Show #57: Warsaw Village Band

Having grown up in Chicago a block from Pulaski Road, I became familiar with this man at an early age.



That is Kazimierz (Casimir) Pułaski. Born in 1745, he spent much of his 20s fighting the Russians. But he made his way to the American colonies and offered his assistance to the revolutionaries. In 1777 he began fighting for America's independence from England under the command of George Washington. An experienced cavalryman, he helped train troops and started Pulaski's Legion, "one of the few cavalry regiments in the contemporary US army". He died in October of 1779 from a gunshot wound.

Here in Wisconsin, we have the village of Pulaski which is the northeast part of the state near Green Bay. The city in which I was born & raised, Chicago, has the largest ethnically Polish population of any city outside of Poland itself and so Crawford Avenue was renamed Pulaski Road in 1952. Twenty five years later, the state of Illinois officially recognized the first Monday in March as Casimir Pulaski Day. And thusly today's show by the Warsaw Village Band.

WVB was formed in 1997 by six young musicians eager to explore the folk music of their homeland. The band started in the wake of the fall of Communism which caused many upheavals in Poland. Members describe the band as "a radical turn to sources in search of musical inspirations and immemorial virtues. It is also an exploration of folklore and archaic sounds of our ancestors and our instincts…However it's not only a simple imitation of Polish folk music, but rather adduction to the concept of folk music, giving the style of folk performance which is closer to modern aesthetic conventions. The result of our works and researches is a new and unique style of music called bio-techno, or even hip-hopsasa (means let's dance, which is Polish traditional invitation to jump). We can also describe this style as hard'cora of obora, which means hard-core straight from the byre." An interview with multi-instrumentalist Wojciech Krzak reveals more about the band's style and aesthetic:

"Warsaw Village Band started in 1997," explained member Wojtek Krzak. "The most important for us is music from Mazovia area, the heart of Poland. There we can find very archaic music, which is our favorite style. Warsaw Village Band is a result of response against narrow-mindedness and surrounding us mass-culture, which in fact leads to destruction of human dignity. The band is a radical return to sources in search of musical inspirations and immemorial virtues. It's also an exploration of folklore and archaic sounds. It's also fun, joy and spontaneity. The most important things for us are emotions connected with old Polish music, wildness and the truth which comes from the roots. We started to play old Polish instruments. Our passion is traveling to small villages and visiting old musicians who show us their tradition, technique of playing."



Interestingly, the music of Mazovia has a very trance-like quality, which gives WVB a very contemporary feel, although they play acoustic instruments - not unlike Sweden's Hedningarna, in some ways.

Trance is very important for Mazovia area Polish music. You can hear the dances which could be very long, based on a very simply rhythms played on the drum, violin an "basy" (kind of traditional cello) Techno it's nothing new, we knows it from the ages, but we forgotten about it. Bio- because it's very naturally for human nature, Bio- because it's played on wooden acoustics instruments, Bio- because it's the rhythm of ours hearts."

Apart from the instrumental music, another Mazovian quality is the voice, and its peculiar "white singing."

It's a unique technique of singing on polish villages," explained Krzak. "It's like wild shouting. Singing on scream. It's typical for Mazovia area music."

The concert at hand is my sole experience with WVB's music and so it's difficult for me to speak about it knowledgeably. However, it's not too difficult to hear the old infused with the new. The instrumentation is acoustic but with the near-screaming vocals and the manic violin, the music often times has the energy and feeling of punk rock. (Although not featured here, their Wykorznienie album gives a nod to the modern with scratching done by Polish hip hop artist DJ Feel-X.) I do not know Polish so I can't comment on the lyrics, but, according to this article, they often times stray from the traditional:

The Warsaw Village Band’s lyrics address social and political concerns, in part, due to the music’s close ties with punk circles. “Who is Getting Married” takes a feminist stance on her assumed marriage. It is about a young girl in the countryside that refuses marriage in order to sing, dance, and be free rather than being dependent on someone. "Crane" is a protest song of defiance advising the country’s youth to "be nobody’s servant."

This week's show was recorded on 28 November 2001 at Radiowe Studio S-1 in Warsaw. The band's line-up for this show:

Wojciech Krzak - violin, Jews harp
Katarzyna Szurman - skrzypice (old Polish fiddle), white voice
Sylwia Swiatkowska - fidel plocka (old Polish fiddle), voc
Maja Kleszcz - cello, voc
Marta Stanislawska - cymbaly staropolskie (old Polish dulcimer)
Piotr Glinski - baraban drum
Maciej Szajkowski - frame drums, dhol
Wojciech Pulcyn - double bass

Guests:
Marzena Motyl (OVO) - voc, perc
Witek Kozlowski (OVO) - voc, hurdy-gurdy
Maciej Cierlinski (Stara Lipa, others) - hurdy-gurdy, other instruments
Daniel Monski (Stara Lipa) – perc
Rafal Kolacinski (DJ Praczas) – soundsystem

Setlist:

Intro tune
Do Ciebie Kasiuniu (To You, Kasiunia)
Taniec chasydzki (chasidic dance)
Czerwone jabluszko (Little Red Apple) + OVO
U mojej matecki (At My Mother's)
Polka "Folkisdead"
Bystra Woda (Clear Water) + Stara Lipa
Kto sie zani (Who's Getting Married) + Stara Lipa
Cózes Ty Kasiu (What Have You Been Doing, Kasia)
Bass intro
Pada deszczyk (The Rain Is Falling)
Zurawie (Cranes)
Maydów + Rafal Kolacinski
Styry konie (Four Horses)

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Warsaw Village Band