DJ Tráva was widely credited for introducing the Czech Republic to house and techno as it formed following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia.
DJ Tráva, a figure near and dear to the dance music community of the Czech Republic, has passed away at age 60. No cause of death has been disclosed at the time of writing.
According to local music publication Headliner, the death of DJ Tráva (real name Petr Votava) was confirmed by two anonymous sources. Neither was at liberty to speak on the specific details surrounding his passing. Pavel Šmíd, the manager of Old Town nightclub Chapeau Rouge, also confirmed Votava’s death to Resident Advisor.
Born January 27, 1965, Petr Votava had grown to be a fixture of Czechoslovakia’s punk rock scene in the 1980s. After the “Velvet Divorce” — which saw the country split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia after the fall of its communist regime — he came to embrace the electronic dance music sounds growing popular across Europe at the time.
In 1995, Votava landed his first residency at Prague nightclub Bunkr. The venue had been near and dear to fans of rock music, and Votava was famously almost thrown out when he told the owner, “Rock is dead to me.” He relocated to ROXY PRAGUE the following year, where his SHAKE and MIX parties cemented him as a beloved symbol of the city’s nascent dance music community.
Petr Votava also worked as a recording artist since 1997, when he and Klára Nemravová, Martin Kadnár, and Petr Mikolášek started the project Significant Other, and the group released their debut album, MONGO.LOVE, in 2001. In 2015, Votava also debuted a live PA project called Lazy Lizard.
We here at EDM Identity express our sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of DJ Tráva aka Petr Votava during what can only be a difficult time.
