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.
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.
As I said on my previous post, during the two months off my blog two important figures in the music scene of former Yugoslavia died. The second was Boris Aranđelović, lead singer of the historic Serbian band Smak. Smak were founded in Kragujevac by Aranđelović and guitar player Radomir Mihajlović Točak, who composed the majority of their songs. While they started as a hard rock band with a strong blues influence, this second album shows their experimental face, adding progressive rock structures, luminous vocal harmonies, jazz fusion keyboards, and funky rhythm patterns. This is a wonderful, dynamic album, where every song is melodic, catchy, and creative. A special mention for the title track (whose riff at 0'21'' incredibly predates "Moving in Stereo"by the Cars), "Tegoba" (a melancholic jazz-rock extravaganza), and "Plava pesma" (a slow ballad with baroque arrangements).
During the two months off my blog two important figures in the music scene of former Yugoslavia died, the first being Arsen Dedić.
Dedić was the greatest Croatian singer-songwriter of the late Sixties-early Seventies, and one of the most respected as of today. This is his debut album, which is mentioned in every best of ex-YU music list. At the time of its release Dedić was already popular in Yugoslavia, having been around since 1962 with a long series of singles and EPs. This album contains some re-recorded versions of his previous hits, along with new material. If you know and appreciate American singer Scott Walker, you will get accustomed easily to Dedić, considering that their voices have many resemblances (no copycat here, Dedić was out there before Walker). The arranger and co-producer of the album is Croatian maestro Stipica Kalogjera, who is capable of switching from bossa nova to folk ballads, from baroque pop to chansons.
The excellent sound quality of these recordings show that, as an artist, Dedić did not come second in any comparison with other top European musicians of his age. P.S. Other than obviously Dedić, the album cover features Walker himself and influential Italian singer-songwriters Gino Paoli and Luigi Tenco.
Lao Che were founded in 1999 by singer and guitarist Hubert "Spięty" Dobaczewski, and took their name from a song of his previous project, the crossover trio Koli. This is their sixth album, it peaked at no. 3 in Poland and stayed ten weeks in the top 10. In spite of being in the charts, the music of the album is not commercial at all, and the sales were thus high only because of the Polish market's unique setting, that often favours indie bands. The songs are a mix of Warsaw folk melodies, cabaret-style declamations, jazz arrangements, electronic rhythms, and indie rock guitars. Lao Che are one of the most unique bands out there, you won't find many other artists producing similar music in the world. Line-up: Mariusz Denst – sampler Hubert Dobaczewski – vocals, guitars Michał Jastrzębski – drums Filip Różański – keyboards Rafał Borycki – bass guitar Maciek Dzierżanowski – percussion
