Alibi Club invites you for two concerts held within wROCK for Freedom festival. Lech Janerka and Kim Nowak will perform in Alibi Club on the 1st of April.
Lech Janerka is one of the most important figures on the Polish music scence. He became involved in making music in his 30s. In 1986 he released his first album “Historie Podwodne” that quickly became an artistic success. His subsequent musical activity strengthened his leading role on the independent music scene. Lech Janerka’s proneness to unusual, sometimes peculiar lyrics and original musical compositions have earned him a reputation of one of the most individual and unconventional from all the musicians on the Polish rock scene.
Kim Nowak, that should not be mistaken with Kim Novak (spelled with V instead of W), is an another incarnation of Waglewski brothers. Fish and Emade went back to the roots of garage and punk music and were joined up by a guitarist Michał Sobolewski. Their new project is an effect of trio’s longtime longing for pure, rough and unaltered sounds. Kim Nowak’s first self titled album was released in August 2009 and it succeeded in containing the raw energy of band’s rehearsal sessions.
To witness the live performances of Lech Janerka and Kim Nowak go to Alibi Club (located on 67 Grunwaldzka street) on the 1st of April. The concert starts at 7pm and the tickets go 25 Zloty on presale and 35 on the day of the gig.
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Exiting news for the fans of classic rock music- The Brew, considered one of Britain’s finest musical exports, is now touring in Germany and in two weeks will visit Poland.
The Brew is a trio from UK that earned a reputation as one of the most exiting and vibrant bands that emerged in the last decade. They released the first LP in 2004 and since then they’ve been enthusiastically received by both fans and critics. They’re usually praised for being the masters of live performances. After one of their sensational gigs in Netherlands, they were described as “The father, the son and holy spirit”
Three folks constituting The Brew specialize in playing classic rock that evokes a musical experiments from the 60s and the sound of Led Zeppelin or Jimmy Hendrix. Their music is strongly rooted in blues and it features powerful guitar riffs, heavy drums and bass.
On the 15th of April The Brew will perform in Od Zmierzchu Do Świtu club located on 15 Krupnicza street. The gig starts at 7 pm and the tickets go for 60 Zloty. You can get buy them in the venue or in Rocky store located in Feniks shopping center.
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Madness club invites you for a concert of Gagarin Brothers and Spaceman- two bands taking inspirations from the rockabilly music. On the first day of April you will have a chance to treat yourself with the energetic sounds from outer space.
Gagarin Brothers come from Russia and are now touring in Europe. They regard their music as an alliance of the new with the old. The band mixes such seemingly incompatible genres like zydeco, rockabilly, gypsy jazz, twist and latino.
Spaceman is a Polish formation also engaged in making dynamic and eclectic music. Their music is rooted in the rockabilly and roots rock and is aided with the elements of jump-blues, western swing and the modern rockabilly. The guys from Spaceman are well experienced on stage- they played at Boogie-Woogie Festiwal in Człóchów and Gdynia Blues Festiwal as well as in many music venues in Poland.
To experience this eclectic space-cocktail- go to Madness club (located on 6 Hubska street) on the 1st of April. The gig starts at 7pm and the tickets go for 15 Zloty
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Yearly Student Carnival is approaching. WROCKfest- the organizer of this unique spring event- has already released the lineup. As always you will have a chance to party to the music of Polish bands of best sorts.
As usually 3-Majówka will take place in centrally located Wyspa Słodowa.
On the 2nd of May you will have a chance to be entertained by StarGuardMuffin, Moniaka Brodka, happysad, Strachy Na Lachy, Myslovitz and as usually KNŻ (Kazik Na Żywo).
On the second day 3-Majówka, the 3rd of May, the stage on Wyspa Słodowa will belong to Fisz Emade (Tworzywo Sztuczne), Dezerter, Piersi, Dżem, Hey and Coma.
The concerts start at 1 pm. The two day ticket goes for 60 Zloty on presale. Make no other plans for the 2nd and 3rd of May- 3-Majówka is a must for all the fans of Polish rock, pop and reggae.
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Lady Perfect and The Formacja will play today at the Liverpool club. Both groups are equally devoted to multiple types of rock music and both express it vigorously on stage. If you’re longing to hear good old rock tunes, come to the Liverpool club on 37 Świdnicka Street, the concert starts at 8 p.m. The tickets go for 5 zloty.
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Today’s guest on radiowroclove.com was Paul Mayevsky, the guitar player, the composer, the author of lyrics and the tallest band member of Lady Perfect – a young Wroclaw rock band which has just won the Musical Battle organized by Radio Wroclaw. In the interview Paul not only finally admits why the band members chose the name Lady Perfect and why they sing in English but also reveals his music-related insatiable desires and affections.
