DAWID PODSIADŁO - "ANNOYANCE AND DISAPPOINTMENT" (2015)

Dawid Podsiadło won the Polish edition of X-Factor in 2012. While in the rest of the world every singer who has come out of X-Factor has become a money-making machine with no artistic value whatsoever, Podsiadło has managed to actually make some great music, with the help of ambitious producer Bogdan Kondracki. 

His debut, titled "Comfort and Happiness", has sold around 200.000 copies in Poland, which in these days marks a record.

"Annoyance and Disappointment" followed a couple of years later, becoming another blockbuster. It is an anthology of indie pop tracks with a wide range of instruments (electric organ, analogue synths, acoustic instruments, jazz guitars, and sporadic fuzz effects).

"W dobrą stronę", "Son of Analog", and "Pastempomat" are among the best songs of 2015.

P.S. Kudos to bass player Wojciech Król and his amazing lines.

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MAKOWIECKI - "MOIZM" (2013)

Tomek Makowiecki came out of a Polish talent show in 2002, but he never embraced the mainstream scene. Instead, he slowly became a cult figure, with his refined and intellectual form of alternative pop.

This is his fifth studio album, the second as a solo artist, and one of the most beautiful Polish records released in the last years.

The slower tracks reminds of David Sylvian (“Ostatni brzeg”, “Your Foreign Books”), whilst the faster ones are closer to electronic dance music (“Holidays in Rome”).
“Dziecko księżyca” steals the show with ten minutes of heaven-like pop-ambient progressions, and Tomasz's voice sounds like that of an angel.

Four out of ten tracks are sung in English, and among the special guests is keyboard player Józef Skrzek from the legendary prog rock band SBB.

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ZBIGNIEW WODECKI - "ZBIGNIEW WODECKI" (album, 1976) + "ZBIGNIEW WODECKI" (extended play, 1973)

Zbigniew Wodecki is a Polish singer and multi-instrumentalist, even if he's better known as a television personality.

During the Seventies he released only one album and one EP, which I have both uploaded. The music is a stunning mix of soft pop, bossa nova, baroque arrangements, funky basslines, and gentle female background vocals. Wodecki sings beautifully and plays both trumpet and violin. 

After being forgotten for many years, the album was re-discovered by the alternative audience, and a live version recorded by Wodecki in 2014 charted in the Polish top 10. Whilst the rendition is perfect, I would still recommend the original version first.

DOWNLOAD (kbps: 320)