Wyszymory

Description

Maciej Envee Golinski is an artist who undoubtedly needs no introduction. He has been collaborating with the U Know Me label since practically the beginning of his career. His previous album (“Time & Light” - uknowme.bandcamp.com/album/envee-time-light) had a considerable global impact, but it took eight years for his next record to be released on vinyl. In the meantime, Maciej has not been inactive: he has released numerous club singles under various pseudonyms and has participated in the recording and mixing of multiple albums from the worlds of jazz, soul, and electronica. “Wyszymory” is a meticulously crafted conceptual album, drawing its inspiration from our roots. It is a record in which any open-minded listener will find a resonance with what has vibrated deep within their soul for a long time... The cover illustration was created by Olga Szczechowska. The graphic design was handled by Animisiewasz. Of all that is visible and invisible, my life is above all filled with music and a fascination for sound. It doesn't matter whether they are natural or artificial, isolated or resonating in space. Sounds that evoke memories, just like those that are completely new. Some resonate without having changed for millennia. Certain resonances and rhythms have remained unchanged for generations so distant that they have left no other trace in human civilization. This connection with our ancestors truly fascinates me. Since I became aware of it, I have been more receptive to inspiration. While listening to traditional and classical music, I constantly discovered new anchors. I was continually surprised by new invitations to reflect on what connects - or separates - the pulse of traditional music from our region to the rhythms of Africa, the tribes of the vast East, or the frozen North. Tomasz Stanko, an authority figure for me, used - during interviews conducted by Tomek Michalowski - beautiful parables about love and creation to bring me closer to the artists of the Cro-Magnon caves. The Icelandic wordsmith Andri Snær Magnason captivated me, in his book *On Time and Water*, with this fascinating observation: through emotional contact, words, ideas, or memory, we connect with the past and the future over two, even three generations, covering a period of about 270 years. There is also Sam Kowalski who, with his wonderful *obereks* played on the guitalélé, took me on a hypnotic journey; one returns with a deep admiration for the art of musical storytelling, passed down from generation to generation. Finally, my own children surprise me with their talents, behaviors, and increasingly marked traits of those generations that now live only in my blurry memories and old photographs. “I wanted the true protagonists of this album to be these very phenomena that modern humans share with their ancestors, regardless of the level of civilization. At the forefront of these is the relationship between man, nature, and his own emotions. *Wyszymory* is not an academic study, although I immersed myself in Slavic mythology, archaeology, and history in search of inspiration. It is also not a traditional music album, even though it features traditional music thanks to exceptional instrumentalists. I was fortunate to invite artists who daily transcend boundaries, working not only on Polish music but also on Indian and African traditions, even on jazz, with its long history of blending influences. Naturally, the album ended up resembling a kind of sound comic book, where the scenes and stories - the sounds, the pulses, and the ideas to exploit them - came to me over time, often in unique circumstances and inspiring contexts.” Envee