Warsaw Village Band – Uwodzenie / Waterduction (Karrot Kommando, 2020)
Warsaw Village Band (Kapela Ze Wsi Warszawa in Polish) recently released this fantastic album titled Waterduction (Uwodzenie). The album name makes reference to the feeling of seduction caused by rivers and water, specifically the Vistula and the Urzecze region. “It seduced us. The water of the river, wells, rain, dew, fog, and tears. We are all equal to the water.”
The Warsaw Village Band is undoubtedly one of Eastern Europe’s finest world music acts. They distill the traditional folk music of Poland and infuse it with exquisite modern arrangements, combing traditional Polish musical instruments and female harmony vocals with superb trumpet, contemporary jazz bass, and global percussion.
Waterduction features stellar instrumental performances along with the captivating lead and harmony vocals that showcase a unique Polish style. On the title song, “Waterduction,” Warsaw Village Band teamed up with poet and musician from Cracow, Marcin Świetlicki. He rafted down the Vistula to support the band with his fascinating spoken word vocals and poetry.
“The river with its tributaries is like part of the bloodstream, a respite of the modern city. We wanted to capture it in music,” says Sylwia Świątkowska, the band’s violinist and singer, “Vistula used to be an influential channel not only in terms of trade, but also communication. The rafts opened the opportunity for Mazovia to contact with the rest of Poland and the world. That brought a breath of freedom, modernity and independence, creating a vibrant cultural mosaic“.
The urge to record this album came from a proposal to compose a soundtrack for Adam Rogala’s movie, called “Lost Urzecze”. The documentary explains the history of the Urzecze ethnographical microregion. The Deluxe version of the album also includes this movie.
The Warsaw Village Band includes Magdalena Sobczak-Kotnarowska on vocals, cymbały (dulcimer); Sylwia Świątkowska on vocals, violin, octave violin, Polish fiddle, suka; Ewa Wałecka on vocals, violin; Miłosz Gawryłkiewicz on trumpet, flugelhorn; Piotr Gliński on baraban drum, percussion; Paweł Mazurczak on double bass; Maciej Szajkowski on frame drum, percussion, udu drum; and Mariusz Dziurawiec, dub master.
Guests: Marcin Świetlicki on spoken word; and Piotr Malec on tabla.
More about Warsaw Village Band
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.