Popular Polish Electronic Music, 1970–2020: A Cultural History

227 Pages·2020·11.524 MB·English

by  Ewa Mazierska

Popular Polish Electronic Music,
1970–2020
Popular Polish Electronic Music, 1970–2020 offers a cultural history of popular
Polish electronic music, from its beginning in the late 1960s/early 1970s up
to the present day, in the context of Polish economic, social and political his-
tory, and the history of popular music in this country.
From the perspective of production, scene, industry and consumption, the
volume considers the issue of access to electronic instruments in the 1970s
and 1980s, and the variety of inspirations, such as progressive rock and folk
music, that have contributed to the development of Polish electronic music as
it is known today. The widespread contribution of Polish electronic music to
film is also considered.
This is a valuable resource for scholars and researchers of electronic music,
popular music and (Eastern) European music and culture.
Ewa Mazierska is Professor of film studies at the School of Journalism,
Media and Performance, University of Central Lancashire, UK.
Routledge Russian and East European Music and Culture
Series Editor: Pauline Fairclough, University of Bristol, UK
The parameters of the Routledge Russian and East European Music and Cul-
ture series encompass multiple genres of music, including contemporary art
music and popular music.
The series encourages submissions that represent the fields of critical mu-
sicology and cultural history in a broader sense. Volumes that focus strongly
on a single work will need to take a broad view on what made it interesting
within the culture that produced it, and not merely describe the work in
analytical terms. For monographs, studies of individual works that were espe-
cially rich in context would be welcome, as would studies that bring together
music and other disciplines (history of literature, drama, visual arts, cinema)
in new and enriching ways. Studies that span national boundaries and tradi-
tional boundaries of political time are especially encouraged, such as a vol-
ume challenging the dominance of 1917 as a point of rupture (and equally,
challenging 1991 and other dates of major political change for the same rea-
son), and volumes that reach across borders. Proposals for books in the series
(whether single authored or contributed) should contain a strong element of
cross-fertilization, whether that be disciplinary, national or political.
Music of the Soviet Era: 1917–1991, 2nd Edition
Levon Hakobian
Popular Polish Electronic Music, 1970–2020
A Cultural History
Ewa Mazierska
For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge.
com/music/series/REEMC
Popular Polish Electronic
Music, 1970–2020
A Cultural History
Ewa Mazierska
First published 2021
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2021 Ewa Mazierska
The right of Ewa Mazierska to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 978-0-367-19189-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-20095-3 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by codeMantra
Contents
List of figures vii
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction: mapping popular electronic music in Poland 1
1 The 1970s: the beginnings 15
2 The 1980s: polish popular music goes electronic 55
3 Breaking the Iron Curtain 95
4 After 2000: the age of abundance and confusion 143
Conclusion 193
Bibliography 197
Index 213

Figures
1.1 Cover of Halo Wenus ( Hello Venus) by Mateusz Święcicki 25
1.2 Czesław Niemen during his electronic period. Photo from a
record cover 28
1.3 Cover of Aerolit 30
1.4 Andrzej Korzyński at the event in Moscow. Photo courtesy
of Andrzej Korzyński 37
1.5 A man assembling the church organ in Spacerek staromiejski
( A Walk in the Old City of Warsaw, 1958) by Andrzej Munk,
with music composed by Andrzej Markowski 41
1.6 Andrzej Korzyński. Photo courtesy of Andrzej Korzyński 43
1.7 Andrzej Żuławski and Andrzej Korzyński. Photo courtesy
of Andrzej Korzyński 44
1.8 Franciszek Walicki in Musicorama 46
1.9 Marcin Jacobson in Musicorama 47
1.10 Programme of one of the earliest discotheques 48
1.11 Jana Kras D J-i ng 52
2.1 Aleksander Nowacki in his studio 62
2.2 Aleksander Nowacki in his studio 63
2.3 Władysław Komendarek in 2017, photo Ewa Mazierska 65
2.4 Władysław Komendarek – photo on one of his records 66
2.5 Cover of Ogród króla świtu ( The Garden of the King of Dawn)
by Marek Biliński 70
2.6 Cover of E≠mc² by Marek Biliński 71
2.7 Cover of Iza by Izabela Trojanowska 78
2.8 Cover of Iza by Izabela Trojanowska 78
2.9 Cover of Kapitan Nemo by Bogdan Gajkowski 80
2.10 Cezary Ostrowski in 1984 87
3.1 Maciej Werk in Hedone. Photo Krzysztof Miller 106
3.2 Jacek Sienkiewicz. Photo Konrad Ćwik 108
3.3 Jacek Sienkiewicz. Photo Agnieszka Dybowska 109
3.4 Jacek Sienkiewicz. Photo Szymon Rogiński 109
3.5 Cover of Recognition by Jacek Sienkiewicz 114
3.6 Grzegorz C iechowski – photo on a cover of one of his records 121
viii Figures
3.7 Club Sfinks in Sopot. Photo Kamila Rymajdo 127
3.8 Club Sfinks in Sopot. Photo Kamila Rymajdo 127
3.9 Shazza on the cover of Playboy 134
4.1 Manager of Side One, Wojciech Żdanuk, in his shop. Photo
Ewa Mazierska 151
4.2 Festival Audioriver in Płock. Photo Ewa Mazierska 154
4.3 Festival Audioriver in Płock. Photo Ewa Mazierska 155
4.4 Catz ’N Dogz 161
4.5 An On Bast. Photo Paweł Brudło 169
4.6 Photo Łukasz Leksowski 169
4.7 Cover of ‘ The Very Polish Cut- Outs’ 180
4.8 Poster announcing ‘ Disco Relaks’ exhibition in Warsaw 192
Acknowledgements
Many people helped me to write this book. I am grateful to them for meet-
ing me and replying to my e-mails, patiently responding to my often naïve
questions and sending me their music and photographs. First, I am grate-
ful to musicians: An on Bast (Anna Suda), Władysław Komendarek, Andrzej
Korzyński, Wojciech Kucharczyk, Łukasz Pawlak, Marcin Grośkiewicz,
Romuald Lipko, Sławomir Łosowski, Aleksander Nowacki, Cezary
Ostrowski, Jacek Sienkiewicz, Mikołaj Stroiński, Radek Tereszczuk, Maciej
Werk, Michał Wilczyński and others whose names I have forgotten when
writing these acknowledgements as there were so many of them. Second, I am
indebted to journalists Paweł Gzyl, Marcin Jacobson and Bartek Chaciński for
their insights and m aterial to which they directed me. Third, I want to thank
fellow academics Patryk Gałuszka, Mariusz Gradowski, Anita Jori, Grzegorz
Piotrowski, Kamila Rymajdo and Artur Szarecki, who also helped me with
secondary sources and read parts of this manuscript.
I am also grateful to my employer, University of Central Lancashire,
for financially supporting several of my trips to Poland and to my family,
Gifford, Kamila and Daniel, for enduring my musical taste and helping me
with proofreading the manuscript. I dedicate this book to Polish electronic
musicians, other music professionals and fans of this genre.