Hailing from the small town of Slaný and making waves in Prague’s live music scene, Voodoo Garden is a heavy stoner psychedelic rock band blending elements of hard-hitting riffs, atmospheric jams, and witchy vocals. Since their formation in 2022, the band keeps on creating a sound that captures the essence of raw energy and mystical allure.
In this interview, we sit down with Ondra, Tea, Martin, and Matěj of Voodoo Garden to discuss their formation, influences, the story behind their EP Age of the Mist, and the challenges they’ve faced as a young band navigating the Prague music scene. The band opens up about their journey from their rehearsal space in a historic cellar to their growing presence in Czech live venues, the creative process behind Age of the Mist, and what fans can expect from their live shows and future music.
What inspired the formation of Voodoo Garden, and how did the band find its place in the Prague music scene?
Ondra: Well, the main inspiraton came when I started smoking weed at 16, and at that time I met people, that were willing to try forming a band with me. When we started rehearsing it took us over a year to get to where the music didn’t sound terrible.
Tea: Yeah. And we got to play in Prague thanks to Těžká psychedelika – a local stoner/doom DIY promo. They reached out to us through instagram and booked us for our first actual concert, not counting a couple of birthday parties we played for friends.
How did your small-town roots in Slaný influence your music before moving into Prague’s vibrant live scene?
Ondra: I think what influenced our music the most is our rehearsal room, which is in an old cellar from the 1700s. It has a unique atmosphere, it is under the Slanská hora mountain, carved into the basalt stones and it really has influenced us a lot.
Martin: And since Slaný lacks a music scene, we didn’t really have a choice but to play in Prague, and thankfully it isn’t that far away.
Your sound combines stoner rock, heavy riffs, and “witchy” vocals. How did you develop this unique blend, and who are some of your biggest influences?
Tea: Well, when I joined the boys and we formed the band, they knew they wanted to play heavier stoner music. Off the bat I told them, that I don’t know how to „sing heavy“ and that we’ll have to find a way to make my melodic singing work.
Martin: But it took us about a year of experimenting, and changing our sound to get to where we were all happy with it.
Ondra: And what influenced our sound a lot is that we all love fantasy. Band’s that do influence our music a lot are Elder, Sword or High on Fire.
Martin: I also take a lot from the band 1000 Mods, and since we have a woman vocalist bands like Blood ceremony or Witch Ritual.
What’s the story behind the title Age of the Mist, and how does it represent the band’s creative journey so far?
Ondra: The title came from us smoking vapes, and joints in our rehearsal room, so it is really foggy there at times, and we really do love a fog machine on stage
Tea: And for a long time we have been characterizing our music as having a misty atmosphere, so the title just felt right in every way.
The EP was recorded in September 2024 but features songs composed in 2023. How did those tracks evolve during live performances before hitting the studio?
Matěj: Well we have made a lot of the songs shorter, just to make them feel less lazy. Another thing that has changed the songs over time was us buying new effect pedals, or Martin buying a new cymbal he started using in the songs.
Can you walk us through the creative and recording process for Age of the Mist at DEADZEUS SOUND?
Tea: I would really like to bring forth the work Miki Hank has put into this album. Not only did he give us a bunch of great ideas, but he helped us to look at the songs from a different point of view and make them sound the best they can. He has also given us so many useful tips for playing in general. The recording process was a very cool experience for us as well, because DEADZEUS SOUND studio is in a fallout shelter, and Miki used that to his advantage. For example all the hall in the songs was recorded manually from the hallway for the drums and vocals.
Martin: Yes I think Miki really helped us elevate the songs to a new level and give them more energy. He brought forth a lot of ideas for different arrangements and such. We also had to work around all of us being ill during the recording, but it ended up being fun.
Each track on the EP captures different elements of your sound—from slow occult doom to energetic stoner riffs. How did you decide which songs would make it onto the release?
Ondra: We have chosen songs that we are most proud of, songs that we all like to play live and we feel like we’ve done a good job with them.
Martin: Yes, it’s a compilation of songs that we enjoy playing and they show the bands progress during the last year. The process of choosing which songs to put onto the release wasn’t hard, we all knew what songs sound best and those made it onto the EP.
How would you describe the atmosphere and energy of your live shows to someone who hasn’t seen Voodoo Garden perform?
Ondra: I would describe it as an occult dark hippie ritual. Lots of fog with a mystic atmosphere.
Martin: Yes, you can imagine it as walking into a cave where a witch coven lives, and they are having a ritual.
Matěj: I would like to add that we just enjoy what we’re playing and I feel like you can really tell that when we enjoy every show we do, the people attending the show do too.
What role do the occult and mystical themes play in your lyrics and overall artistic vision?
Tea: I would say that they do play a huge role. Especially talking about lyrics, or song themes we try to stay on a mystical level. Our lyrics are mainly atmospheric, we do not really want to tell a specific story – rather paint a picture or a concept. And we do like to keep our live shows slightly mystical as well.
Ondra: For example I am greatly inspired by czech folklore, it is full of stories about different creatures, coming mainly from the forests or nature, that people encounter on their journeys. That has really inspired me in writing lyrics for the band.
Since forming in late 2020, you’ve built a strong presence in Prague. What challenges did you face as a young band, and how did you overcome them?
Tea: Since we were all in high school when we formed Voodoo Garden, and now two of us are still studying in university the biggest challenges for us were, and still are a lack of money and time. Because especially in the beggining it took us a long time saving up for things like new effect pedals, or actually good gear – waiting for every birthday and christmas to get what we wanted to make our sound better.
Martin: Yeah. But the lack of time has been a great challenge for us. Only this year we finally got to rehearsing regularly every week, but it still is challenging for us.
Ondra: I think this just comes with the age we are in. You can’t really become a big band at twenty one – let alone at seventeen when we started – without someone sponsoring you financially. We have been lucky with our parents helping out, and since two of us have a job now it is getting better. But for example all the band we play with are at least ten years older than us, so our age is a challenge in itself.
With Age of the Mist now out, what’s next for Voodoo Garden in terms of new music or live performances?
Tea: Right now we are shifting our focus to writing new music. We already have a new song written, and we have plenty of ideas for more songs.
Ondra: And I would say that our sound is getting heavier and heavier. For example comparing our newest songs like War Cry to the older ones we used to play like Starving Gods, you can hear the shift to heavier music, which we all find to enjoy.
Tea: And in terms of live performances, that is something we have been working on and perfecting especially last year. We would like to play in more czech cities, other than Prague, and maybe try to play in surrounding countries as well. If you want to see us live we will be playing 21.2. in Prague, 8.3. in Katowice (Poland) or 6.9. on Sumava against festival.
What do you hope listeners experience when they hear your music, particularly Age of the Mist?
Ondra: I would like for it to be a path that leads the listener through the music. And for the music to emotionally influence the listener whether they are experiencing happy moments, or are being eaten by misery, as all of us are at times.
Age of the Mist is available on Bandcamp. Follow Voodoo Garden on Instagram and Facebook.
