Piotr Kurek’s new album “Smartwoods” is a sprawling root system of tiny melodic phrases that loop and curl around subtly evolving instrumental thickets. The Warsaw-based producer and composer takes his cues from early music, baroque music and experimental jazz, entangling his influences with filigree traces of contemporary computer music and fueling it with sonic vapors from the near future.

Made up of seven distinct segments, the album blurs its acoustic and electronic elements into an illusory hedge of abstract sound. Harp, saxophone, clarinet, double bass, voices and guitar twist into computerized processes and synthesizer chirps, creating an uncanny dreamworld where the real isn’t always what it seems. Each player is entwined with the other to create a living, breathing whole.

Like Kurek’s painterly 2021 album “World Speaks”, “Smartwoods” is also inspired by visual art - particularly the whimsical work of Algerian-French graphic designer Jean Sariano. The album cover features artwork by Polish painter Tomasz Kowalski, whose shapeshifting creatures and miniature stories aptly reflect the music’s wild fantasy. The first manifestation of “Smartwoods” – a live show at Unsound in Kraków in 2022 – featured animations by Italian artist Francesco Marrello, who put together a visual treatment for the single “Harps”.

Music composed, arranged and produced by Piotr Kurek

Anna Pašic - harp
Tomasz Duda - clarinets, saxophone, flute
Wojtek Traczyk - double bass, electric bass
Piotr Kurek - keyboards, MIDI wind controller, electric guitar 

Recorded in June and November 2022 by Piotr Kurek, Piotr Zabrodzki (Studio Pasterka) and Tomasz Duda
Mixed by Piotr Kurek
Mastered and cut by Stefan Betke at Scape Mastering
Painting by Tomasz Kowalski
Lay-out by Aleksandra Grunholz
Commissioned and curated by Unsound
UNS005

Piotr Kurek - Smartwoods

The new album by Polish guitarist Raphael Rogiński is named after the grass snake Žaltys, a revered household spirit in Lithuanian folklore, and explores themes of Eastern European mythology and nature. As a conduit of cultural exchange, "Žaltys" connects with Rogińsk’s previous work, most recently his critically acclaimed 2023 album "Talàn".

"Žaltys" is deeply rooted in the rolling hills of the Suwałki region, in the northeast of Poland, where Rogiński spent childhood vacations and became intrigued by the music he heard from nearby Lithuania. Later, it was on the border with Dzūkija in Lithuania that he bought his first electric guitar, recording soundscapes on a four-track recorder in the forests; he returns to those techniques on this album.

Yet while Eastern European folk music is a constant, enigmatic inspiration here—the track titles derive from various Lithuanian plant names—"Žaltys" is (like all of Rogiński’s work) impossible to pin down, drawing on jazz, American primitivism, and a pervasive mysticism. Infused with a specific culture and place, the album contains a sense of memory, time passing, wonder, and loss. The music, Rogiński says, “is a return to the moment when my brother and I laid down in a boat near the Lithuanian border, floating on a lake at night and looking at the stars in the sky, which always seemed closer to us there.”

Working with Warsaw musician and producer Piotr Zabrodzki, Rogiński created what he describes as “guitar piano”. Rogiński and Zabrodzki made the whole studio resonate while recording, to achieve a sound “as if the wind was playing the strings”. He continues, “We connected some low-voltage effects to powerful old amps and a Leslie speaker, and put unusual sets of strings on the guitars.” For the first time on a solo album, Rogiński employs overdubs to create layers on several tracks, while other compositions are pared back, variously stark, harsh or simply beautiful, exploring his deep relationship with his instrument.

Making a guest appearance—including on the first single “Šilinis Viržis”— is musician and singer Indrė Jurgelevičiūtė, a member of Merope, a band which draws more directly on Lithuanian folk forms. The two artists have been friends for years, but had never managed to record together, even though they share similar inspirations (and recently performed live at Unsound and Ephemera). Now Jurgelevičiūtė sings and plays the kanklės—a Lithuanian plucked string instrument or chordophone closely related to the zither—on two songs on the album. Zabrodski also plays piano on “Miškinė Varnalėša”, a piece of music that has an almost levitational quality.

Rogiński has turned the mastering over to Joe Talia, a frequent collaborator of Oren Ambarchi who is known for his skills with guitar recordings. The cover is by Marcin Janusz, a Krakow painter who, like Rogiński, finds inspiration in nature and the human body’s relationship with the world.

