Various Artists Travellin' Companion 1 - A Musical Journey to Poland $14.99 The new roots scene in Poland is just getting noticed around the world, but this collection proves it has got a great beginning. Gypsy, klezmer, traditional folk and some wild folk-fusions. Kroke, Chudoba, Saint Nicholas Orchestra, Trebunia Tutki family with Adrian Sherwood (this one is crazy!), Berklejdy… 14 tracks. Be the first on your block! Full track information and audio ... many things changed: old instruments were electrified, and new ones like samplers were embraced. Eclecticism flourished, throwing rock and blues in traditional settings. Some of it is familiar, the accordions and massed choirs common to Eastern Europe. But the blend is new, a vibrant sound in the midst of discovery. Hearing this, you explore along with them. - John Barrett, RootsWorld

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With "A Musical Journey To POLAND" WeltWunder Records starts a new series of expeditions through countries and regions that have not as yet played an important role on the international circuit.

With the 'Travellin' Companion' collection we explore the often unusal and risky experiments of mostly young artists who combine the traditions of their own countries with input from foreign musical cultures. Aptly for this globalising world at the start of a new millenium we find here reggae lovers spontaneously working with highlanders folkies, we discover a rock musician blending womens' voices with techno beats, and we atumble across 'cultural archeologists' finding a fresh approach to the musical history of their country.

POLAND has rightly become renowned in the fields of classsical and jazz music - now explore yet another side of this diverse musical culture !

Kroke was formed in 1992 by three friends and graduates of the Cracow Academy of Music. Having studied classical music, the members of Kroke today concentrate on playing and composing within the framework of authentic Jewish music. Using traditional material as the foundation on which to build ingenious arrangements and improvisations, Kroke creates new, unique compositions as well as a sound as yet unheard in Jewish music. The mystical atmosphere of Cracow's Jewish district of Kazimierz and the unshakable dignity of its six-hundred-year old tradition are reflected in the group's four acclaimed albums. The track "Sher" was taken from the 1997 release "Eden".

2. The Saint Nicholas Orkiestra: Malinowa Konopielka 3:45

Founded in 1988, the Saint Nicholas Orchestra grew out of an informal musical venture by students at Marii Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin and they focus their activities on moribund folklore. Originally their sound was mainly from the Eastern part of Polish Carpatia - later, they incorporated influences from Ukrainian Carpatia as well as highlanders’ music from the Polish mountain people.
During their long search for a contemporary formula for traditional Polish folk music they experienced that people who created folk art in the past were immersed in an ‘invisible’ life of ghosts, phantoms, an existence filled with strange creatures which whirled around them. The Orchestra’s aim is to build a path between customs and beliefs of the past and our ‘modern’ world.
At the same they are involved in the continuation and contemporary interpretation of their tradition. Their standard line up consists of vocal, violin, dulcimer, mandoline, cello, tar, flute, guitar and percussion. Everything they play - whether it’s a love song, klezmer, or even Pogues tunes - is approached with the same joy.

3. Grzegorz z Ciechowa: Piejo Kury Piejo 3:52

Polish rock star Grzegorz Ciechowski a.k.a. Grzegorz z Ciechowa has with great facility compiled fragments of folk songs from various regions of Poland, fusing them with techno synths and rock guitars. In ‘Piejo Kury Piejo' ("The hens are cackling on’) he has taken a frivolous peasant tune, sung in 1972 by the elderly Anna Malec from Bi?goraj, as the basis for a furious dance track inspired by African roots music.
His most famous project is the rock band Republika, which was founded in 1981. Grzegorz Ciechowski has been its frontman and songwriter ever since. Although now he is involved in many other projects, (his solo career, production work and promotion of new talent), he still considers Republika as a very important part of his artistic life.
' ojDADAna' is one of his many ideas, very different from his previous productions. When he came across original recordings by Polish folk singers, their melodies, phrasings and unconventional approach to sound so fascinated that he decided to incorporate the voices in his compositions. Inspired by former Talking Heads member David Byrne, Ciechowski explains that "Folk music is turning into a museum thing, so I’m trying to revitalise it".

