Smola a Hrušky's lead singer Jozef "Spoko" Kramár in the Slovak Paradise National Park. (source: Smola a Hrušky)
A year after Slovak Paradise National Park marked its centenary, the park now boasts its own anthem.
The track “Chystám sa do raja” [I’m Going To Paradise], which radiates a laid back vibe, was composed by Jozef Kramár, lead singer of Smola a Hrušky.
“Slovak Paradise is near to my heart,” the singer said. His parents come from villages set next to the national park. “As children, we always spent time in nature and went on hikes.”
The song and accompanying video that features spectacular shots of different spots in the national park will help promote the Slovak Paradise area among Slovak and foreign tourists.
Spontaneous project
As to the song, the whole creative process was in Kramár’s hands, but he was asked by the national park’s head Tomáš Dražil to include several places in the music video, in addition to the monastery. A viewer can recognise the Dobšinská Ice Cave, the grass cutting in the Kopanecké Lúky meadows, as well as the popular Tomášovský Výhľad clifftop.
“It took a long time to write the song,” the singer said. “Musically, it was the most demanding project I have ever collaborated on.” The video was filmed throughout the year of 2021 to capture Slovak Paradise in all seasons.
The band, which appeared on the Slovak music scene 25 years ago, released its latest album, “Audiostatusy”, at the end of last year to reflect today’s world.
During the pandemic, Smola a Hrušky released several coronavirus-related songs, such as “Vakcína” [Vaccine], the “Snehová kráľovná” [Snow Queen] song dedicated to Slovak alpine skier Petra Vlhová, and a song to celebrate the historic success of Slovakia’s national ice-hockey team at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
The band’s latest single was made to celebrate one of the most beautiful places in Slovakia. “The song has the ambition of becoming the park’s anthem,” Dražil said, adding that the project was borne out of spontaneity.
First mention in a magazine
Slovak Paradise, which is dotted with waterfalls, gorges and canyons, was declared a national park in 1988. Yet, its current name was mentioned for the first time in the Krásy Slovenska [The Beauties of Slovakia] travel magazine a hundred years ago, in 1921.
Much earlier, at the end of the 13th century, monks who used to live at a monastery in the Kláštorisko area in today’s national park were the first to describe the area as a “paradisus”. The lyric even contains the term “paradisus”, and the music video shows the ruins of the monastery.
In the past, the national park was also known as the Hrabušické Rokliny gorges and the Spišskogemerské Krasy karsts.
A song called “Slovenský raj” [Slovak Paradise] by Rusín Čendéš Orchestra and Slovak Tango, inspired by a Christian folk song, was remade and released in April 2020. This track, however, celebrates Slovakia as a whole.
