Harafica is a progressive Moravian-Slovak cimbalom band whose musical roots lie in the region of Uherské Hradiště, but who also enrich their repertoire with songs from other regions of Moravia, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. In addition to traditional folklore, the group is dedicated to original songwriting, but is not afraid of interesting musical crossovers. Recent concert performances and tours have included songs from popular and film music, where traditional music has been complemented by drums and electric bass guitar.
Harafica’s artistic director is dulcimer player Petr Gablas, and the band leader is violinist Martin Melichárek. The band performs not only as an independent ensemble, but also regularly collaborates with renowned soloists and prestigious musical ensembles, including the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, Hradišťan, VÚS Ondráš and the SĽUK Orchestra from Bratislava. Harafica has recorded its sound on three profile albums, the latest of which, Harafica Symphonic (2020), is an original fusion of hammered dulcimer music with symphony orchestra. The band also produced an animated video, Gypsy’s Misfortune (2016), which they presented during their Harafica Plays Jackson tour. This unique project kicked off the #HaraficaTour concert series, which packed rock and underground clubs across the country from 2018 to 2022.
Harafica will be the imaginary icing on the cake of the first Outdoor Groove and will close Saturday’s programme in style, ‘Moravian style’.
