Poland - The East

 Before leaving the south of Poland we make a stop at the village of Meçina Mała where the family folk band Kapela Maliszów hail from.  They are inspired by the traditional music of Beskid Mountain and Pogorze regions of the south of Poland.  Founded by Jan Malisz and his son and daughter Kacper and Zuzanna there main instruments are the traditional violin, the basolia (a cello-like folk instrument and a drum made by Jan's father.  Here's a live performance of a song called Chmiel from their 2017 album Wiejski Dzez:

Next stop is the city of Lublin in eastern Poland, where we encounter contemporary folk band Orkiestra świetego Mikołaja.  They have been in the forefront of Polish folk music since 1988, blending traditional Polish sound on a variety of stringed acoustic instruments with contemporary rhythms.  Here is a collaboration with Warsaw producers Studio as One, which appeared on a 2009 compilation album Polska Rootz, called Kolomyjka Jarocinska Remix:

Moving on to the village of Gardzienice, where the Centre of Theatre Practices is located and is home to the female folk trio Sutari.  Here is a review from Songlines Magazine of their 2017 album Osty:

The female trio Sutari have a unique sound world on the Polish music scene. The lyrics and music are largely traditional, but Basia Songin, Kasia Kapela and Zosia Zembrzuska transform them into three-part polyphonies, softly sung – almost whispered – inspired by the Lithuanian sutartines from which they take their name. They accompany themselves on violin, bass and percussion. It's nothing like the punchy, powerful vocals of Warsaw Village Band or Värttinä, but something quieter and more elusive.
Sutari come across as free spirits of nature – haunting, mischievous and hard to pin down. Their first album, 2014's Wiano, featured sounds from the natural environment: forests, lakes and dripping water. On this one, Osty (which translates as Thistles), their songs are from a woman's perspective but often hard to interpret – although there are helpful English translations in the booklet. Thistles are prickly weeds, but also beautiful practical herbs with healing qualities. Their songs often melt into mischievous laughter: ‘Oh people say love is not good for you/No one died of love, and many were born!’

This is a song from that album called Siostra (Sister).  The photography in the video reminds me of Vermeer paintings:

 

Basia Derlak was born in the city of Chełm and is the lead singer of folk/jazz band ChłopcyKontra Basia, which as the name suggests has a double based and Basia's vocals at it's centre.  The ensemble was actually formed in Kraców in 2009 and they mostly write their own music, but leaning on Serbian, Ukrainian and Belarussian folk traditions given a contemporary twist.  Here's the title track if their 2013 album Oj Tak! (Oh yes):

Singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Karolina Cicha was born in 1979 in Byałystok and is described as one of the most exceptional musicians of her generation.  She plays the piano, accordion and harpsichord and sings in a numerous languages.  Her genres vary from rock, to theatrical pieces to folk.  In her 2013 album Wieloma Jezykami / 9 Languages she returns to her roots of the multi-cultural Podlochia region with songs sung in Ukrainian, Belorussian, Lithuanian, Russian, Tatar, Yiddish and Esperanto.  This is a song in Yiddish about her birth city called Bialystok, Majn Hejm:

That's it from Eastern Poland, next stop the centre of the country.  As usual you can follow my virtual travels on my Tripline map.