Posts Tagged ‘Poland’
Jakub Zytecki
Jakub Zytecki is a guitar virtuoso from Krakow, Poland. Know for his work in progressive rock act DispersE, Jakub released his first solo release Wishful Lotus Proof in 2015 to much acclaim. His recent release is a double album Ladder Head/ Feather Bed is soothing on the ears and mind alike.
I spoke to Jakub about his latest release, writing alone and more.
Hi Jakub, you recently released a double album ‘Ladder Head’ / ‘Feather Bed’. How does it feel?
Hi! Feels nice man! The idea was to have these two little releases mostly as a sonic introduction to the possible musical futures of mine. It’s awesome to have it out there, but there’s that constant desire to do more and more, so it’s hard to sit and appreciate the previous work haha.
‘Ladder Head’ / ‘Feather Bed’ has a mellow sound compared to your previous release. ‘Wishful Lotus Proof’. What inspired the change in your sound?
I just got really fixated on songwriting and presenting the core idea of a track in the simplest way I possibly can. I loved working on ‘Wishful’, but when that album was often about how crazy I can go and what else I can try here out, the new EPs are more about what I should not do here, in order to not break the spell. The EPs also represent my love to sound design and production which was not that obvious on ‘Wishful’.
Your band DispersE released an album Foreword early last year. How did you manage between writing and recording the album and your solo releases?
It was not that difficult since when ‘Foreword’ was finished in June 2016, I had more than a half of a year just to just chill out. Then, 2017 was only just for tweaking my solo stuff. The tricky part starts now actually, where there might be two albums in the making simultaneously, but I don’t want to plan anything or set a deadline this time. Even if it takes two years to write any of the albums, it will probably have to be like that.
Do you prefer writing and recording lone or as part of a band?
I spend more time making music alone, so it’s naturally easier for me. But still, working with other people can sometimes spark the ideas that you alone would have to be looking for 10 times longer or would never actually thought of. We’re really striving for stepping up our game in terms of band communication. Hard to say what I prefer though, it depends on how I feel and on what my current state of sanity is haha.
What have you been listening to lately? Are there any acts that have inspired you of late?
I’m currently smashing the new The Neighbourhood album, really awesome stuff. Can’t get enough of Jon Hopkins too, especially his new single, I’m really looking forward to his new LP. I really dig Zoology, new Four Tet and I’m rediscovering my love to the old good Trifonic.
Do you have any plans of performing your solo material live or will it stay a studio project?
I don’t really push to be able to take my solo material on the road, but if the right opportunity comes, we’ll see what happens.
What are your plans for the rest of the year?
Just making the new music really. I’m also doing a Summer Camp in Czech Republic in August. Plini, David Micic and many of people I know are gonna be there, should be fun! Besides that, DispersE has a gig on Euroblast and we might have a few shows around that time as well, we’ll see where it all goes.
Thanks for answering all our questions. Do you have any final words?
Simply thanks for being interested in what we do! All the best.
Peura Interview
Last month, Vishal J Singh told me about a new project with a vocalist from Poland. As a fan of his work, I was intrigued to hear something new that he has worked on. The name of the project is Peura and also features Polish vocalist Svah Vighar and American multi-instrumentalist Jake Linder. Their first release, a 4 track EP titled Red Notebook is out today via Vmbrella. Fans of Vishal’s previous band Feathers of Jatinga will enjoy this.
I spoke to vocalist Svah Vighar about their origins, Red Notebook and the killer cover artwork.
Peura originates from Feathers of Jatinga. How did you come across the band?
Well, Feathers of Jatinga was the original thought and plan. But it quickly turned into a completely new project. Currently it has almost no relation with FoJ. I had several unfinished songs from 2013 that I just showed to Vishal to learn “how He feels about them”. Vishal is a magical person. We all know that right? (laugh). So I guess it just happened naturally the moment Vishal came in contact with that material. But no-one came across the band. It’s a new project, created from the scratch.