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The legendary hard-rock band Wishbone Ash will play in Eter club- apparently the biggest concert venue in Wrocław. The band recorded their first self titled album in 1970 and after few years they’ve become highly acclaimed among fans and critics. Wishbone Ash with their characteristic two leading guitars became an inspiration for such bands as Thin Lizzy or Iron Maiden.
Wishbone Ash lately took a brake from recording new material and, despite the fact they are to be considered seniors, the reformed and reunited band tour giving the average of 200 gigs per year. Quite a big number for their age… I reckon.
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NZS- The Independent Association of Students- came to being in 1980 and to celebrate its 30th anniversary wROCKfest festival organized a very special event- wROCK for FREEDOM. NZS was regarded as the student’s equivalent of NSZZ Solidarność and it’s importance and contribution in the democratic movement can not be underestimated.
The festival will start on the 25th of February and will run till the 10th of April. The lineup features the legends of Polish rock- on the 25th of February the stage in the ETER club will belong to Strachy Na Lachy still avant-garde and unusual Marcin Świetlicki’s sung poetry. On the 8th of March Big Cyc and the legendary underground Apteka will play in Alibi club on Grunwaldzka Street.
18th of March will be the day of the legends of Polish punk scene- Armia, KSU, Farben Lehre, Dritte Wahl and Ga-Ga Zielone Żabki will perform in ETER. On 24th of March well known Hurt from Wrocław and a reggae squad Habakuk from Częstochowa will play in Alibi club.
The first day of April will belong to the legend of Polish altern-rock- Lech Janerka. His to the point-witty and sarcastic lyrics and unconventional music are best known among rock fans in Wrocław, which is his home-city. Janerka will be supported on stage by Kim Novak- a new project by Waglewski brothers (known from Tworzywo Sztuczne and many other musical enterprises).
The 10th of April- last day of wROCK for FREEDOM- is a presentation of the young yet already established bands. Muchy, Kumka Olik, CF98 and Bethel will perform in Alibi club.
Now take your little notebook or your shiny iPhone and put these dates in your calendar. There is no excuses- there’s not that many occasions to see that many legendary Polish musicians in almost one fell swoop. Just as NZS was an undenied contribution in the fight for for freedom, the music and art was and will always be an undenied force used to protest and contest, or simply to express the sheer anger.
For more invormation go to www.wrockfest.pl.
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A new piece of music by a band, which, couple of years ago, managed to send shivers down our spines.
“Here’s your money back, here’s your punk rock back” – that’s what the Japandroids are chanting out on their latest single and, whilst I can’t guarantee anything about the money, I can truly say it’s another great punky number. Japandroids is a Canadian duo highly influenced by bands such as Fugazi and McLusky. Even though all they use are drums and guitar, their music is raw and highly in carbohydrates. Last year they released their debut, “Post-Nothing”, which met with an enthusiastic reception. As a result, the band signed to the reputable independent label, Polyvinyl (best known for their releasing, Of Montreal). This year they’ve released this single. The B-side is a manic cover of Big Black’s “Racer X”, but the other track is their own composition.
For all of you who got used to the Japandroids’ unique brand of humour, “Art Czars” might come as a surprise. This latest single is still melodious and memorable, but it’s filled with anger. In any case, though, it’s punk, so clench your fist and play it loud!
Even if he doesn’t look like a punk rocker anymore, his soul was surely built in the garage and he reminds us of this every year.
There are very few people to whom garage rock owes as much as it does to Frank Black. This Boston-born musician was the leader of the incredibly influential band, Pixies. Generally speaking, every second guitar band in their 90′s derived their style from them. Albums like “Doolittle” or “Surfer Rosa” are widely regarded as absolute classics and it’s hard to imagine what Nirvana or Weezer would sound like without this great inspiration. When Pixies, unfortunately, disbanded, its leader started a solo career. From then on, he began to release albums under his own name with almost annual frequency – 2010 is no exception.
“NONSTOPEROTIK” hit the shelves two weeks ago. Our weekly pick is “Six Man Legged” – a dynamic piece of garage rock. The song nicely contrasts the melodious choruses with a bit of a noisy, guitar-driven instrumental part. Whilst everybody else just rips Pixies off, Frank Black is just following them up and has been rocking the scene since 1986.
Although we’re not forcing you to love Broken Social Scene, we would thoroughly recommend that you do.
