Ireneusz Socha: Polin

Ireneusz Socha (electronics, percussion, found sound)
Polin (Mathka; 2012)
Jarosław Bester (bayan)
Jarosław Lipszyc (voice)

Laid somewhere between experimental, folk and history lesson, Polin is a masterful short work developed over a seven year period by Ireneusz Socha. Based around the heritage of Polish Jews, Ireneusz Socha crafts a delicate narrative through all sorts of found sounds, klezmer dialogues, electronics and sampled vocals. It's quite an enjoyable and spiritual journey.

Polin, while set as one continuous piece is broken into a number of short movements that might be slightly unnoticeable but all intensely satisfying. Early on, there is a skilled combination of various outside sounds seamlessly woven into the percussion and vocal elements. This all makes for a wildly different picture of Jewish culture over almost a span of two centuries.

The instrumentation moves from samples to electronics and textures that move up and down along with the bayan, a beautiful almost rarely used instrument. The tone of piece swirls and leaves a psychedelic nature lingering in the listeners mind as you flow toward the pieces final movements.

A great and detailed message lies within this recording. It's rich in heritage and exudes creative structure. Probably not every ones cup of tea. There's a lot going on that needs a few spins to absorb but this is a fantastic piece that deserves your undivided attention. Polin is a real must listen.

Niski Szum: Songs From The Woods

Niski Szum (guitar)

Songs From The Woods (Audio Tong; 2011)

I'm actually more familiar with Polish electronic/guitarist, Marcin Dymiter's work with Arszyn than his solo material. But upon listening to his most recent release, Songs From The Woods, I have a lot of catching up to do. This is a brilliant work of sonic sculpture that at times is cold and dreamy yet romantic and spacious. It reminded me of Sonic Boom (ex-Spacemen 3). And that's impressive!

"Blues From The Green Hills" rides along like an American western. A bluesy theme accompanied by electronic manipulations/reverb provides for surrealistic journey into Dymiter new soundscape.

"The Woods Parts I-II" are Dymiter emitting a lush ambient tone that is reflective as it is cold. The piece is based on Robert Frost poem Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy Evening with Dymiter utilizing soft well masked vocals. It's passages provide a somber level of comfort and move the listen into dark territory--but you will actually like going there.

The highlight piece is "The River," a long dense droning number, with chords that eventually envelope you like a cocoon. Dymiter's use of guitars and electronics manifold into a swirling hypnotic blur as you enter the middle section of the piece. But somehow he pulls through to the other side with grace and beauty. It's that night you look up into the sky and everything seems almost perfect (for awhile) and then you brought  back to earth.

Songs From The Woods is a nice discovery and well balanced mixture of electronics, blues, folk and minimalism. So if you enjoy your music with touch of adventure and solitude, you would be well served by checking out Marcin Dymiter.

The Limbo Ensemble: Plebiscitu

The Limbo Ensemble
Plebiscitu (AudioTong; 2011)
Paulo Chagas (clarinet, field recording, electronics)
Karl Waugh (violin)
Fernado Simoes (trombone)
Bruno Duplant (bass)
Travis Johnson (cello)
Quincas Moreira (cello)
Paulo Durate (guitar)
Thomas Olsson (guitar)
Massimo Magee (trumpet)


Based on a series of individually recorded musicians combined with his own instrumentation, Paulo Chagas has constructed a unique and beautiful document in Plebiscitu. The music one hears lies on a different plane. In the same vein as recent minimalistic chamber music by Arszyn, Robert Kusiolek and even mid-period Kronos Quartet, Chagas probes and searches for sounds that have incongruity at heart but provide a sense of grey beauty.


The water atmospherics of "The Forgotten Echo" is wrapped and drenched in Chagas' clarinet and haunting string movements from Duplant and Waugh. "The Naked Ballerina" offers a small bit of Mideastern flavour while also exploring some interested soundscapes provided by Durate's guitar and Moreira's cello. There's a point very late in the piece where all the instruments rise in an extended crescendo that is just magnificent.


"Cherry Pits" sees Chagas taking up the oboe, with Duplant providing some very cool percussion. It's all improvised and has some humorous moments sprinkled across various sections. The double cello work on the closing number "The Book of Rejected Souls" is deep and powerful. Adding in Chagas' clarinet and field sounds sends the listener off with haunting after-effects.


I really loved taking the adventure with Plebiscitu. Paulo Chagas has done a terrific job of combining a mashup of sorts through various individual pieces put together into a harmonically dense chamber. Excellent stuff.