ConTRIOlogy, composed of Jana Vondrů (vocals, electronics), Žaneta Vítová (accordion, reed organ, vocals), and Michal Grombiřík (dulcimer, vocals), blends folk melodies with their compositional approach and improvisation. The result is a flowing musical collection of ten compositions rich in timbre and soundscapes, with a strong emotional undertone. The individual pieces retain the simplicity and naturalness of folk songs while incorporating a strong improvisational element, emphasizing sonority. The entire collection is sensitively intertwined by Tomáš Vtípil’s electronic sounds. He also contributed to the album as an arranger, playing the violin, trumpet, and percussion, as well as a prepared bass guitar or even a seashell.

“We look for different colours in the sound, we use instrument preparation and various techniques. A major part of the compositions emerged from improvisation, which we give plenty of space on the record. Sometimes, we only borrow a melody from a song, and then we take inspiration from the piano accompaniment; other time, we play it as it is written, or we change the rhythm or the entire melody. The lyrics remain the same—almost always. The electronic sounds were added later, in the studio, so the overall sound was a big surprise for us as well. Tomáš has an incredible sense of enhancing the energy and essence of a song, without overpowering it. We also debated whether to use the original names of the songs, but in the end, we chose our own. We usually named them after their first words,” the musicians explain their approach to the material.

Featuring dulcimer, accordion, and vocals, ConTRIOlogy focuses on interpreting contemporary classical music and improvisation. The trio was formed in the autumn of 2016 at the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno with the clear aim of creating new compositions. Thanks to its lineup and use of various interpretational techniques, the ensemble lends a distinctive timbre and sonic potential to compositions by both the emerging generation and established composers such as Petr Graham, Daniel Skála, Ondřej Kyas, Michal Wróblewski, Ian Mikyska, Radim Hanousek, Jiří Lukeš, and others. Apart from regular concerts, they have performed at the International Festival of Slavic Music, Showcase of Classical Music, or the Alternativa Festiva.

"In our opinion, contemporary music should be given more space compared to the performance of music of historical styles," members of ConTRIOlogy add.

Musicians' biographies:

Žaneta Vítová (1991) focuses on contemporary classical music, free improvisation, and original works. She regularly performs, premieres and records pieces by contemporary composers such as Jiří Lukeš, Alex Held, Peter Graham, Maki Ishii, and others. In addition to the ConTRIOlogy trio, she is a member of Radim Hanousek's band Dust in the Groove. She forms a duo with voice performer Annabelle Plum, with whom she released the CD Interference. She is also the author of a music publication Akordeon vypráví (“As Told by the Accordion”), a publication focused on developing improvisation and creativity for beginner accordionists. She teaches at the Kuřim Music School and regularly collaborates with independent opera companies Opera Diversa and Hausopera. While studying at the Prague Conservatory, she won several awards for both solo and chamber music performance at the International Accordion Competition in Pula, Croatia.
www.zanetavitova.cz

Jana Vondrů (1991) is a singer working across musical genres, especially contemporary and experimental music. She collaborates with Ensemble Opera Diversa both in concert and on stage. A member of Dust in the Groove, she combines contemporary music, jazz, and improvisation. Vondrů also collaborates with the multi-instrumentalist Tomáš Vtípil, with whom, apart from live projects (Woyzeck at Hadivadlo), she has recorded vocal parts for theatre and radio plays. She initiated the creation and performance of the Mikroopera project, which brings opera to public spaces. In her solo work, she is mostly interested in Czech and world songs of the 20th and 21st centuries. Jana graduated from JAMU in Brno with a bachelor’s degree and from the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava with a master’s degree. She has worked with the Brno Philharmonic and the Brno Contemporary Orchestra. In 2023, she performed Francis Poulenc's mono opera La voix humaine (The Human Voice) for a singer and a telephone receiver arranged for a percussion ensemble as part of the festival Moravský podzim (“Moravian Autumn”). She is a member of the Prague Music Performance Orchestra, together they performed at the Darmstadt days of contemporary music and recorded the Anthony Brexton's opera Trillium X. She has performed at the festival Expozice nové hudby (New Music Exposition), NODO, Ostravské dny (“The Ostrava Days”), Faun festival of electronic and experimental music, JazzFestBrno and Jazz Goes to Town.
www.janavondru.com

Michal Grombiřík (1991) is a graduate of a grammar school in Ostrava, the Janáček Conservatory in dulcimer and JAMU in Brno in music management. In 2009 and 2011 he won top prizes and special jury prizes for his performance of a contemporary composition at the International Dulcimer Competition in Valašské Meziříčí. He regularly collaborates with symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles in the Czech Republic and abroad (the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra Ostrava, Orquestra Simfonica de Castellon, Opera Diversa, Ostravská banda, Brno Contemporary Orchestra, PMP Orchestra, and others). He also dedicates himself to his projects, premieres new compositions, creates music for theatre performances, and takes part in various concert and recording collaborations. His focus is mainly on contemporary music, jazz, and free music improvisation. Currently, he is also studying jazz performance at JAMU in Brno and works as a teacher.
www.michalgrombirik.cz

Tomáš Vtípil (born in 1981 in Liberec) is a musician who has been active on the Czech experimental and underground scene since 1997. Because of his affinity for overloaded PA systems and other sound choices that tend to be perceived as radical, confrontational, or harsh, he is sometimes labeled a "noise maker", but his production also includes chamber and choral music, ambient compositions, jazz-influenced songs and improvisational pieces, site-specific sound installations, etc.
Vtípil is active as a solo writer/performer—his solo set usually contains a raw mix of electronic music and contemporary improvisation—and in various collaborations. Notable ones include the poet Pavel Zajíček and his ensemble DG307, the acoustic trio Urband, singer Monika Načeva, dancer/choreographer Lucia Kašiarová, performer Pasi Mäkelä, artist Roland Rauschmeier and many others.
To a more mainstream audience, he is known as a composer of stage and film music.
www.vtipil.cz