Village Kollektiv
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Village Kollektiv

Warsaw, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland | INDIE

Warsaw, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland | INDIE
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"Village Kollektiv EP 2009 - The EP suggests a very serious album that will confirm their position at the top of ethno-fusion charts"

Village Kollektiv return after a break from studio recordings and they are on excellent form.
The EP suggests a very serious album that will confirm their position at the top of ethno-fusion charts.
Their music has been always a combination of the diverse musical inspirations of the band members. The Village Kollektiv sound is a combination of Warsaw Village Band with Masala, adding in a touch of Asian Dub Foundation and Transglobal Underground.
Two new tracks are featured - uplifting and dynamic "Stad do milego" and "Nazad" which includes strong drum’n’bass and breakbeat influences plus world music vocals to create an intriguing mélange.
The rest of the EP showcases remixes of these new tracks. Checking the whole spectrum of modern club music – from magnetic trip-hop and breaks through dub and dubstep to house and techno.
The Shazalkazoo remix of „Nazad” is a standout. A mixture of uptempo techno with atavistic pulse and the original vocals heavily cut into pieces results in a track with unbelievable dance value but still maintaining the ethno layer that cannot be omitted when dealing with Village Kollektiv.
Anansi Red Curry’s remix also of a high standard – hypnotic, with a deep beat and low frequency explorations really creates a magical vibe.
The EP features the two original songs in various versions and combinations but presented in form that the attention is constatly maintained. If Village Kollektiv is already so inspiring here, I dare not to think what they will show us on this forthcoming full album!
- www.etnosystem.pl


""Motion Rootz Exprerimental 2006" - DJ Shantel and others should be lacing their Balkan cocktails with some of this rare Polish spirit"

Motion Rootz is something special – a vivid combination of contemporary electronics, beats and Polish folk vocals and instrumentals. While ethnic remix albums have become a cliche, and are often formulaic, this is bursting with inventiveness and life. It's no surprise that several members of the Warsaw Village Band, Poland's most progressive folk group, are part of the Kollektiv. The track `Wyrzundzaj Sie' (Get Ready) draws on wedding songs from the Kurpie region of central Poland with strong, raw vocals and guests from a regional folk ensemble and the percussive sound of Magdalena Sobczak's jangling cimbalom. This instrument from the Hucul region was pushed to the fore and not buried amidst the electronics as if they're something to be embarrassed about. The quirky track `Pulsy' (Pulses), with instrumental solos on cimbalom and fiddles makes a fine centrepiece. The Kollektiv has six key musicians, three of whom are members of the WVB, and they bring their fresh perspective on Polish folk music to this more contemporary soundscape. They also feature some distinctive Bulgarian vocals on the track 'Niwa'. If there's any justice, DJ Shantel and others should be lacing their Balkan cocktails with some of this rare Polish spirit. - Songlines Magazine


""Subvillage Sound" - Phileas Fogg had 80 days to make a trip around the world but for Village Kollektiv it took less than 60 minutes and they even didn’t have a pant"

Phileas Fogg had 80 days to make a trip around the world but for Village Kollektiv it took less than 60 minutes and they even didn’t have a pant. There were moments when their journey slowed down but only when they stopped to take a closer look at music curiosities they were just passing by. They did not miss one - thanks to that traditional Polish songs are accompanied with sounds of such inventions like (just two to mention) Bulgarian gadulka or Indian sitar. What is not less important, they made their contemporary music homework really well – modern electronic arrangements are much more diverse than in case of their debut. Balkan rhythms meet heavy beats and jazzy trumpet fills in drum’n’bass breaks. The form did not not cover the content as we deal with high class specialists. In fact Village Kollektiv is a folk dream team consisting of the musicians who practised in Warsaw Village Band and Masala. Thanks to that they mix hundreds of music spices with great skills in proper proportions that no taste is killed. Then they pour a sauce danceable enough to make your feet move. How to concentrate when horns riffs almost snatch joints in your legs running to the dancefloor? What? This lament’s too sad? Sad, sad - close to have tears in my eyes. But do not worry, they will make you dance crazy again in a short while. - www.eramusicgarden.pl


""Subvillage Sound" - Village Kollektiv go even further than Warsaw Village Band in bringing tradition and modernity together"

Village Kollektiv go even further than Warsaw Village Band in bringing tradition and modernity together. The new album is another great manifesto of musical eclecticism built on ethno and folk foundation. World music with its sources in Indo-European tradition from Balkans to Orient successfully meets hip-hop, the whole bunch of electronic music genres and jazzy horns riffs.
What is important – clubby flavour does not deprive the sound of rootsy shape, folk stamp does not clash with futurism, I have no feeling of inconsistency or overloading.
This is due to connection of high ethno musical and production proficiency and good taste.
- www.kulturaonline.pl


""Subvillage Sound" - modern folk in a radio-friendly version. High class village!"

