Friday 27 November 2015, 8pm
‘Księżyc’ means ‘Moon’. The first incarnation of Księżyc was active in the 1990’s, the second exists now. In both forms the members include Agata Harz (vocals), Katarzyna Smoluk (vocals, piano), Robert Niziński (wind instruments, keyboards), Lechosław Polak (accordion, keyboards, synthesizers) and Remigiusz Mazur Hanaj (lyrics, tapes). The spirit of Księżyc captures early and late medieval music with a sound rooted in the Slavic tradition combined with elements of minimalism and vocal experiments of the 20th Century. The alchemy of these constituent parts results in a breathtaking original music, both delicate and sinister. The surreal fairy tale inspired lyrics (written by Remigiusz Mazur Hanaj) add to the inherent beauty, sadness and madness within. Following the Penultimate Press reissue of their self titled full length recording the band re-united with a series of shows all over Poland. The timeless quality of their work resulted in old and new audiences being exposed to the spell of the moon.
In association with the Polish Cultural Institute.
“This is music born and functioning beyond stage and time. In 1996 it sounded as unfashionable and out-of-date as it does now. Today it sounds also as up-to-date as it did then.” – Jarek Szubrycht, “T-mobile music”
“A ravishing show presented by the group Księżyc. While circling around chain swings, two vocalists imitate children’s backyard calls. Gradually modified sound matter slowly shifts into singing. Then the juvenile rites return with swinging and singing accompanying clarinet and visual actions with text.” – Grzegorz Borkowski, In the circle of the square, Exit, 1992
“Any attempt to assign this music to a particular trend is doomed to failure.” – Darek Anaszko, M/I Magazine
Áine O'Dwyer, (b. Co.Limerick, Ireland) who lives and works between Ireland and the UK. She graduated from the Limerick School of Art and Design in 2006 and the Slade School of Art in 2011. She creates live and recorded events which embrace the broader aesthetics of sound and its relationship to environment, time, audience and structure. The notion of a holding space as-extension-of-instrument is a cornerstone of her artistic investigation and the crux of her live performances.
https://aineodwyer.bandcamp.com/