Peter Balhar (2001) is a drummer and composer from Prague, currently residing in Copenhagen. He’s mainly involved in the jazz tradition, improvised music and performance art.
Throughout 2024, Peter focused on MLŽI (- misty/mysterious people) – a voice & drums duo created in tandem with Serbian/Belgian singer Milica Hadžić, sometimes featuring different artists as the third member. MLŽI works with a wide range of expressive tools, valuing both radical mildness and aggressive assertiveness. Their music incorporates elements of jazz tradition, African and Brazilian beats, noise, post-punk, and Serbian folk music, all flowing seamlessly through free improvisation.
They released their first single, Tiho Noći, featuring Brazilian bass player Luan Gonçalves, under the Belgian label Klankhaven Records in October 2024, followed by a second single, Chicken Dance, on November 1. Their full album is set to be released on November 29.
In 2023, he released his first solo work, HEJNO, which showcases his compositional prowess and features some of the most prominent players of the Czech music scene – Nela Dusová, Martin Debřička, Jan Michálek, and Klára Pudláková.
HEJNO is a five-headed beast; the music is aggressive and tender simultaneously, with moods and colors changing constantly in the flow of songs and improvisation.
Although the music is strongly influenced by jazz legends such as Charles Mingus, Ornette Coleman, and Paul Motian, the band also draws inspiration from more popular/indie-rock artists, for example Phoebe Bridgers, and the band Dot Hacker.
Among his other projects is Trio Henya. The group recorded several albums, with the tune “U Stambolu Na Bosforu” being played on Czech Radio. In December 2022, the trio recorded a full live concert in the building of Czech Radio. The band was chosen to represent Czechia on the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival in 2024.
Peter is a member of the Czech improvisation orchestra PMP Ensemble. The ensemble performed music of Anthony Braxton and Roscoe Mitchell in direct collaboration with both of them.
In January 2024, Peter founded a concert calendar for angular music in Prague, called PraMu.cz.
He is a member of the EMC collective, a union of more than 25 improvisers based across Europe. EMC has organized performances, workshops, and two tours throughout Europe. In August 2024, it hosted its first artistic residency in Sidrabiņi, Latvia, and will soon release its collective debut album.
Peter obtained his Bachelor of Arts at The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague in 2023 and is currently pursuing a Master’s program in music performance at RMC in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Among others, he studied with Petter Eldh, Nick Dunston, Christian Lillinger, Ari Hoenig, Kresten Osgood, Lotte Anker, Kasper Tranberg, and Burkhard Beins.