4. Trebunie Tutki w. Sherwood: Joint Zelene 3:36

In a historic meeting in autumn 1991 Jamaican ‘Twinkle Brother’ Norman Grant entered the hut of the highlanders roots band Trebunia Tutki family. They live in Bia?y Dunajec, below the peak of the Tatra mountains and far away from the urban jungle. The musicians started a three day session of singing and playing together - as the mountain spirit touched the reggae vibe, the Twinkle-inna-Polish-style combo set off for Warsaw to record an unlikely cross-cultural mix. The recording sessions produced the album "Higher Heights - Twinkle inna polish stylee“ which caused quite a stir with foreign radio and press. Two sequels of this successful combination followed. The family members of Trebunia Tutki , who still work as painters and hand-knitters, also have a dicography on their own containing about 15 folk albums. "Nutko Moja" is from their last offering.

5. Berklejdy: Kuker 2.19

The young Polish folks of Berklejdy perform all sorts of polkas, marches or waltzes from family celebrations in their own distinctive style, with influences from rock, reggae and world music. The cymbaly, a hammered dulcimer, brings a folk character reminiscent of the Polish landscapes of Mazury or Zulawy, while bass and drums provide a rhythmical base for youngsters who have grown up with rock and reggae. Percussion and steel drum add a global flavour to one of the most promising new acts in Poland today.

6. Dziani: Dorokina 4:37

Dziani is a 19 year old descendant of famous gypsy musicians, his clan emigrated from India 1000 years ago. During his childhood he lived in several cities all over Poland and with his family he travelled across Europe. At the moment he is graduating from musical secondary school on his major instrument, the violin. Dziani’s music is an explosive combination of Gypsy folk with dynamic Balkan and Latin dance rhythms. On his CD "Czarny Kon“ (Black Horse) Dziani is accompanied both by well- known professional musicians and by young Gypsies from the Bergitka Roma tribe.

7. Kapela Ze Wsi Warszawa: Jado Ciebzie 5:24

Kapela Ze Wsi Warszawa - The band from the village Warsaw was founded in 1997 by six young people who play violin, suka (the ancient Polish fiddle), cello, and traditional Polish drums. The band digs deep into folklore and into the archaic sounds of their ancestors. They travel to small villages and visit old musicians to learn about traditions and habits. They select folk dance melodies, ballads and rural songs and perform them in a unique manner which is closer to a modern asthetic, calling it "bio-techno" or "hip-hopsasa". Their first album was recorded direct-to-disc by W. Kleszcz.

8. Slawek Wierzcholski: Poniedziaek Rano 3:08

Slawek Wierzcholski from Toruµ is one of the most popular bluesmen in Poland. As a master of the harmonica and leading member of "The Blues Nightshift" he has played with such distinguished musicians like Charlie Musselwhite and Louisiana Red. He is the author of harmonica method books and he works as an instructor at harmonica clinics. Wierzcholski is certain that blues is a true citizen of the world . "You don’t have to be black, poor and drunk to have the right to sing the blues." His latest release incorporates the dulcimer, hurdy gurdy, bagpipe and accordeon in his interpretation of the ‘Polski Blues’.

9. Jak Wolnosç to Wolnosç: Podolanka 3:48

The music of Jak Wolnosç To Wolnosç ("If Freedom then Freedom") has been described as ‘downtown folk’ and is fueled by three different sources: A spontaneous reinterpretation of traditional folk styles as in ‘Podolanka’, the songs of the ‘singer of the streets’ Maciek Pietraho, a legend in the Polish underground of the 80’, and finally by the poetic world of Wiesiek Orlowski, the leader and main vocalist of Jak Wolnosç to Wolnosç. His music and lyrics are primarily a very personal reading of Polish reality, and the band’s energetic approach on folk and rock is strongly influenced by British folk heroes? like the ‘Pogues` and the ‘Ukrainians‘.

The folk ensemble Chudoba (= meagre possessions) was formed in 1993 by students from Wroclaw who search for the musical cross-roads at which Polish, Lemkish, Slovakian, Ukrainian and Bulgarian music might meet. The eight members of Chudoba try to update this music for younger generations with fresh and sometimes surprising arrangements. They use only acoustic instruments (accordeon, flute, mandolin, dulcimer and guitars), and some of them work at a research center for the traditional arts at the University of Breslau. After winning various prestigious prizes at folk festivals and from radio programmes, they performed at international festivals in Austria, Germany, Hungary and Belgium. "Hej Rupuni " is a gipsy song taken from their second cassette recording "Our Polka", issued in 1996.

