Best Ever Albums

Re: SLP #5: Teraz Polska by Grzywa

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 17:08:24 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 08/10/2016 21:08

this was a real treat. My only access to Poland being through the internet, I think it's safe to say you have greater insight into Polish music than I do 🤣 . So yeah I really appreciate this even just as a concept, but it just so happens it's also awesome. The progressive tempo changing throughout the first track was like some kind of demented jig (in the best way possible), and it lead into the second with that sublime brass really well. Really keeps the energy of the whole thing flowing. Then the reggae vibes of the next one chilled things out. From there things got progressively more melodic until aw man that Kapela ze Wsi Warszawa was just gorgeous, and I thought that dream pop closer was both beautiful in and of itself and also a nice way to close this energetic shmorgishborg. Thanks Grzywa 😄

Re: SLP #5: Teraz Polska by Grzywa

Grzywa — Fri, 29 Apr 2016 14:39:42 GMT

Author: Grzywa

Posted: 04/29/2016 18:39

benpaco wrote:

So prior to this playlist I think I'd only heard one polish band to day, Cool Kids of Death. I'm really not sure how they're viewed by Poles or music lovers at all, but I for one think they're music's rather fun and the few lyrics I've seen translated online seem interesting enough, though it's always hard to get a feel for that.

Cool Kids of Death were big with Polish indie/alternative audience in 2000s. They've been pretty quiet over the last couple of years, but yeah, always kept the right level of cool. How did you come across them, out of curiosity ?[/quote]

benpaco wrote:

Both Obercology and Svantetic were rather cool pieces I can see myself stealing for other playlists, and Svantetic in particular reminded me a little bit of Carter Burwell's piano works (not the weirder stuff like Where The Wild Things Are but like that tune for Twilight or the In Bruges soundtrack).

Obercology is based on a lively Polish traditional dance, so if you highlight this one and Leeeeć, you seem to be into Polish folk music 😉

Svantetic is a cover of a track off Astigmatic by Krzysztof Komeda, the biggest and most acclaimed Polish jazz album ever. Poland traditionally always had some great pianists to boast of, and Leszek Możdżer is the latest in line.

benpaco wrote:

Transit was fun but a bit long for what it was and din't really go anywhere.

I actually share a similar sentiment: ideally it should have ended at 3:05.

benpaco wrote:

Leeec was maybe my favorite here in the end - there's a really interesting mix of Eastern European sounds going on with the sort of odd rythmic backing I'd expect out of someone like Karlsson with the more "epic" violin and vocal blend I'd expect out of someone like Inon Zur.

If you’re into this kind of stuff, I can assure you that the output of Kapela ze Wsi Warszawa is pretty consistent. This song is from their last record called Święto Słońca (Feast of the Sun). The Inon Zur comparison does make sense, too.

benpaco wrote:

d u c h also went straight on my calm down/sleep playlist.

Funnily enough, that song was the opening track on alameda 5 album, which I think is generally worth checking out, although d u c h (Ghost) is hardly representative of the entire material, which is far more varied, trippy, psychedelic.

benpaco wrote:

This was a cool little sampler as a result for me. Really varied style but the playlist still flowed pretty well (not sure if order mattered or not but I liked the order). Overall this is honestly one of my favorite if not my favorite of these to date. Rather cool mix of stuff here :)

Thank you for the kind words, much appreciated 😄 The order was crucial, I’d spent waaaaaaaay to much time on it, so at least I’m glad it worked out well for you.

Re: SLP #5: Teraz Polska by Grzywa

benpaco — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 18:26:15 GMT

Author: benpaco

Posted: 04/28/2016 22:26

So prior to this playlist I think I'd only heard one polish band to day, Cool Kids of Death. I'm really not sure how they're viewed by Poles or music lovers at all, but I for one think they're music's rather fun and the few lyrics I've seen translated online seem interesting enough, though it's always hard to get a feel for that.