Following "Žaltys", at the end of September, Unsound will reissue Rogiński's landmark album "Plays John Coltrane and Langston Hughes"—out of print on CD and never before released on vinyl or digitally.

Bandcamp

Raphael Rogiński - Žaltys

2K88 - SHAME

Side A:
Blue Train
Equinox
Lonnie's Lament
Walkers With The Dawn
Mr. P. C.

Side B:
Countdown
Rivers
Grand Central
Seraphic Light
Naima

Side C - Bonus Tracks:
Pursuance
Spirituals
Love
Promise

Side A and B:
Guitar by Raphael Rogiński
Vocals on Walkers With The Dawn and Rivers by Natalia Przybysz
Recorded by Michał Kupicz
Remastered by Joe Tailia

All tracks reinterpret compositions by John Coltrane, except for Walkers With the Dawn and Rivers which are composed by Raphael Rogiński, based on poems by Langston Hughes.

Originally released in June 2015 by Bôłt as part of the Populista series curated by Michał Libera.

Side C:
Guitar by Raphael Rogiński
Recorded by Jacek Trzeszczyński
Mastered by Joe Talia

Recorded in Warsaw in July 2024 as additional bonus tracks for this expanded reissue. All tracks reinterpret compositions by John Coltrane.

Cut by Stefan Betke at Scape Mastering
Cover paintings by Marcin Janusz taken from his series Kalendarz 2023
Layout by Aleksandra Grunholz
Executive producers / curated by: Mat Schulz and Wannes Cuypers
UNS009

Raphael Rogiński - Plays John Coltrane And Langston Hughes (Reissue, unmastered)

Unsound Podcasts

Last year, TSVI and object blue released Hyperaesthesia’ on Nervous Horizon, described by the pair as “body music”, meshing together object blue’s widescreen, experimental club tones and TSVI’s borderless percussive styles. We loved the EP so couldn’t resist inviting them to play an extended b2b set at Unsound this year, and now we can’t resist releasing the recording as part of our podcast series.
TSVI and object blue played to a packed room from 1am onward, moving at a frantic, skittering pace through a diverse range of tracks and genres, with percussive elements threaded throughout. “One of the best sets we've played, solo or together,” says object blue. “There was so much mutual love between us and the dancers, it felt intimate despite the massive crowd.”
Arriving just in time for the festive season, turn up the volume and enjoy...

Unsound Podcast 77: TSVI b2b object blue

Sudany

With his lengthy, freewheeling sets, spanning everything from dancehall to new wave and IDM, Tom Boogizm is gaining recognition as Manchester's best DJ, playing sets that are eclectic not as a flex but as a necessity. He appeared at the Unsound 2022 opening party at 89, the former strip club beneath Hotel Forum, and delivered one of the festival's highlights - which you can now experience as an Unsound podcast.

Heading up the Shotta Tapes label, Boogizm has also developed a reputation for his unclassifiable productions under the Rat Heart moniker, where he's able to lurch into polar zones just as easily as he does in his DJ sets, flickering from deranged lo-fi disco into melancholy blues without missing a beat. It's Northern British eccentricity at its most blunted.

Unsound Podcast 84: Tom Boogizm

This very special pre-holiday treat is another Unsound podcast recorded at the 2022 festival in Kraków. Around 4am, a few hours after premiering his new live A/V show, Kode9 was back on stage in the second room to go b2b with Tim Reaper. These two heavyweights of the UK club scene circled between old- and new-school jungle, high-tempo footwork – sometimes raw, sometimes soulful – hardcore and beyond.
So turn up the volume, and let this euphoric mix navigate you towards the New Year in fine form!

Unsound Podcast 85: Tim Reaper b2b Kode9

Our latest podcast comes from Warsaw producer Krenz, who tore up the second room at Unsound 2022. For this mix - based entirely on his own music – he's joined forces with turntablist DJ Zeten.
Krenz combines a deconstructed take on British bass music and US hip-hop with productions that blend rave, dubstep, jungle  and Memphis rap – as can be heard on his recent LP 'BOŻE DAJ MI BREAK'.

