zakázanÝovoce: present the album Mezi láskou a nenávistí – Music That Waited Thirteen Years

The band zakázanÝovoce ranks among the most prominent names on the Czech rock scene, and their fans look forward to every new album. The group has been active for more than twenty years and has built a loyal fan base during that time. On Tuesday, January 21, Prague's Rock Café was buzzing with activity as the band presented their new album Mezi láskou a nenávistí (Between Love and Hate), which was officially released on January 23, 2026. Rebel Sound could not miss such an occasion. I conducted the interview in person, with all four band members present – Jarda "Yaris" Sládeček, Štěpán Soukup, Petr Probst, and Filip Wintr.

The album Mezi láskou a nenávistí is released on January 23, 2026. How long did its creation take?

Filip: A long time. (laughs)

Petr: We recorded it gradually, mostly on Sundays after concerts.

Yaris: The first song, Horký maliny, was released back in March 2023. It was created under slightly different production conditions, but in the end it made it onto the album. Other songs followed gradually – Miami or Nepřestanem snít with producer Honza Chudan. The remaining nine tracks were recorded from August to November. We're a working-class band, so we have to use Saturdays and Sundays for these activities.

The album summarizes different creative phases of the band from 2023 to the present. How many songs were left "in the drawer" and might appear on a future album?

Yaris: Štěpán, how many songs do you have left? (laughs)

Štěpán: About six.

Yaris: I've got two.

Filip and Petr: None.

Yaris: So eight songs in total – we can start working on the next album right away. I think a completely new one will be released next year.

Štěpán: If we took those eight ideas of ours, with a month and a half of recording we'd have a new album.

How did the recording process work?

Yaris: The magic of recording was that the songs were created directly during the process.

Petr: I liked recording from scratch the most. You come up with something in the morning and by evening it's a finished song.

Yaris: Petr is an absolute expert at that. I sit over a song for three months, have a hundred versions of the lyrics, every word and note thought through. Then I come to the studio and the guys think I wrote it yesterday. And then try working with people who compose on the way in the car, because they know that today you simply have to bring something, Petr, because there's nothing else to record – and it's your turn.

Štěpán: Petr once drove to the studio, came up with a melody, and that same day we made a song. Yaris then rewrote the lyrics.

Yaris: Chemistry has to work, it's teamwork. Sometimes we argue, but something new comes out of it.

Štěpán: It was also funny that one of us usually arrived late – like six hours late, halfway through recording.

Yaris: For example you?

Štěpán: For example me, and often. (laughs) Because I didn't get time off work. When that person arrived halfway through the day, they couldn't believe what the others had come up with.

Yaris: The worst was when we started working on a song that Štěpán brought in, and then he arrived and said, "Alright boys, again – not like this."

Petr: He didn't even recognize it when he arrived.

Štěpán: I just said it wasn't going to be like that.

Filip: And after six hours we were exactly where we started. (laughs)

Yaris: But for example with the song Esemes – that one was handled by our producer Honza Chudan, a very skilled guy. He and Petr got into it as guitarists while Štěpán overslept. And it turned into something completely different.

Štěpán: The song was originally totally different.

Yaris: It took on a kind of "Vypsaná Fixa mood." I wrote lyrics to it, we invited guest singer Sabina Křováková, and the song ended up completely standing out.

Štěpán: If you take the original idea and compare it with what was released, you wouldn't recognize it as the same thing.

The song Jack & Sally was written eleven years ago – what made you finally release it now? The animated video feels strongly inspired by Tim Burton – is that the case?

Yaris: It was actually written thirteen years ago, I started writing it in 2014. It was supposed to be on the album Automat na lásku. But fate had other plans – our producer at the time, Tomáš Fröde, and the original singer Jan "Pišto" Chochola felt the idea wasn't mature enough yet. Only the second verse was used back then and survived. The first lines and choruses were changed a bit, but the melody and what I brought into the song stayed. It was slightly rewritten and rearranged, and it eventually became one of our biggest hits under the name Zastávka na znamení. After 12–13 years I pulled it out of the drawer again.

I'm a big fan of Tim Burton and the '90s. The inspiration was the characters Jack and Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas. I also love Blink-182 – they mention Jack and Sally in I Miss You, which I adore: "We can live like Jack and Sally if you want." Back in 2003, when we founded the band, I already thought I'd like to do something like this one day. So it took 20 years to realize it, and 12 years for the lyrics and music to age like wine. Now we've finally used it and have our first animated video. When we were looking for an album cover concept, we thought of using these characters. We already had the title – named after the song Mezi láskou a nenávistí that Štěpán brought in.

Where do you draw inspiration for writing songs?

Yaris: From life.

Filip: Life traumas. (laughs)

Štěpán: I search American forums.

Yaris: Petr's moods.

Do you work on songs together? How do songs come together in your band?