This was a cool little sampler as a result for me. Really varied style but the playlist still flowed pretty well (not sure if order mattered or not but I liked the order). Both Obercology and Svantetic were rather cool pieces I can see myself stealing for other playlists, and Svantetic in particular reminded me a little bit of Carter Burwell's piano works (not the weirder stuff like Where The Wild Things Are but like that tune for Twilight or the In Bruges soundtrack). Transit was fun but a bit long for what it was and din't really go anywhere. Leeec was maybe my favorite here in the end - there's a really interesting mix of Eastern European sounds going on with the sort of odd rythmic backing I'd expect out of someone like Karlsson with the more "epic" violin and vocal blend I'd expect out of someone like Inon Zur. d u c h also went straight on my calm down/sleep playlist. Overall this is honestly one of my favorite if not my favorite of these to date. Rather cool mix of stuff here 😄

Re: SLP #5: Teraz Polska by Grzywa

meccalecca — Thu, 21 Apr 2016 14:48:28 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 04/21/2016 18:48

Grzywa wrote:

Thanks for highlighting this, man. Colin Stetson has been my hero since last year's collaboration with Sarah Neufeld, Never Were The Way She Was and I'm sure this will be awesome. Will check it out the first time I'm in the mood ;)

Yeah, Colin is just incredible. his second solo album blew my mind, and i've been a fan ever since. definitely know what you mean about being in the mood. I've only listened once so far, because it's an intense piece of music

Re: SLP #5: Teraz Polska by Grzywa

Grzywa — Thu, 21 Apr 2016 14:44:09 GMT

Author: Grzywa

Posted: 04/21/2016 18:44

meccalecca wrote:

Speaking of Gorecki's 3rd. Colin Stetson just released his version and it's pretty magnificent

Re: SLP #5: Teraz Polska by Grzywa

meccalecca — Thu, 21 Apr 2016 09:18:33 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 04/21/2016 13:18

[quote="Grzywa"]Górecki's 3rd would still be my guess, considering the impact it made in the Anglo-Saxon world. The symphony was actually written in 1976, but its second movement was directly inspired by a message written on the wall of a cell in German Gestapo prison - maybe that's where the 1940s reference comes from ?

Quote:

Speaking of Gorecki's 3rd. Colin Stetson just released his version and it's pretty magnificent

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Sorrow by Colin Stetson

Re: SLP #5: Teraz Polska by Grzywa

Grzywa — Thu, 21 Apr 2016 02:18:56 GMT

Author: Grzywa

Posted: 04/21/2016 06:18

sethmadsen wrote:

Also... the sincerity of the music totally is what I remember... and I do remember a lot of double bass... but it's been so long and I only heard it in his class, it's hard to say this was it for certain. I thought he said it was written around the 40s... but it could have been just simply looking back at that time.

Górecki's 3rd would still be my guess, considering the impact it made in the Anglo-Saxon world. The symphony was actually written in 1976, but its second movement was directly inspired by a message written on the wall of a cell in German Gestapo prison - maybe that's where the 1940s reference comes from ?

sethmadsen wrote:

I have to say this has been one of the most educational/insightful and most "human" thread and REALLY appreciate learning more about your culture.

I'll be honest, Americans are typically pretty ignorant (I once played at a small festival, and this country singer said, "Mericuh... the greatest country in the whole United States".... hahahahaha... I kid you not.

The attitude often wrongfully is: our own culture is the only culture worth learning... so world music is typically for people that always burn copious amounts of incense (prejudice I just made up, haha)... and although there's music ranging from Gypsy Kings to Sigor Ros that I genuinely love... I'm not constantly on the look for music from other cultures all the time. It's easy for us to get stuck in our WASP culture (I think Catholics are cool too though... hehe, just making fun of the Acronym) and not giving enough time/appreciation to anything else. So again, much appreciated.

