A Video About Composing the Music for the Film Černák

I’ve published a new video on YouTube where I talk about how I composed the music for the film ČERNÁK. This film, which tells the story of mafia figures from the 1990s, has been one of the most-watched films on Slovak Netflix for several months. In the video, I speak in Slovak, but there are English subtitles so my friends and colleagues abroad can follow along.

I spent over a year working on the music for this film. The percussion and drums were recorded with Pat Mastelotto in Texas during the sessions for our album KOMARA II. It was an intense period full of travel, hard work, and musical exploration.

ČERNÁK has divided our country – though, truth be told, Slovakia has been deeply divided since the pandemic. Some people believe that dark chapters of our history should be forgotten and left untouched. Others think these stories should be filmed and openly discussed. After the film’s release, I received some hateful messages, but the positive responses were much more numerous.

At the moment, I am out of work. Some people view us, the creators, as if we collaborated with the crimes of the mafia. This is the atmosphere in my country today. On top of that, Slovakia is facing other issues – there’s currently a commission from the European Union investigating the misuse of EU funds. It seems that a large portion of those funds has simply been stolen. Meanwhile, our government, which is increasingly turning toward Russia, acts as if a “bloody mouse” from Brussels has invaded the country. Prices are rising, a new transaction tax has been introduced, and other taxes have increased as well.

Still, I know people are dealing with even bigger problems.

I’m trying to keep moving forward. I’m working on merch – T-shirts and hoodies (haha), recording music, making behind-the-scenes videos, writing blogs and podcasts. We’ll see what the future brings.

Thank you for being here with me.

David

About MIKULÁŠ ČERNÁK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovak_mafia