“It is almost impossible to find the old Czech soul records in second hand markets these days. Most of them are held by the fancy resellers or music collectors. Once you find some in the dusty craves it feels like discovering a real gem. We want to produce something for the next generation of diggers so they have something to hunt for. Our records are something like a message in the bottle for the vinyl lovers in 30 or 40 years. We hope that finding them at some odd places will make them feel the same pleasure as we feel by discovering some rare Czech soul tunes from the sixties in an old charity store,” adds Dedera.