Thanks for the kind words, that was precisely my idea, to throw some light on stuff that rarely if ever gets any attention.

That being said, I seem to be precisely as prejudiced as Americans are: 86 out of 100 albums on my overall chart are American or British...

Even compiling this 10-track playlist was a challenge, because I'm not as well listened in the stuff from my own country as I should be, especially over the last couple of years. So I'm glad I took it up, and maybe will continue in this way or another.

On the other hand, making a playlist of American/English songs would just be a case of being spoilt for choice 😉

Re: SLP #5: Teraz Polska by Grzywa

RoundTheBend — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 23:43:22 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 04/21/2016 03:43

Grzywa wrote:

A smart guy he was. Being partly a teacher myself, I could do nothing but admire what he did.

I'm pretty sure this must have been Symphony no. 3 by Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, which became a surprising hit in 1992, climbing to Top 10 on UK mainstream charts (sic !) and overall selling more copies than any other contemporary classical music record. You will find a number of renditions of this symphony on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/album/1uSsVvqd7DMcUeIsCWHMmI
https://open.spotify.com/album/46q5aNurtUSD1L5CJcDKr8
https://open.spotify.com/album/14X8vuOW2niAFbwM9zFHAe
https://open.spotify.com/album/4vArLMJQy7aoUgP0D1d2X0

In Polish it's Nie (without "t" at the end) :D

Possibly top 3 teachers I've ever had.

Also... the sincerity of the music totally is what I remember... and I do remember a lot of double bass... but it's been so long and I only heard it in his class, it's hard to say this was it for certain. I thought he said it was written around the 40s... but it could have been just simply looking back at that time.

I have to say this has been one of the most educational/insightful and most "human" thread and REALLY appreciate learning more about your culture.

I'll be honest, Americans are typically pretty ignorant (I once played at a small festival, and this country singer said, "Mericuh... the greatest country in the whole United States".... hahahahaha... I kid you not.

The attitude often wrongfully is: our own culture is the only culture worth learning... so world music is typically for people that always burn copious amounts of incense (prejudice I just made up, haha)... and although there's music ranging from Gypsy Kings to Sigor Ros that I genuinely love... I'm not constantly on the look for music from other cultures all the time. It's easy for us to get stuck in our WASP culture (I think Catholics are cool too though... hehe, just making fun of the Acronym) and not giving enough time/appreciation to anything else. So again, much appreciated.

Re: SLP #5: Teraz Polska by Grzywa

meccalecca — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 12:07:22 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 04/20/2016 16:07

Grzywa wrote:

OK, won't keep you waiting. Koniec Kryzysu by Pustki, which you happened to rate 10/10, is a re-make of Passover by Joy Division. Not a cover, for the only elements left from the original are the vocal line and part of the lyrics (translated into Polish and sung by a woman). Disguised a bit :P

Aha. There was something very familiar about this track but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

All in all, this was a great mix. A lot of variation from track to track and yet it felt like a cohesive experience. I'll need to listen again when not working, so I can focus a bit more on individual tracks

Re: SLP #5: Teraz Polska by Grzywa

Grzywa — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 03:32:24 GMT

Author: Grzywa

Posted: 04/20/2016 07:32

sethmadsen wrote:

In other "traditional" music I'm familiar with, the credit given to the writer is often "traditional" or at least says based on melody or whatever... first comes to mind is the Quaker melody "Simple Gifts" used by Weezer and Aaron Copland (many others), same kind of idea here? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_Gifts

Good question. Obercology by ATOM String Quartet is a pastiche of Polish national dance called "oberek", whereas Kapela ze Wsi Warszawa uses directly traditional rural melodies, but combines them with more contemporary influences (psychedelic, trance) and elements of folk from other parts of the world (like the song on the playlist, Leeeć, which features Mercedes Peon, a folk singer from Galicia in Spain).

sethmadsen wrote:

Ah man... you gotta let us know now... unless you think someone will guess it right.