Tracklist:
Krenz - Tede - Wyścig Szczurów , Blend
Krenz - INTRO (Dj Zeten Blend)
Krenz - ROLLER O CO CI CHODZI (Dj Zeten Blend) 
Krenz - OSTERODE
Krenz - TANDEM BOX feat. Dj Zeten
Krenz - CORNER STORE FRISTAJL (Dj Zeten Blend) 
Krenz - PHASE 1 feat. FEASTONMYSINS
Krenz - STOPAROBA
Krenz - DÖNER feat. DJ ZAMOCNO
Krenz - KOSI REMIX feat. Kosi (Dj Zeten Chopped and Screwed) 
Krenz - ZNÓW ZMĘCZONY? feat. Borys Laxity
Krenz - BOŻE DAJ MI BREAK feat. scolop333ndra Instrumental feat. Dj Zeten
Krenz - RADEK (Dj Zeten Blend) 
Krenz - ROLLER WIADOMO O CO CHODZI
Krenz - ARIAP (Dj Zeten Blend) 
Krenz - RADZIU
Krenz - UTRZYMAJ ODSTĘP feat. Dj Zeten
Krenz - ZOACZ TEN POSTĘP feat. scolop333ndra
Krenz - KIJEK feat. Hades (Dj Zeten Chopped and Screwed)

Unsound Podcast 92: Krenz

Smartwoods

Klamm

Walk

Žaltys

Pelkinis Gailis

Borbašo Gvazdikas

Smiltyninis Šlamutis

Čiobrelis

Paprastasis Amalas

For our 96th podcast, Brussels-based Moroccan DJ OJOO challenges listeners with her wide-eyed amalgamation of dusty dub and noise-inflected dancehall mutations – a mix that is disorienting, yet also entrancing and danceable. OJOO will perform at Unsound 2023 in Kraków this October, as part of our opening party at 89, beneath Hotel Forum.

OJOO is an artist of the SHAPE+ platform for innovative music and interdisciplinary art, co-funded by the European Union.

Unsound Podcast 96: OJOO

SHAME

DIODES ON THE HARDWARE

EXHALE

GODMODE

SPEAKERZ

SAYIN' GOODBYE I BEGIN, I STRIKE WITH A FLAME

The Unsound Podcast series returns with a thrilling recording from the 2023 festival in Kraków, this time presenting a back-to-back set featuring two titans of the club scene. 
Polish techno experimentalist VTSS and the UK's 160 alchemist Sherelle are both friends of Unsound, appearing in different settings and back-to-backs throughout the years. Join us to relive the moment they converged in the festival's main room, delivering a set that spans a wide spectrum of high-intensity dance music.

Unsound Podcast 99: VTSS b2b Sherelle

Paris-born OKO DJ doesn't care about genre divisions, going from ambient to gabber to metal in the first 15 minutes of her set - which had Room 2 jumping in the early hours on the morning at Unsound 2023.

You can now experience the full ride as Unsound Podcast 101. Enjoy!

We could only ecord the mix in mono, but OKO DJ and us still felt this mix was so special that it's more about the energy than the perfect sound quality here.

Unsound Podcast 101: OKO DJ

Plays John Coltrane and Langston Hughes

Mr. P.C.

Raphael Rogiński - Mr. P.C.

Walkers With the Dawn

Raphael Rogiński - Walkers With the Dawn

Lonnie's Lament

Raphael Rogiński - Lonnie's Lament

Equinox

Raphael Rogiński - Equinox

Blue Train

Raphael Rogiński - Blue Train

Unsound podcast number 103 kicks off the series of recordings from Unsound Kraków 2024 – and this one is a treat. In the early hours of the Unsound club event Venezuelan producer Safety Trance – known for his collaborations with artists such as Arca and Isabella Lovestory – joined forces with American DJ, artist and astrologist and Manuka Honey. The result? A hot and sultry b2b filled with dark reggaeton and gqom interwoven with dembow  and deep bass music. Dive in!

Unsound Podcast 103: Safety Trance b2b Manuka Honey

Unsound Podcast no.104 is a generous dose of various bass genres, courtesy of Warsaw-based DJ and selector @gummisg. Scheduled for closing duties during the Saturday club night of Unsound Kraków 2024, gummi left quite an impression – effortlessly throwing the dancers musical curveballs while juggling rap, dubstep, jungle, footwork, grimy ambient and more. Her skilled, atmospheric set was selected as an Unsound 2024 club highlight by many – take a deep dive into the mix to find out why!

Unsound Podcast 104: gummi

Extremely wild and exhilarating Unsound Podcast no.105 by Brazilian DJ @rhrmusiq is here. On Friday, Room 1 exploded with his signature blend of Brazilian rhythms, electro, and ecstatic techno, transforming dancefloor into pure euphoria.