How did you become a part of the band?
A part of the band? We put up Peura together with Vishal and Jake – out from what we created. Not the opposite. There are no “parts” in Peura. It’s the expression of singularity.
Tell us a about the transformation from Feathers of Jatinga to Peura. What does Peura mean?
Like I mentioned earlier, there was no transformation at all. We just decided to record the new material. I still hope that Vishal will change His mind and one day we’ll return to some FoJ material. I really love it. But it has to happen without any pressure – naturally. For now it’s closer to the idea that we’re not going back. Some say it’s a good thing.
What Peura is about?
I think it’s about showing people, that everything in “being creative” is about persistence, believing in your own strengths. That people who never learned to read the notes can be musicians, that they can still express themselves – as long as they wish to. It’s about processing some state of art, into an authentic, organic form of a final creation designed with care and love. Peura is a metaphor of that natural persistence, which lives somewhere – deep in ourselves. Among others Peura is a term open to interpretation. If you want to interpret it yourself – just do it. It’s up to you… If one day Peura will get 7 billion interpretations.. well… Then I’d say “job’s done” or “goal reached”. Because whole project is about making people “stop and think for a moment”…
How did Jake Linder become a part of the band?
He hasn’t (laugh). Like I said – Peura emerged from finished project of the trio of us. But the story behind Jake was the “Red Notebook” song. Vishal sent out the material to some great people, but after Jake responded with His piano… I didn’t even think about anyone else.
His soulful, genuine, authentic play simply added a new layer to the music – literally extended it. For me it was just unbelievable stuff which I loved since the first time I heard it.
With Vishal, Jake and you in different countries. What was the writing and recording process for Red Notebook?
Well I guess that in 2017 this process is quite simple. We’re packed with technology these days. It’s enough for us to have some high-end hardware on our side to record our tracks. Like I mentioned the material comes from 2011-2013 and is a fraction of stuff I recorded as drafts back then. Vishal started with re-arranges and guitars, then I added the vocals, then Jake recorded his parts. It went pretty straight forward – took us about a week to record the songs.
The cover artwork by Chelsea Simpson looks awesome.
For me the artwork is a one of the kind thing. Mostly because Chelsea is first artist who actually listened to more than a dozen of songs and read the lyrics – and just reacted with an interpretation that honestly… blew my mind. Nobody ever reached that level of understanding nuances – I thought they were kind of a cipher for me for so many years. Actually she made the first step of making the “Peura vision” possible. People like that are just pure gold.
The inspiration behind it?
Being natural, truthful, direct, sensitive and bit naive too. I was inspired to preserve the “handmade feel” of “the picture” (of the EP) – and I just got it the way I feel too. I’m glad more people are noticing the message in the artwork. For me there are at least a few.
What is next for Peura? Do you have an album planned? When can we expect it?
I planned only three albums so far. But I also planned an album 16 years ago (laugh). I have enough material to become the next Rolling Stones (laugh)…But jokes aside – It’s not up to me to tell. I can start recording the new album today, but I need real musicians like Vishal and Jake to make it sound right. It’s up to them to make the next move so I will just wait for “a sign” to just do it. I used to say “I was born ready” – and this is exactly how I feel about it.
Thanks for answering all my questions. Do you have any final words?
Thanks for the first real interview ever (laugh). Thanks for asking!
Listen/Download Red Netbook below
Andy (Everydayhate) Interview
Everydayhate is a extreme metal label from Krakow, Poland. I first met Everydayhate boss Andy at Gore Galore, a grindcore festival in Wroclaw in 2009. After that we kept meeting at concerts in other parts of Poland. We lost contact after I moved to India in 2011 however we reconnected a few months ago.
Andy has been running the label for over a decade now and is still going strong. This year he has put out some awesome releases from bands like Fredag den 13:e and Mindflair. I spoke to Andy about running a metal label, the changes he has noticed in the past decade and also upcoming releases from his label.