Re: SLP #5: Teraz Polska by Grzywa

Grzywa — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 03:12:17 GMT

Author: Grzywa

Posted: 04/20/2016 07:12

sethmadsen wrote:

You actually reminded me of one of my most favorite listening experiences. I was in high school and 9/11 had just happened. My music teacher reacted in the best way than anyone else. Instead of making us play... he started doing this listening experience. It started off with listening to music from the Middle East. He would say, you know what kills racism... food and music. If you can like their food and music and enjoy their humanity... it breaks down any other barrier.

A smart guy he was. Being partly a teacher myself, I could do nothing but admire what he did.

sethmadsen wrote:

I remember also he played a piece from a Polish composer (I'm REALLY wishing my memory of 15 years ago was good right now) that I can't remember and I can't remember if it was based on this same thing or something else, but it was WWII related. Anyway it was one of the most sorrowful pieces of music I've ever heard. If a famous Polish composer of that era comes to mind let me know!

I'm pretty sure this must have been Symphony no. 3 by Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, which became a surprising hit in 1992, climbing to Top 10 on UK mainstream charts (sic !) and overall selling more copies than any other contemporary classical music record. You will find a number of renditions of this symphony on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/album/1uSsVvqd7DMcUeIsCWHMmI
https://open.spotify.com/album/46q5aNurtUSD1L5CJcDKr8
https://open.spotify.com/album/14X8vuOW2niAFbwM9zFHAe
https://open.spotify.com/album/4vArLMJQy7aoUgP0D1d2X0

sethmadsen wrote:

Also isn't Nyet (spelling) no? I vaguely remember learning that from Russian at least.

In Polish it's Nie (without "t" at the end) 😁

Re: SLP #5: Teraz Polska by Grzywa

RoundTheBend — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 19:45:21 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 04/19/2016 23:45

Grzywa wrote:

Glad you liked it. I thought it would be a good counterpoint for Lao Che war song :)

Now I get that... thanks again! I love the Internets sometimes. It really is a playground for the world to come together with hippies... I mean... hehe... no seriously it is great.

Grzywa wrote:

Yeah, this one and no. 4 are based on Polish folk melodies.

Grzywa wrote:

Indeed, this is a post-punk track from 1985, but not the re-make I mentioned. Joy Division is the right guess, but... not for this track :P

Ah man... you gotta let us know now... unless you think someone will guess it right.

Re: SLP #5: Teraz Polska by Grzywa

RoundTheBend — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 19:34:27 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 04/19/2016 23:34

Grzywa wrote:

sethmadsen wrote:

1. 8/10 (what is this saying... probably the song I was most lyrically interested in)

@sethmadsen, quite a challenge to describe it briefly, but I'll try:

Zrzuty ("Airdrops") is the third track off the album Powstanie Warszawskie by Lao Che (2005), which tells the story of tragic Warsaw Uprising of 1944 (I won't go into details here, but if you're interested, here's the Wiki link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Uprising). That was when the modern history of Poland actually began and this is why I wanted to start the playlist with Lao Che.

Now for the lyrics. The title (Airdrops) refers to supplies from Western Allies that were supposed to be provided by means of aircrafts. For many different reasons (German anti-aircraft warfare, political hesitations of western countries, Soviet reluctance to provide airports, poor visibility over Warsaw) it never went the way it should have, and so the partisans of Warsaw generally felt they were left on their own.

It's an interplay between different voices of the Uprising participants

Polish General (?) talking on the radio
Jako lotnicy okryci chwał�... w dywizjonach lotniczych i bombarduj�...cych
As pilots covered with glory in aircraft and bombarding squadrons
>>> Trying to motivate soldiers

Polish partisans responding in male/female chorus
Nie nasza rzecz, nasza rzecz - nasz�... robić rzecz
It's not our thing. Our thing is to do our thing
>>> We don't give a damn about general's pompous words, we're here to fight as we were told to.

