HRDZA – a Slovakia-based band that has been on the music scene since 1999 plays original compositions written by its band leader Slavomir Gibarti whose music forges a strong bond with the traditional culture of his homeland, fusing east European folk elements with other influences. The impressive voice of the lead singer Susanna Jara, who joined the band in 2016, adds yet another dimension to the group’s songs. Hrdza is a powerful live act and typically plays summer festivals and bigger outdoor venues. Hrdza gives over 60 concerts every year mostly in Slovakia but also occasionally in the neighboring countries.

In 2019 Hrdza:
– gave 65 shows in four countries (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany) and drove over 25,000 km,
– released 8 videos on YouTube and all its YouTube videos were seen 15.3M times, which accounts for 535.3k watch time hours,
– Spotify – 539k streams, 27.2k hours, 40.9k listeners, 74 countries, streams went up 312% in comparison to 2018,
– Apple Music – 115k plays, 114 avg. daily listeners, plays went up 163% in comparison to 2018,
– top song of 2019 – Štefan/Stephen, Spotify 122.2k streams, Apple Music 26k plays, YouTube 9.1M views,
– Hrdza’s YouTube channel enjoys 50,000 views every day (90-day average) worldwide,
– the album Neskrotený, released in Dec 2018, entered the World Music Charts Europe at number 4 in April 2019, https://www.wmce.de/,
– the song and video Štefan/Stephen topped the World Music Charts by Ethnocloud in March 2019; they were number one in both the Top 40 Tracks and the Top 40 Videos, https://ethnocloud.com/world-music/charts/,

Slavomír Gibarti – leader, vocal, guitars, overtone flute
Susanna Jara – vocal, violin (alternatively Lucia Gibarti)
Dominik Maniak – fiddle, vocal (alternatively Ľubo Šamo)
Matej Palidrab – accordion, vocal
Pavol Boleš – bass guitar, vocal
Marek Szarvaš – drums, percussion

Muzička (Hrdza, 2002)
Pod božími oknami (Universal music, 2006)
Hajnajnanyja (Universal music, 2009)
Hrdzavá osemnástka (Hrdza, 2016)
Neskrotený (Hrdza, 2018)

Rankings:
Album Nesrotený ranked No. 4 in World Music Chart Europe (June 2019)

Reviews:
“As soon as the first song begins, you realize you’ve found something special here. Music played with joy, music with heart. Soaring voices, top notch musicianship, cleverly crafted original songs and first rate production are brought together with a genuine flair and feel for the compositions. These folks aren’t just going through the motions of making music, they’ve crafted the real deal here, blending the old and new into a wonderfully pleasing sound. Records this enchanting don’t come along every day, so don’t miss this one”.
Joe Vincenza, Director of Content & Operations, WUWF Public Media, Pensacola, USA

“It is a thrill of an album using wit, style and excellent musicianship.”
Davy Sims, Producer, Broadcaster, exBBC Editor, Northern Ireland

“This Slovakian band brings their ethnic folk rock in a big, bright, and bold manner. They have the rhythmic foundation that challenges the instrumentation and vocals to up their game to stay with the
© David Hintz @

“Hrdza proves that folk can be done without resorting to cliché, fantasy, death of Christians or sacrifices to gods, but just by focusing on the joy of life, the homeland and handsome men and pretty women. Hooray!”
Keagan, Obscuro.cz, 3 April 2019

“Their music is full of energy that scintillates for the listener straight out of “the can” of their studio recordings.”
Miloš Janoušek, Denník N