The music and art project UNIVERSAL UNDERGROUND (UU) is based on philharmonic arrangements of songs by the iconic American band, The Velvet Underground. The repertoire focuses on the "banana" debut The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) and the self-titled third album The Velvet Underground (1969). One-third of the setlist is drawn from the exceptional final collaboration between Lou Reed and John Cale: Songs for Drella (1990)—a deeply personal tribute to the memory of Andy Warhol.
The project was officially introduced at a press conference in the autumn of 2022 at Prague’s Archa Theatre. Subsequently, the project's lead singer, Jitka Charvátová, performed songs by the Velvets alongside American artists (such as Laurie Anderson) in New York on November 17th, 2022. The performance took place to commemorate the events of 1989 and to honor the legacies of Václav Havel and Lou Reed.
The performance features visual projections in the Warholian spirit and occasionally includes an expert lecture titled Andy Warhol and Czechoslovakia. This lecture is led by Rudolf Prekop, a prominent photographer, FAMU professor, co-author of the book of the same name, and co-founder of the Andy Warhol Museum in Medzilaborce (SK).
Alongside the symphony orchestra, the project features a five-piece rock band composed of veterans of the Czech underground, electronic, and alternative scenes: singer Jitka Charvatova (Fiction, Skyline, Ocean), Petr Kucera (Ocean, Shalom), and Tomas Hradil (Los Perdidos, Chorchestr). The orchestrations were composed by Michal Nejtek.
The exhibition of works by Andy Warhol is curated by pop-art expert Miroslav Houska from Galerie Panska 1 in Ceske Budejovice (CZ).
The project premiered on February 23, 2024, at the Sono Music Club in Brno, featuring the Virtuosi Brunenses orchestra under the baton of conductor Karel Mitas. The ensemble included violinist Lukáš Mík, violist Stanislav Vacek, and cellist Josef Klic—a concertmaster known for performing on world stages as well as at underground festivals.
Selected concerts will include exhibitions of Warhol's works and lectures on his art and his collaboration with The Velvet Underground. The project is also being prepared for performances with Czech and European musical ensembles in the following variations: symphony orchestra / string quartet / rock band / trio.
With its exceptional program, the UNIVERSAL UNDERGROUND project honors the legacy of The Velvet Underground and serves as a flagship contribution to the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of Andy Warhol’s birth in 2028.