German soldiers commenting on Polish partisans
Verfluchten polnischen, polnischen
partisanen, banditen, banditen.
Damned Polish partisans, bandits.
>>> The partisans were officially announced as "bandits" by German authorities.

Radio broadcast from London countered by a voice from the streets of Warsaw
Halo, halo, tutaj Londyn, tutaj Londyn
Ona czarna, a on blondyn, a on blondyn
Hello, hello, it's London,
She's dark-haired and he's blonde
>>> My word, this one's tough 😄 Warsaw partisans expected material and military help from the Western Europe (particularly from London, where the Polish government resided during World War II), but what they mostly got was radio broadcasts from London. Not coincidentally (?) a nod towards London Calling by The Clash as well 😉

So, since the words London and blonde guy rhyme in Polish, this one's a surreal mocking response of partisans to the fact of getting another radio broadcast instead of supplies... Hope it makes sense.

Polish partisan
Myślę sobie, zważ robaczku w czym się moczysz
Trach, pif, paf, bum i do Bozi i do Bozi
I think to myself - look, worm, how little you are,
Crash, bang, bang, boom ! And on your way to god
>>> This is obviously a partisan reflecting on his own fragility during the uprising. One shot and you're dead. Between 150,000-200,000 Polish civilians and 10,000-16,000 partisans were killed over 2 months of the Uprising.
The words on your way to god are then repeated a number of times against a descending power chord progression which sounds much more like going to hell, actually.

The middle part:
Voice reading a secret telegram
Bardzo pilne... Bardzo tajne... Do Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej wysyła Łubieński. Pocz�...tek.
Very urgent... Very secret... To the President of the Republic of Poland, sent by Łubieński. The Beginning.
>>> Telegram informing the President of Poland residing in London that the Uprising has begun.

The second part repeats a number of lines, on to:

Collective voice of Polish partisans
Słuchaj Londyn, nam nie trzeba audycji
My ż�...damy amunicji, amunicji!
Listen London, we want no broadcasts,
What we need is ammunition !
>>> This is self-explanatory, I guess.

and the ending goes:

Dialogue between partisans
Jak tam u was? - jest spokojnie jak na wojnie
tu pierdolnie, tam pierdolnie znów spokojnie
Jeb, jeb, jeb!
How are things ? As quiet as a war,
BOOM here, BANG there and quiet again - BANG, BANG, BANG !!!
>>> Just a lively, sound-imitating description of everyday reality of the Uprising - explosions, gunshots... and all quiet again. "Alright" says a voice with British accent, and the song is over.

Wow, this is amazing. Thank you for spending the time to help me understand.

You actually reminded me of one of my most favorite listening experiences. I was in high school and 9/11 had just happened. My music teacher reacted in the best way than anyone else. Instead of making us play... he started doing this listening experience. It started off with listening to music from the Middle East. He would say, you know what kills racism... food and music. If you can like their food and music and enjoy their humanity... it breaks down any other barrier.

Anyway... he did that for a while, but then somehow that morphed into listening to Led Zeppelin and other artists.

I remember also he played a piece from a Polish composer (I'm REALLY wishing my memory of 15 years ago was good right now) that I can't remember and I can't remember if it was based on this same thing or something else, but it was WWII related. Anyway it was one of the most sorrowful pieces of music I've ever heard. If a famous Polish composer of that era comes to mind let me know!

Other thing was he forced us to listen to this more intently by turning off the lights. One of the best experiences of my life.

Also isn't Nyet (spelling) no? I vaguely remember learning that from Russian at least.

Re: SLP #5: Teraz Polska by Grzywa

Grzywa — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 09:27:21 GMT

Author: Grzywa

Posted: 04/19/2016 13:27

SquishypuffDave wrote:

This is super great. Feels like a journey of some kind, all expansive and unfurling. I'll echo Tap's comment about that breakdown in the Skalpel track.