Unsound Podcast 105: RHR

To round off 2024 in style, we’re revisiting a set from Bristol-based Swedish DJ @k_means, playing the very last set of Unsound 2023. The eclectic selector takes us for a wild ride through the weirder corners of club music – going from off-kilter footwork to dub and bashment dancehall.

Unsound Podcast 106: k means

Гільдеґарда

Heinali & Andirana-Yaroslava Saienko - Zelenaia Dubrovonka

Heinali & Andriana-Yaroslava Saienko - O Ignis Spiritus

Heinali & Andriana-Yaroslava Saienko - O Tu Suavissima Virga

Songs and Bodies

Forever / The Way In

At last year’s Opening Party at Unsound Kraków, DJ E (aka Chuquimamani-Condori) showcased their distinct hyper-charged sound. Narrowing it down to genres is pretty impossible, but there are fragments of Andean folk, cumbia and country music ballads, often carefully layered with a bunch of soundboard-effects. The result is a classic DJ E set. Many of the tracks played here were recently included in the almost 2-hour long collection Edits, which you can pick up on Chuquimamani-Condori’s Bandcamp page.

Unsound Podcast 107: DJ E / Chuquimamani-Condori (2024)

Repercussions

XIII

Back in 2016, Skee Mask and Zenker Brothers spontaneously attempted to play together at an afterparty in Prague, but after ten minutes the electricity failed. Two years later they finally had the opportunity to play a joint extended set for the first time - at Unsound Kraków 2018. The three DJs closed Saturday night in Hotel Forum with an expansive set building on adventurous forms of techno, jungle and broken beat, combining the collective interests of Ilian Tape. The set kicked off at 4am in the Ball Room.

Unsound Podcast 39: Skee Mask b2b Zenker Brothers

The Unsound Podcast series kicks off 2019 with a brand new mix by @forestswords, exploring percussive dancefloor sounds, often connected to his original, mysterious sound. Weaving through various moods and rhythms, the mix also includes a couple of new Forest Swords tracks - heard here for the first time.

Recorded at Pirate Studios, Liverpool.

Tracklist:
01. Forest Swords - Crow
02. Lakker - Tuk Tuk
03. Rosalía - Malamente (Forest Swords Remix)
04. Ben Vince - Assimilation
05. Shackleton - Death Is Not Final
06. Deena Abdelwahed - 5/5
07. Dollkraut - Lezdom
08. Efdemin - Acid Bells (DJ Koze Edit)
09. Tzusing - Post Soviet Models
10. Oliver Coates - Perfect Love
11. Gabe Gurnsey - Sweet Heat
12. Kangding Ray - Pruitt Igoe (Rise)
13. Djrum - Broken Glass Arch
14. Hodge & Randomer - Slipping
15. Space Drum Meditation - Atencao
16. Yasmine Hamdan - Cafe (Acid Arab Remix)
17. Cocteau Twins - Blue Bell Knoll
18. Superficie - Dengue Drums
19. Okzharp & Manthe Ribane - Dun
20. Clap! Clap! - Ode to the Pleiades (Photay Remix)
21. Fjaak - Pray For Berlin
22. Forest Swords - Crow (Sebastien Forrester Reshape)

Unsound Podcast 44: Forest Swords

British producers and DJs MM (@djdoublem94) and Suda (@sudanim) joined forces at Unsound 2018 to present a brand new collaborative show in a vast, abandoned industrial kitchen in Hotel Forum. Working with music, fog and light, the artists created an immersive experience, combining the sleek futuristic textures and heavy drums of hybrid club music. This exclusive podcast is the first recorded sound of Async Figure available online and a taste of what's to come. Look forward to their China Tour (14 June - Oil, Shenzen; 15 June - All, Shanghai; 22 June - Loopy, Hangzhou) and forthcoming releases.

Unsound Podcast 51: Async Figure (MM & Suda)

Seattle-based CCL (@ccl-tuf) is a DJ, promoter and curator. They’re a founding member of TUF, a local collective focused on community-building and creating visibility for underrepresented artists in dance music. Known for bold musical choices, CCL blends a caleidoscope of rhythms, usually playing a mixture of deep, immersive breaks, electro, techno and bass music. Ahead of their Unsound Kraków 2019, CCL has prepared an exciting mix full of deep sounds, bookended by experimental Polish music from past and present. Enjoy!