Andy, Lugubrious (Haemorrhage) and me (Left to Right)
Hi Andy, you have been running Everydayhate for over decade. How does it feel looking back?
Andy: Hey Peter, it’s fuckin’ awesome, especially when people that I’ve met 6 years ago or more are coming back to me with some nice questions. I remember we had a great time at Gore Galore festival in Wroclaw, are you going to visit Poland anytime soon? I feel like I’ve done a lot of good things for bands, I had some fuck ups too, but the most important thing is that I have many more things to do in next decade, I have so many ideas.
How did you decide to start a label? Why did you decide to start a label that releases only extreme metal music?
Andy: Everything started when I was 11 and as a typical metal kid I got a special gift from my father. He gave me a goat head taken from our neighbour. He brought it secretly because he didn’t want my mom to see that ahahhahaha, so with this kind of support you had only one way ahahhahah At the beginning I started fanzine, then I started releasing tapes, booking shows… so label was the next step for me. Supporting the bands, meeting friends and getting new ones is fun. Why is it only extreme music?, because I dont give a fuck about other kinds of music, I want to focus on most important genre to me, and it’s grindcore and it’s extreme. I just enjoy it.
Your first release was Carnal Diafragma / Pulmonary Fibrosis split in 2003. How did that happen?
Andy: I start travelling to Czech Republic in the beginning of 2000 very often. At one of the OEF’s edition I met Obstik/ 6MAS and I already knew Michal from Cerebral Turbulency/ Khaaranus production. They all were good friends of Carnal Diafragma fellas, I met Kamien, its old drummer and we became good friends too. We were hanging out together in Ostrava every summer for few years and he got along with Gulliaume from Pulmonay Fibrosis, who I knew already through tape trading. In the past I made a split tape and T-Shirts limited to 20 copies for Pulmonary Fibrosis, so we knew each other very well and idea for the split just came naturally. It was supercool split that time, if I could change one thing now, I would make better promotion.
What have been the most memorable releases on your label so far?
Andy: There are few meaningful releases. I had good time with Mesrine on their first European tour and we made a split with Polish Epitome afterwards. I’ve booked many shows for Neuropathia in the past and we hung out together very often so I released Satan owns your stereo album. I met Gerardo from Denak at OEF, we became good friends and I’m supporting Disturbance Project until now… Some of my releases have the background stories and they will stay forever in my mind. I would rather say I have memorable memories of my label and all stuff around than specific releases. Since the beginning of EveryDayHate I’ve met so many great and friendly people, this is just fuckin’ sick!
What is the biggest problem that you faced so far in running the label?
Andy: I’m one man label, so the main problem is lack of time. Doing promotion, preparing orders and trades, mailing and other stuff takes a lot of time. I’m very busy nowadays.
Do you do any marketing? If yes, what kind?
Andy: Yeah, some time ago I realized that one of the most important thing for bands is their label’s support and promotion and I started sending promos to many magazines, webzines, radio stations etc Also few weeks ago I started my own blog to interview my friends and to introduce them to the people who visit my web/ blog. I’m doing flayers, stickers, buying advertisment, I started my website and new online store… so as you can see I do the same things like other labels, nothing extraordinary.
What changes have you noticed in bands/customers in the past decade?
Andy: Beginning with the bands, I noticed one important thing, it’s much easier to start a band, but it is much harder to be noticed at the underground scene. For that reason you can notice more musicians with better skills, bands are becoming more professional. And when you become more pro, you expect to be treated seriously and you want to be released by professional label and so on. I see many people learning year-on-year, I can serve as an example ahahhahahahahha Customers are more trustful to EDH, I am very glad that interest in my releases is growing and people are supporting my label bands. Moreover, I noticed that people are more receptive to music, they’re are more open-minded nowdays.
What do you look for in a band before you sign them to your label?