Just a month after revealing their forthcoming album’s opening track (“World Sick”), the Canadian band has unravelled the next pieces of “Forgiveness Rock Record”. The fourth album of this extraordinary Toronto-based rock orchestra is due to be released on the 4th of May. This recording has been highly anticipated, since Broken Social Scene returned after five-year long hiatus. What is more, some of the band members have pursued solo careers in the interim (with albums from Leslie Feist, Brendan Canning, Kevin Drew). As tension is sufficiently high, let’s check out another teaser!
Broken Social Scene has just released a single containing two songs, “Forced To Love” and “All To All”. The former is just a typical classic band’s upbeat rock song. It’s sung by Kevin Drew and has a marvellous guitar part. Another great preview of “Forgiveness Rock Record”.
In the dark days of catchy choruses and sweet melodies, who can save uncompromising European rock?
Norway, unfairly, remains in the shadow of the great Swedish music machine. This small nation has given to the world such artists as Royksopp, Jaga Jazzist, Kings Of Convenience or Lindstrom (not to mention their highly developed jazz and metal scenes). Another band Norwegians should be proud of is Serena Maneesh – an intriguing shoegazing band. Although their self-titled debut album met with a very positive reception all around the world, they made us wait five years for a follow up.
At last, “Serena Maneesh 2: Abyss in B Minor” has hit the shelves. The album took two years to record, partly in a cave outside Oslo. The result is a absorbing mixture of My Bloody Valentine-like melodies and Jesus and Mary Chain-like distortions. “Blow Yr Brains In The Mourning Rain” somehow speaks for itself – a powerful, guitar-driven tune that Jonathan Pierce would love. Hopefully, you will too!
It would seem that Southern Rock hasn’t changed much, with its base mixture of solid riffs and hoarse vocals for the last few decades.
Georgia-based Drive-By Truckers are masters of using these patterns over and over again without losing their recording quality. Quite frankly, even though I must agree that innovation is what pushes things forward, it is however essential to have a selection of predictable bands to rely on. The best thing about Drive-By Truckers is that their albums are consistently up to the mark, so if you have a fondness for a traditional hard-rock with elements of country and blues, you won’t be disappointed.
“The Big To Do” is the band’s ninth album, which tells the stories of ordinary people struggling with a world that turned against them. Musically, Drive-By Truckers represents stylistic formats familiar from Lynyrd Skynyrd or (especially) Bruce Springsteen albums. This week’s pick, “Drag The Lake Charlie”, is a bit more cheerful though. Rednecks of the world unite!
A controversial singer, pianist and composer, living statue, solo artist and a half of The Dresden Dolls duo will perform on Saturday evening at the Capitol Music Theatre. And yes, that’s just one person.
The most stylish woman in Boston along with the drummer Brian Viglione set up a unique duo that combined elements of dark cabaret with punkish energy. From the very beginning the band met with an enthusiastic reception. Basically, what the band managed to achieve is a theatrical form that surprises and absorbs without using pompous means. The Dresden Dolls can perfectly play with a tension which they owe mostly to the Amanda Palmer‘s unique way of singing.
After a few years, The Dresden Dolls was disbanded and Palmer began a solo career. Her solo debut was released the same year and it immediately sparked controversy. The clip to the song “Oasis”, which was supposed to promote “Who Killed Amanda Palmer” album, was actually banned for its controversial content. However, the singer doesn’t seem to care giving priority to her artistic visions over established conventions and, basically, that’s what makes her concert during the Review Of Stage Songs such a highly-expected event.
With spring in the air, we’d thought we’d give you some gleeful synth music.
Aloha is an American band currently signed to Polivinyl Records, the same label as Of Montreal and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. Their main feature is probably the fact that they move perpetually from place to place. Every single member lives in a different place in the east of the USA and, in recent years, they have lived, recorded and toured in Chicago, Washington D.C., Cleveland, Cincinnati, Rochester, Pittsburgh and Altoona. Their new song, “Searchlight“, is a solid piece of rock music from their new album “Home Acres“, sufficiently energetic, we hope, to fill you with all the joys of spring!
The widely acclaim Polish pop-rock band, Muchy, performs tonight at the Bezsenność Club at 8 p.m. This concert is the first opportunity to listen to the songs from their recently released album, “Notoryczni Debiutanci”, performed live.
Muchy first enjoyed the limelight in 2007, with the release of “Terroromans” – a brilliant album that combines catchy pop melodies with guitar work influenced by the American independent rock scene. The band’s music met with the enthusiastic reception of both the critics (the album was nominated for a Fryderyk music award) and the wider audience. Thanks to their talent for remarkable melodies and highly poetic, metaphorical lyrics, Muchy are sometimes being called Polish version of The Smiths… Which is a great honour!