Unsound Podcast 56: CCL

JD Twich is one half of Optimo, the legendary Glasgow party and a label. Some time ago he launched a new imprint called Against Fascism Trax, attempt to “provoke dialogue that is fundamentally anti-racist, anti-sexist, non-homophobic, non transphobic, non-ageist and non-ableist”. This podcast is a two-hour segment of this set at Hotel Forum's Kitchen from Unsound 2019. Before the performance, JD Twitch said of his Unsound set: “This will be the first ever presentation of an Against Fascism Trax DJ set, an experiment in whether music can convey an intent non verbally.” Starting the set and threaded throughout is the Italian protest song "Bella ciao", which originated in the late 19th century as a working-class anthem and was adopted as a hymn of the anti-fascist resistance in the 1940s. The song takes on new meaning in the current pandemic, as the need for new forms of solidarity — with health workers, cleaners and sanitation workers, impoverished people and all manner of vulnerable populations — becomes urgently clear.

Unsound Podcast 64: JD Twitch - "Against Fascism Trax"

A couple years ago Dengue Dengue Dengue (@dengue) were approached by Mikołaj Kierski (@basy-tropikalne) to explore pandilla music through their hallmark groovy, electronic psychedelia. Amazonians consider this genre to be the queen of folk music, believed to be rooted in indigenous practices despite the influence of mestizo in its sound. The Peruvian duo explored these influences in a brand new show at Unsound 2018 which you can hear above, blending electronic instrumentation with music recorded in the selva. More of those explorations can be also heard on Dengue Dengue Dengue's new EP—Humos vol. 3—to be released on May 29th to celebrate their 10th anniversary.

Tracklist:
Dengue Dengue Dengue - Cobre
Dengue Dengue Dengue - Lokumba
Dengue Dengue Dengue - Banana
Dengue Dengue Dengue - Pacos
Dengue Dengue Dengue - Alpha & Omega
Dengue Dengue Dengue - Rayos Cumbicos
Ground - Tumulus (Dengue Dengue Dengue Remix)
Dengue Dengue Dengue - Barrabass
Dengue Dengue Dengue - Flootz
Dengue Dengue Dengue - Semillero (Nicola Cruz remix)
Dengue Dengue Dengue - Pua feat Penya
Los Hijos de Lamas - El baile del Conejo (Dengue Dengue Dengue Edit)
Dengue Dengue Dengue - La rama de Tamarindo
Dengue Dengue Dengue - Yodeller
Alma negra - Malaya (Dengue Dengue Dengue Edit)
Los Defensores - Pandilla 3
Los Defensores - Pandilla (Dengue Dengue Dengue Edit)

Unsound Podcast 65: Dengue Dengue Dengue

'Weavings (Part 1)' is part of the Unsound 'Intermission' compilation:

www.unsoundfestival.bandcamp.com

The track features Aho Ssan, Angel Bat Dawid, Dirar Kalash, Ellen Fullman, Księżyc, Laraaji, Nicolás Jaar, Pawel Szamburski, Resina, Rolando Hernandez and Wukir Suryadi. 
Created as part of the Unsound 2020 online program, 'Weavings' is a durational improvisation structured in the manner of a long fabric of sound. Conceived and curated with Nicolás Jaar, the performance hosted a number of artists and instrumentalists from around the world who linked up via Zoom, with a plugin used to facilitate real-time high-resolution audio collaboration. ‘Weavings (Part 1)’ is the first section of the piece.

Weavings (Part 1), mixed by Nicolás Jaar

This collaboration between Jlin and SOPHIE was commissioned for the Unsound 'Intermission' album, with Jlin working from Gary, Indiana and SOPHIE in London. 
The full album can be found here:

https://unsoundfestival.bandcamp.com/

Intermission' is the first album ever released by Unsound, comprised of 15 commissioned tracks responding to the pandemic year through sound and music. Meditative, often powerful, affected by periods of anxiety and optimism, this multi-layered album is intended to be more than a compilation.
Featuring work by artists connected to Unsound Festival over the years, 'Intermission' includes music and field recordings by some of today’s most exciting electronic and experimental musicians, with a focus on both well known and emerging names.
Although it can be experienced on its own, the album intersects with a book of essays, poetry and fiction to create a unique interdisciplinary work joining different opinions, narratives, art forms and genres. Together, the audio and texts comprise a kind of urgent atlas, one mapping innumerable paths through the strange new world in which we find ourselves.
The 'Intermission' album is dedicated in memory of SOPHIE.

Jlin X SOPHIE - JSLOIPNHIE

An amorphous global-minded festival and creative platform dealing with music, sound, words and related visual arts. Founded in Krakow in 2003, Unsound has taken place in 30 cities around the world.

Unsound

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