Thanks mate ! The entire Skalpel output is available on Spotify, if you want to check them out further 😉

Re: SLP #5: Teraz Polska by Grzywa

Grzywa — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 09:25:31 GMT

Author: Grzywa

Posted: 04/19/2016 13:25

sethmadsen wrote:

Bombtrack! hahah, that was awesome.

Glad you liked it. I thought it would be a good counterpoint for Lao Che war song 😄

sethmadsen wrote:

8/10 (traditional or no?)

Yeah, this one and no. 4 are based on Polish folk melodies.

sethmadsen wrote:

9. 7/10 (I think this is the post punk track... wanna guess Joy Division... but don't know)

Indeed, this is a post-punk track from 1985, but not the re-make I mentioned. Joy Division is the right guess, but... not for this track 😜

Re: SLP #5: Teraz Polska by Grzywa

SquishypuffDave — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 07:44:15 GMT

Author: SquishypuffDave

Posted: 04/19/2016 11:44

This is super great. Feels like a journey of some kind, all expansive and unfurling. I'll echo Tap's comment about that breakdown in the Skalpel track.

Re: SLP #5: Teraz Polska by Grzywa

Grzywa — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 06:13:25 GMT

Author: Grzywa

Posted: 04/19/2016 10:13

sethmadsen wrote:

1. 8/10 (what is this saying... probably the song I was most lyrically interested in)

Re: SLP #5: Teraz Polska by Grzywa

RoundTheBend — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 00:15:14 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 04/19/2016 04:15

Also, I haven't said this before, but your English if PHENOMENAL. I studied German seriously for 6 years (2 years in Germany and 4 years at university) and definitely can't write that well. If you didn't say otherwise I would have mistaken you for any Yank!

Re: SLP #5: Teraz Polska by Grzywa

RoundTheBend — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 00:13:59 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 04/19/2016 04:13

Bombtrack! hahah, that was awesome.

1. 8/10 (what is this saying... probably the song I was most lyrically interested in)
2. 8/10
3. 7/10
4. 8/10
5. 10/10
6. 9/10
7. 9/10
8. 8/10 (traditional or no?)
9. 7/10 (I think this is the post punk track... wanna guess Joy Division... but don't know)
10. 8/10

Re: SLP #5: Teraz Polska by Grzywa

Grzywa — Mon, 18 Apr 2016 15:50:41 GMT

Author: Grzywa

Posted: 04/18/2016 19:50

Tap wrote:

But yeah good stuff! Thanks for putting it together, very cool to get an extended look at the Polish artists here.

Thanks for checking out 😄 Just a few comments on the artists you highlighted:

Tap wrote:

Skalpel too, kinda reminds me of some Luke Vibert. That bit in the middle where the drums get totally rigid and then start filling in the gaps was a highlight.

Skalpel used to be signed with Ninja Tune. They released three pretty consistent albums, that is the combination of 60/70s jazz samples with electronic beats, so if you liked this one track, I'm sure you would find more to enjoy on their other releases.

Tap wrote:

That Pustki song was pretty cool in general too,

That Pustki song is in fact a re-make of a song by a well-known post-punk English band... Any guesses ? 😄 Anyway, they're possibly the most interesting 'indie' band from Poland these days, combining relatively simple songs (often including male/female harmonies) with some deeper textures, even up to post-rock sensibility.

Tap wrote:

I think the thing I most need to check out is Alameda 5 tho (did I hear this song in Plug or somewhere?), maybe it's just because it's night time and I'm sleepy but this seems like some good stuff to chill out to.

From what I've seen on Taplog, I would say you should definitely try out their entire album "Duch Tornada", although "d u c h" (which is the opening track there) does not actually represent the album very well, so I'm not sure if you're able to chill out to this. It's much more complex and experimental, there's a lot of psychedelic and noise elements. Give it a go !