Andy: This is a very difficult question. Usually I’ve worked with bands that I already knew, so this is not a typical way to sign the band for big music labels. If the situation ever changes, there are two important things to me. Firstly, I need to like the tunes, it’s hard to do any good job for the band if you just do not feel it. Secondly, the attitude, I’am of course anti-fascist, anti-sexist, anti-religion label, and I work with bands who think the same.
Have you been in a band? What instrument do you play?
Andy: Yep, I was in a band for some time, it was loud and fast grindcore group from Lublin. I had a good time those days and I have a lot of funny memories ahahahha I didn’t play any instrument.
Any advice that you have for anyone planning to start a metal music record label?
Andy: Yeah, I have one advice, dont fuckin’ do it!
What are the upcoming releases from your label?
Andy: I just got packed with new split picture 7 inch of British Desecration with Portugalese Holocausto Canibal, this is a brand new record. I’m also waiting for another 7 inch split of 2 Canadian grindcore bands: Mersine with G.O.D., I should get it quite soon. Other upcomming stuff is THE KILL- KILL THEM…ALL on 12″LP, MAGNICIDE/ PUNISHED EARTH on split 7″EP and 3″MCD, OVERVIOLENCE/ EXPURGO split 5″EP and full length of Swedish Livet Som Insats- Check Your Grind album on 12 inch LP, CD and probably tape. I want to finish all those projects before I start doing anything new, so as you can see I have a lot work to do.
Thank you very much for this interview and for supporting EDH!
Here are a few of the recent releases from Everyday Hate that you should check out
The Dead Goats Interview
Poland holds a special place in my heart. I got to see a lot of my favourite bands during the 2 years that I stayed in Wroclaw, Poland. During that time I also got a chance to discover other Polish bands than Vader and Behemoth. The Dead Goats are a band that I have recently discovered. They have 2 new releases out now, “Don’t go in the tomb” MCD and a split with Icon of Evil. I spoke to their vocalist/guitarist Pavlo about the origins of the bands, their new releases and also their plans for 2015.
“It was on the Neuropathia’s last european tour in 2010 when the idea of The Dead Goats first surfaced.” said Pavlo about the origins of the band. Jaworski and Pierściński are part of Neuropathia “I was there with them as a substitute guitarist, Marcin and Radek approached me with the idea and so it went. As simple as that.”
Poland is a country known for its black and death metal bands. The Dead Goats play old-school death metal similar to Swedish bands like Dismember and Grave. “As you surely know, years before The Dead Goats was conceived it was Neuropathia that first delved into the old school swedish sound, so it was there really from the beginning.” said Pavlo explains how they decided the sound their new band. “We just shifted from the more grindcore approach to more of a punkish death metal style and then took it from there to see what happens.
The band has covered Napalm Death, Repulsion, Autopsy on their releases. “Well, obviously the bands you mentioned played a huge role in our musical upbringing as well as of course all of the 90’s stockholm bands like Entombed and Dismember.” said Pavlo describing the bands that have influenced them. “Personally, I also listen to a lot of punk rock/hardcore punk like Minor Threat, Black Flag, The Clash and so on, because it helps me keep my songwriting within the frames of a mindset that I cherish the most, which is all about rawness and pure emotion rather than technical masturbations.”
The Dead Goats have released a MCd “Don’t go in the tomb” on Arachnophobia Records “This mCD came about I’d say pretty accidentally. Songs that it’s composed of were meant to serve different purpose and be released in a different way, but our plans changed and we decided to indulge our CD-loving fans and put them out this way.” said Pavlo describing
“This time we decided for a different approach to songwriting, more akin to what we did with the first album, which is having only one, two riffs written beforehand and then just improvising the rest of the song at the rehearsal, trying to determine the feeling and dynamics of the piece.” said Pavlo describing their songwriting process for the release. “It was really fun and really quick. I think we wrote these songs over the course of three rehearsals.”
