The Omnibus Band
From Unearthing The Music
The Omnibus Band was founded by Jarda Zjpt and Petr Dikan in 1979. The two met in high school, where they were studying electronics, and this background led them to construct and experiment with several DIY sound devices such as the "Šílený Fridrich" (ŠF, Crazy Frederick) Keyboard and the "VSD Generator" (všude samý dráty/wires everywhere) which Petr Dikan used in recording and live performance. At that time greatly influenced by Brian Eno and Robert Fripp from the King Crimson band, Jarda Zajpt played guitar using all kinds of effects, pre-recorded tapes, and one or more interconnected tape recorders. Their first record, ‘Israels’ was produced between 1980 and 1982.
By the autumn of 1984 (and up to the spring of 1986) the band's membership had changed, with Jarda Zajpt switching his guitar for a keyboard and the arrival of a new member – Pavel Zvolenský - who programmed and played the legendary TR-808 drum machine. Martin Bauer (playing the bass guitar) completed the trio.