This evening at Bezsenność, Muchy will promote their second album, “Notoryczni Debiutanci” (“Notorious Debutants”). The first single promoting this recording is “Przesilenie” and you might actually have already heard it, if you are a RadioWroclove.com listener…
The first album of the Tricity-based Ścianka is one of the most astonishing debuts in the history of Polish rock. “Statek Kosmiczny” (“Spacecraft”) contains more than one hour of music that is, theoretically, packed with contradictions but as soon as you turn it on, you’ll be lost in the overpowering storm of rough tones and extraordinary ideas.
Ścianka was set up in 1994 in Sopot. The band’s distinguishing feature is its uncompromising individualism. When most of Polish bands either follow the trends or play the same old stuff, the group led by Maciek Cieślak remains totally unpredictable thanks to changing its stylistics, method of production and line-up. Before releasing its debut, Ścianka had been, wrongly, considered as part of the jazz-influenced Tricity’s stage, whereas the band’s sound was deeply rooted in American 60′s psychedelic rock and 70′s punk. During the first years of existence, Ścianka’s line up was shaping to crystallize finally as a four-piece band, including Cieślak’s mate – Jacek Lachowicz (keyboard), Arkady Kowalczyk (drums) and Vietnamese Tran Chi (bass). Since then Ścianka started to get some acclaim, performing in a local basement. Although the band had recorded a demo before, the first breakthrough was signing a contract with a local Biodro Records and releasing the debut.
“Statek Kosmiczny” is a dirty, raw and condensed punch in the face of Polish scene of that times. The material contained on the album despises commercial standards and conventional approaches that ruled the Polish scene. The album marries the explosive, highly improvisational noisy jams with mellow, melodious ballads you would play in commercial media. The album’s highlights are krautrock-influenced “Trans-Atlantyk”, purely experimental and a bit pastiche mixture of noise rock with a traditional Polish tune “Czerwone Kozaki” and the most recognizable song on the album – “Skuter”, which presents the manic side of “Statek Kosmiczny” in a nutshell. The mellower and softer character of the album is represented by the instrumental, reflective “Sopot” and “Sopot II” and moving ballad “Piórko”. In this case the outcome of such a mixture is not unpleasantly eclectic but perfectly balanced material, listening of which is not exhausting, despite its intellectual character. Even though the album might be considered as home-recorded, it’s full of interesting (sometimes even surprising) details that make listening to this recording even more unique. Nevertheless, revealing them I’d only spoil the fun.
Due to its short series “Statek Kosmiczny” had been unavailable to buy for years. Fortunately it has been recently remastered and is accessible again. This is, sadly, not the case with Ścianka’s second album, but that’s a totally different story.
Recommended if you like: the Stooges, Sonic Youth, Captain Beefheart, Velvet Underground, Can
“Highway 61 Revisited” revisited.
Strange Boys are an Austin-based garage-rock band set up by two schoolmates – the band’s guitarist and songwriter – Ryan Sambol and the drummer – Matt Hammer. They recorded their first EP’s as teenagers to get in touch with In Red Records, which released the band’s debut in 2009. Strange Boys’ music is raw, fuzzy rock influenced by groups the age of their parents. Surprisingly, the music contained on “The Strange Boys and Girls Club” derives to a much greater extent from bands such as New York Dolls, Rolling Stones and Chuck Berry than from their label’s colleagues.
Their latest single “Be Brave”, which is a preview of the album under the same title, might be described as a bit Dylanish. It’s a melodious blues ballad with saxophone parts that fit perfectly with the atmosphere of Southern States from 50′s & 60′s. A very fine revival indeed.
Sad news from last Saturday: Mark Linkous, the leader of indie pop band Sparklehorse, committed suicide.
Mark Linkous was a multiinstrumentalist and the driving force of Sparklehorse. He started in 1996 with the album “Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot”. Soon after the release, Linkous joined Radiohead’s European tour, during which he overdosed several substances, including heroin, valium, alcohol and anti-depressants, which stopped his heart-action for several minutes and left him wheelchair-bound for half a year. Some people said that those circumstances had an effect on his second album, which was rather sad, but Linkous replied that almost all the songs were ready before his near-death experience took place. His best known album is probably “It’s a Wonderful Life” from 2001, featuring Tom Waits, PJ Harvey, Bob Rupe, Vic Chesnutt, Nina Persson and Dave Fridmann. “Comfort Me” is a song taken from that release.
Rest in peace Mark.
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