“Apart from what I mentioned earlier, I think “Don’t Go In the Tomb” shows a natural next step for us, as we progressively try to experiment with different things, different methods of, let’s say, assembling our songs.” said Pavlo about how “Don’t go in the tomb” compares to their previous releases. “It’s still as old school as it gets, but less “primitive”. I’m not saying our previous releases were primitive, but I think the progress is noticeable.
“The tracks has been laid in our good friend’s place, Sphieratz Studio and then we’ve sent the whole thing to be mixed and mastered at Satanic Studio by Haldor Grunberg.” said Pavlo about the recording process for the MCD. “The recordings took place over the span of two days, as we tend not to fuck around in the studio, lest we go insane.”
The Dead Goats also have another release out, a split with Icon of Evil. “The guys from Icon of Evil and us have known each other for a while, we’ve even shared stage. So when the idea of a joint release came from them, we had literally no reason not to do it. I remember we had some delays, but when we finally got to it, the songs came about pretty fast.” said Pavlo about the release. “I’m pretty happy with how this split turned out, I love its’ animal-like rawness and morbid themes behind the songs.”
The band go on tour with Icon of Evil this week. “We plan to hit Germany, Holland, Belgium, as well as our home country. We’re also supporting At The Gates at their gig in Warsaw later in the month, which is awesome. ” said Pavlo about their plans for the rest of the year. ”All in all, the time has come to put out a new full-length album (at last) so we’re gonna have to try and focus on that. Keep your fingers crossed, because I’m pretty excited for that. Thanks for the interview!”
Listen to “Featherless” from “Don’t Go In the Tomb” below
Tides from Nebula Interview
In 2009; I lived in Wroclaw, Poland. During the first month living there, I attended a music festival called Asymmetry. Some of the bands playing on that day were This Will Destroy You, Minsk, Blindead and also a new Polish band called Tides from Nebula. The band won a competition to play the gig and put on an impressive set. I really enjoyed their set and bought a copy of their album “Aura” which released a couple months earlier. The next year, 2010 I watched them live at the Knock Out Festival in Krakow. Since moving back to India, I have kept up with Tides from Nebula through their Facebook page and noticed that they have been touring a lot across Europe. Earlier this month, they announced a tour of India. I spoke to their guitarist Maciej Karbowski about the tour, their latest release “Live sessions” and more.
Band Photo by Irn Bru
“Feels awesome man! We never toured Asia before, it feels so unrealistic.” said an excited Maciej about their tour put together by promoter Karan Mehta (Outrage Festival).“I am waiting for the moment of leaving the plane, probably then I’m gonna realize that it’s really happening.”
“Everyone of us been looking for other guys who would be keen to play more atmospheric rock music, more space and ambience in it.” said Maciej about how the band started. “We asked some friends for help and in January 2008 we formed Tides From Nebula. Of course we had some bands before, years of experience, without it we would still suck probably.” The other members in the band are Adam Waleszyński (guitar), Przemek Węgłowski (bass) and Tomasz Stołowski (drums).
Poland is a country known for its death metal and black metal bands. However in the past 5 years, Tides from Nebula have reached the apex of the post rock scene in Europe. “It was not a conscious decision, it just happened.” Maciej explains how they decided to play post rock. “We met, started playing and it sounded like our first album, just like that. Our roots are rather heavy rock/metal, so thats why we focus on heavy rhythm section, essential for us.”
Last month, Tides from Nebula independently released a live album “Live Sessions”. “Before our spring tour we thought that maybe it’s a good idea to record something live in the studio.” said Maciej about the reason behind recording a live album. “We love that kind of recordings, they show bands real live sound. We do own our own recording studio, so it was quite easy to do, we were rehearsing for a tour anyway, just setup a couple of mics, asked our friends to film it, and it’s here.”
Last year, the band released their third album “Eternal Movement“. “It is basically our most positive sounding record I think. There are actually SONGS on it.” Maciej describes the album. “I kinda love it even more one year after releasing, love to play these tunes live.”