11. Ojdana: Krecony 4:20

The Ojdana trio was founded at the beginning of 1999, yet these musicians began to get together much earlier. They live in different cities and don’t meet up on any regular basis, but are nonetheless one of the few Polish bands to progress from the former socialist approach to folk music. The band's repertoire consists of folk themes from northern and central Poland and they concentrate on forgotten or underrated ritual music. What attracts them are its sophisticated form and its trance qualities. The musicians see themselves as musical archaeologists searching for ancient forgotten melodies which they can bring into the light after many years. They also create their own compositions like "Krecony“ ("Whirling“), inspired by both Polish ritual and dance music. Some of their instruments are made by the members of the band.

12. Maria Krupowies: Gdy Wiatr Powieje 2:03

Maria Krupowies was born in Vilnius but spent her childhood in Pupiszki, a tiny village on the verge of the Rudnicka forest. The smell of flowers, the singing of birds and the rustle of leaves merged in her childhood memories with the sound of borderland Polish and Belarussian, her mother tongues. Maria Krupowies’ soul was filled with the music of her people, which she sings with her sweet voice on "Calling from East", her mainly acapella debut cassette recorded at Polish Radio.

13. Trebunie Tutki: Nutko Moja 5:14

14. The Saint Nicholas Orkiestra: Lemkowska Sobótkowa 6:46

Booklet Introduction:

World Music from POLAND

The idea that artists from Poland can make an exciting contribution to the swimming pool of world music is quite new and only appreciated by a small group of enthusiasts. This may be the result of attempts of the previous socialist regime's efforts to reduce a vigorous folk music to the level of a postcard cliché aimed at tourists. Fortunately, theses enthusiasts do exist - overcoming obstacles and limitations of music markets, they are addicted to world music and it is thanks to them that in Poland there will always be a variety of interesting folk-related projects.

Initial experiments with Polish traditional music (apart from works of such composers like Chopin or Szymanowski) appeared in the 60's and 70's. These projects had a rather ephemeral character, however, and it was not until the mid-80's, when Andean and Celtic music became very popular, that interest in folk traditions (not necessarily Polish) became more conscious. Many young bands started then playing music from Bolivia, Peru or Scotland and Ireland, temporarily forgetting about their own roots. The experience was a useful one however as, through it, musicians began to recognise their own heritage. Most of them are now creating innovative new music based on Slavic or Polish traditions. Poland has always been a country subject to influences from all parts of Europe and due to this admixture, the Polish folk tradition is very diverse. Nonetheless, and significantly it has never lost the cultural core so carefully cultivated by our ancestors. Polish music has always been easy to recognise which, given such a variety of influences, is an unusual phenomenon.

Equally characteristic and interesting are such rediscovered traditional instruments as the suka from Bilgoraj, the playing technique of which resembles the Indian sarangi. Apart from strictly Polish music, the music of minorities inhabiting the south-east of Poland (Lemkos, Boykos Hutsuls) is becoming more and more popular among young musicians like Chudoba.

Although small, the contemporary Polish folk market is very diverse - Kapela Ze Wsi Warszawa and the Saint Nicholas Orchestra, by way of example, are two such projects that attempt to faithfully reproduce old traditions with adding a new flavour to it. In the music of Ojdana, one can hear the enriching of Polish music with elements of different cultures and there are as well completely new, often quite controversial projects for which folk music is just a starting point, such as Grzegorz z Ciechowa's incorporation of elements of pop or techno. Klezmer music, as played by such bands as Kroke, also has a significant place in the music market. Perhaps the best known Polish folk music is that of the highlanders, for whom musical traditions are still vivid and strong. Passed on from generation to generation, the best example of highlanders music comes from the Trebunia-Tutki family.

All these attempts to recreate, cultivate and develop Polish folk music influence each other and create the new picture of this musial form. - PIOTR PUCYLO, musician & producer