Petr: On those traumas? (laughs)

Editor: Also on those traumas. (laughs)

Yaris: I work very well with my traumas. I've already successfully gotten rid of several. I think all of us have healed many of them. We're preparing new songs for the unhealed ones. We're inspired by what's around us, by the world, and we put what we experience into lyrics. People often write to us asking if they can write lyrics for us. They write great stuff, but we always write our own. I always say: "We'd rather screw it up ourselves." From the beginning we wanted to be an authorial band. Our lyrics are basically personal confessions – over eight albums that's almost a hundred songs. If you listen to them all, you'll know all our traumas and who suffered how and how much.

Štěpán: I can't bring myself to accept outside lyrics.

How did working on this album differ from the previous seven studio records?

Petr: The difference was that we had enough time and nothing was pushing us.

Filip: It felt exactly the opposite to me.

Yaris: That's because Petr had time while I was pushing. (laughs)

Petr: In the studio it wasn't rushed. We came in the morning and there was space for any idea.

Yaris: Sometimes we actually wrote a whole song in a single day from start to finish, which was incredibly motivating. We did three songs in three days. That's when we said the chemistry really works. Working with our producer Honza Chudan was great. I think it clicked more than on any album we've done with producers before. I have to highlight Hynek Toman (Support Lesbiens guitarist), who worked with us on three albums and stood behind some of our key hits, as well as Tomáš Fröde. But with Honza it just clicked immediately.

Do you remember any particularly crazy moment from the recording process?

Petr: What struck me most was when we came to the studio for the first time. We arrived in the morning with no clear plan and by evening there was a finished song.

Štěpán: A miracle.

Yaris: The guys think it was coincidence, but I'd been working on it for three months. I had it thought out down to the last note and letter. But in the studio everything changed anyway – melodies and lyrics. My ego had to drop to the right level for true teamwork to happen.

Did you often change lyrics or even entire songs during recording?

Yaris: All the time. The best is when you stand in front of the microphone – Štěpán and Petr know this when we sing lead lines. Filip also gets involved, does backing vocals, and we'll probably use him even more in the future, he's great. You sing something and the producer looks at you and says: "Are you an idiot or what?" First, it doesn't fit intonationally, second, not in any other way. But as the author you insist. Sometimes such anomalies remain. I can't think of a specific example now, but they're there. Let people write to us and tell us where they think it happened – some songs really have phrases you wouldn't come up with.

Štěpán: Sometimes not just a word changes, but the whole text.

The Mezi láskou a nenávistí tour starts in March and culminates in an album launch in Prague. What can fans look forward to?

Yaris: Mainly new songs.

Filip: And a long setlist.

Štěpán: And a new guitar. (laughs)

Filip: About three of them during the whole tour. (laughs)

Yaris: I bought new picks and I'm not changing strings yet.

Do you plan any special visual show?

Yaris: We're a very straightforward band. We don't do theatrics on stage.

Štěpán: Someone once told us we're not a band that should do theatre. We should just come out and play confidently.

Filip: But production-wise we're moving up.

Yaris: We have a new sound engineer, Pavel Rež, who gives us a completely new sound dimension. Musically it'll be 120%. The setlist will be really long – we've added about seven or eight songs from the new album to the hits. We might rotate them. Fans have to come to all the concerts.

Yaris: We have fans who travel across the country – for example our "ultras" Adrián, who won best fan of the year two years in a row. But seriously – every concert will be unique. We'll actually be testing the new songs on people. Sorry in advance, you'll be test subjects.

Štěpán: And the alcohol level will be different every time.

Yaris: Of course.

Petr: I think it'll be pretty similar.

Yaris: No, you'll drink more on the way to Brno on the D1 than here in Kladno.

Each stop of the tour has a different guest band. Why?

Filip: No one wanted to tour with us the whole time. (laughs)

Petr: And we didn't want the same support band all the time.

Štěpán: When I tour with one support band the whole time, I start to like them by the end – and I wanted to avoid that. I don't want to get attached.

Yaris: They're mostly friends and bands we get along with. For example the Pardubice show at Žlutý pes will feature Záviš, whom our guitarist Petr loves. It's an anomaly. It'll entertain us and, I believe, the audience.

The album launch takes place on June 6, 2026 at Střelecký ostrov in Prague. What can fans expect?

Yaris: A full-evening concert with selected support bands. Nothing's announced yet. A special guest will be Sabina Křováková, who'll sing Esemeska with us – the only concert where this song will be played.

Štěpán: And there are nutria! (laughs)

Yaris: Yes, come pet the nutria and enjoy the launch with us.

Any final message for the fans?

Yaris: Go to concerts – not just ours, but live music in general. It needs support. We'll look forward to seeing you at spring shows and summer festivals. Follow us at zakazanyovoce.cz and come say hi after concerts – we're happy to chat, take photos, and sign things.

zakázanÝovoce once again confirm that their music is personal, authentic, and above all alive. Fans have plenty to look forward to – long setlists, different guest bands at every show, and a grand album launch in Prague featuring Sabina Křováková. Tour dates can be found here.

I would like to personally thank the band members for their time, openness, and willingness to share their stories. The interview was not only inspiring and fun, but also gave me insight into the backstage and creative process behind Mezi láskou a nenávistí.

Kateřina