After their India shows, the band will heading back to Europe for a tour with After The Burial, Monuments and Dead Letter Circus in October. Post that they will be headlining 12 shows across Poland in November and then 5 to 8 shows in Europe before the end of the year. A hectic few months for the band. Tides from Nebula are also currently booking a tour with sleepmakeswaves and Skyharbor for March next year, which I am sure is going to be awesome.
When asked what to expect from their live performances, Maciej said “We don’t know what to expect showise, hopefully some people will attend. From our side, we will rocks your socks off, at least we will try to.”
Catch the Tides from Nebula at the following dates:
Here is my favourite song by Tides from Nebula “Tragedy of Joseph Merrick”
Interview with Preludium
Poland is a hotbed for metal bands, there are currently over 2,714 bands in the country according to metal archives. Death Metal band Vader were the first band to step into the limelight when they signed to Earache records in 1993. In recent years, the most well known bands from the country have been Behemoth and Decapitated.
Preludium are a Death/Black metal band from Poland. A couple years ago, I heard their war-themed third album ‘Impending Hostility’ and really enjoyed. I reviewed it for Underground.co.in. Earlier this week, they released their fourth album ‘Redemption’ and I spoke to their vocalist/guitarist Lukasz Dziamarski. The band also features Jan Skowron on guitars, Marcin Deszcz on bass and Piotr Ungeheuer on drums.
“The Songs are more varied than on our other albums.” says Lukasz Dziamarski about their latest album. “There are a lot of black metal influences.” The album is a departure from the war theme of ‘Impending Hostility’, it is based on the teachings of Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda, author of ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’. While the music was written by Lukasz and Jan, the lyrics for the album have been written by Kunal Choksi, owner of their record label Transcending Obscurity. “The idea for the theme of the lyrics was Kunal‘s. He persuaded us that it will be interesting and unique.” explains Lukasz. “There are no black metal/death metal bands that have used this kind of lyrics. So this is good for the band. I think this is very interesting for the European people because this is a completely different culture and their point of view of spiritualism, death, life, suffering is very intriguing.”
‘Redemption’ was recorded at Roslyn studio near the band’s hometown of Mielec in South east Poland. “This is new recording studio but we worked with its owner Krzysiek Godycki before. As a matter of fact this is old Chinook Studio in a new localization.” says Lukasz about the recording process for the album. “We had recording session in April/May. We recorded all instruments and vocals in 8/9 days. The rest of the 3 weeks session we took in mixing and mastering.”
“The Songs are more varied and the sound is more natural, the drums sound more acoustic than on ‘Impending Hostility’.” says Lukasz describing the music on their latest album compared to their previous one ‘Impending Hostility’. “We used many elements and arranged solutions we haven’t use before. It is still black/death metal in Preludium style but our style is more polished.”
Kunal Choksi had been in contact with the bands since 2009 when he reviewed their second album ‘Raping Mankind Disorder’ on his webzine Diabolical Conquest. “He had written to me with the link to the review and we started to correspond. He wrote that he likes our music and if I need any support he will help us with our band’s promotion.” say Lukasz on how Kunal Choksi signed them to his label. “One day I wrote him that we are searching for a label to release our new album ‘Impending Hostility’. We knew that with his several years of experience with the Diabolical Conquest webzine, he had plenty of contacts and reach. After a few weeks he wrote to me an email saying that he had found a label for us – his own label.”
‘Redemption’ is the band’s second release through Transcending Obscurity. “Transcending Obscurity is a little underground label and it has limited financial possibilities but Kunal believes in the success of Preludium and he does his best to promote the band.” says Lukasz about their label owner “At the moment cooperation goes smoothly, he trusts us and we trust him.”
The band do not have any shows coming up this year. “We want to play some live shows to promote our new album and sell some merch. We will try to organize something when we will have new album in our hands.” says Lukasz about their plans for the next few months.
Listen/Download ‘Redemption’ below
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