Poland - The North and the West

 We arrive in the port city of Gdansk on the Baltic Sea coast, where the Solidarity movement started with the dock workers strikes in the 1980's, which marked the beginning of the end of Communist rule in Eastern Europe.  This is where the global music band Annutara hail from.  They describe their music as of the world and the universe, inspired by Balkan, Gypsy, Ukrainian and Polish folk as well as Klezmer and traditional Arab music.  Here is the stirring title track from their 2015 album Ulisi:

Also fusing various global influences are folk band Dikanda from Szczecin in north-western Poland.  Their blend is mostly Balkan and Gypsy influenced, but also has Middle Eastern influences as well as Polish and Russian folk.  Here is a song from their 2017 album Devla Devla called Miłość (Love):

Polish-Ukranian band DAGADANA are based  in Poznan in the west of the country and they have been fusing their respective folk traditions with jazz and electronica since 2008.  Their 2018 album Meridian 68 was inspired by collaborations with Mongolian band Hassibagen and Ayis Song from China.  This a live version of a song from that album called U Poli Bereza:

Now for something a lot more contemporary from Poznan, dance music project Provinz Posen (the former German name for the province of Poznan).   They describe their efforts as Greater Poland dance music a hundred years later and take their inspiration from the likes of Brian Eno and Kraftwerk using mostly electronic sounds with soundbites of traditional instruments such as bagpipes, clarinet and violin.  Here is a track from their 2019 self-titled debut album called Strzały w mieście (Shots in the city).  

Finally in complete contrast, something very traditional.  I don't know anything about the accordionist Stanislav Stepniak or where he is from, even though I uploaded the following video onto YouTube some 10 years ago.  Anyway here is a Polish wedding mazurka with the picture featuring my friends Hyeon and Dorota, whose wedding we attended near Poznan many years ago:

This is it from Poland and I sign off for 2021.  Hope you are all having a great New Year and see you back in Germany next year.  As usual you can follow my virtual travels on my Tripline map.

Poland - Warsaw and the Centre

 We move on to Warsaw the capital and largest city of Poland.  Apparently much of the historic centre was destroyed during the war, but what remains of it is now a UNSECO world heritage site.  First up we meet the band that is at the forefront of the Polish folk revival, the mighty Warsaw Village Band or Kapela ze wsi Warszawa.  They formed in 1998 as the Communist regimes of the former Warsaw pact started to crumble in an effort to preserve the traditions and cultures of Poland before globalism took hold.  They travelled the length and breadth of the country collecting old songs and interpreting them for a modern audience using traditional instruments such as frame drums, hurdy-gurdy and suka, a Polish folk fiddle.  The bands vocals are sung in a loud open-throated style reminiscent of Bulgarian throat singing, but also used by Polish shepherds communities.  Here's a live version of a song from their 2012 album Nord called Hola Byśki, Hola: 

And talking about the suka fiddle, one of the most prominent musicians reviving the fortunes of this ancient instrument is Maria Pomianowska, who was born in Warsaw in 1961.  She started out studying the cello before making various trips to Asia and learning various Asian string instruments, most notably the Indian sarangi.  She finally went back and in 1994 took an interest in the ancient instruments of her home country, the Biłgoraj suka and the Płock fiddle, reconstructing them with the help of a luthier.  As nobody knew what these instruments originally sounded like, Maria developed her own style, incorporating it into folk styles from around the world.  In 2020 she released an instrumental album called Sukotherapy and this a track called Pandemic:

Brand new folk band Zawierucha only started up last year in Warsaw.  Their name means turmoil or storm.  They aim to combine traditional polkas and other dance forms with jazz-rock and other modern music forms with much improvisation thrown in, although apart from the drumkit their instrumentation is made up of traditional strings.  This the opening track of their debut album OberTany called Wiwat Fortuna:

More established, folk band Werchowyna started out as an initiative of Warsaw students and the Student Circle of Beskid Guides in 1991.  However their focus is mostly on Ukranian folk with polyphonic singing.  Here's a track from their 1996 album Krynyczenka called Powedu Konyka:

Folk trio WoWaKin was established in Warsaw by Paula Kinaszewska Bartłomiej Woźniak and Mateusz Wachowiak in 2016, whose surnames make up the name of the group.  Their music is made up of Mazurkas and other rural dance tunes from the plains of central Poland.  Here is a song from their 2020 album Wiązanka called Rutka:

Next we're heading into the Radom region, south of Warsaw.  Last year a compilation CD was released of the traditional music from this richly varied region called simply Muzyka spod Radomia.  One of the bands featured is the Kapela Niwińskich and here is a sequence of songs and dance tunes by them performed live:

Finally we are heading west of Warsaw to the city of Włocławek, where singer/songwriter Monika Żelazek comes from.  I don't actually know much about her, nor does she have much music on official release as a solo artist, however I like the songs that are out there.  Here is a beautiful ballad called Czego się boisz serce (What are you afraid of heart):

That's it from central Poland, next stop the north and west of Poland.  In the meantime you can follow my virtual trip on my Tripline map.