Modern folk in a radio-friendly version. High class village!
Without mysticism and guitars of Zywiolak, but with all achievements of Warsaw Village Band.
Village Kollektiv promote ambitious world music adding electronics and using accessible formula to present it. You could say „a village sings and dance”, but this music is aimed to cliff-dwellers, who cannot enjoy themselves in clubs playing cheesy electro and Mr. Kydrynski’s radio shows makes them sleepy after few minutes.
Richness of sounds in this album delights. A list of instruments used during the recording sessions would take some lines and electronic music inspirations proves good knowledge of what’s going on in the world nowadays.
The fact is that Kolacinski managed to avoid brutal connection of folk vocals with hard beats (even through both are present here) and there is no place here for boredom, banality and overused copying. Instead of them you can hear unstoppable play with sounds, possible only as a result of incredible passion and serious music knowledge. Because of that almost an hour long adventure with VK’s album is a pure pleasure – same when you feel like dancing and when a moment of reverie comes.
- www.musicnews.pl


""Subvillage Sound" - cosmopolitan album in a good sense"

Cosmopolitan album in a good sense.
Village Kollektiv have added lots of Balkans to their influences and ingredients in terms of traditional Bulgarian and Romanian melodies, lyrics and their translations, as well as the most important element of this genre – horns. Their strong usage can bring Balkan Beat Box to your mind but VK’s field of interests is wider – in one song you can find Polish, Hutsul, Ukrainian, „Yugoslavian”, Bulgarian or Romanian influences.
That’s not all – you can hear Bart Palyga who learned difficult skill of throat singing and leads the band to Asian steppes. Globalisation at its heights!
The band’s foundation to build their elaborate structures is dubby electronics. Rafal Kolacinski is a boss here: he prepares sketches for the musicians to put their folk layers on, to cut and put everything together later on. With his talent and experience he successfully managed again to connect these two apparently distant worlds.
“Subvillage Sound” is an hour long trip through Eastern Europe, from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea and Adriatic, dropping to endless steppe on the way. Fascinating journey!
- www.uwolnijmuzyke.pl


""Subvillage Sound" - this album will definitely touch you!"

This is about how to smuggle nimbly folk music originated from Romania, Bulgaria, Israel, Poland and connect it with electronic music of various colours, e.g. dub, drum’n’bass, dubstep and other styles, which might not be called yet. Folk appearing in Village Kollektiv songs is not just music – it is also (maybe first of all) lyrics. Thanks to that we discover old Polish language again, disappearing in modern times. They should receive some kind of cultural award for it. Each song is „number one” – there is no favourite here. Each has its own soul, this „something”, which has an impact on overall album artistic value.
No-one would describe this album as dub but there is a lot of dub here. Each song contains its flavours, tasting better with each another listening.
New members of the group, the horn section must be also mentioned. Thanks to these folks „Subvillage sound” is much different than the debut. Graphic side of the release is worth your attention, too. I would love to wear a T-shirt with the intriguing design of the front cover.
A circuit board in connection with folk themes – perfect summary of the album content. Bravo!
If your ears cannot stand boredom and your mind and your sensitivity make you enjoy cultural and rootsy trips – this album will definitely touch you!
- www.dubmassive.org


Discography

"Motion Rootz Experimental 2006"
album, Open Sources/Antena Krzyku label, 2006
"Village Kollektiv"
EP, Open Sources/Antena Krzyku label, 2009
"Subvillage Sound"
album, Open Sources/Antena Krzyku label, 2010

Photos

Bio

Village Kollektiv was formed in 2002 in Warsaw as a project involving members of Polish folk/fusion groups: Warsaw Village Band, Masala and others.
Music generated by Village Kollektiv is the first Polish fusion of electronics with live sound of original instruments and traditional vocals. The musicians use melodies originating from the Polish Kurpie region and those collected from the people of the Bulgarian Shop region. They incorporate traditional singing techniques; throat singing from Tuva and the yoik of the Sami people. Original melodies serve as an inspiration for their own creation and instrumental improvisation. The Electronic music is a merger of breakbeat, electro, dub, nu-jazz, drum&bass as well as punk rock vitality.
After four years the band released their debut album "Motion Rootz Experimental 2006".
The album was nominated for a 'Fryderyki' - the most important Polish music business award. It also won a prize at the 'New Tradition' Festival organized by the Polish National Radio station.
Shows and tours that followed were a natural consequence of the success of the debut album, taking the band as far afield as Ollin Kan festival in Mexico City, where they perfomed in 2008.
2009 saw them performing at festivals in Poland, including the World Stage at major European event Heineken Open'Er as well as overseas - at the Polish Festival in Edinburgh, Eurocultured Festival in Manchester and the Lord Mayor's Thames Festival on the banks of the river Thames in London.
The horns section joined the band and Magda (well known for her work with Warsaw Village Band) returned from maternity leave.
At the end of 2009 the band released an EP with two new tracks plus remixes.
In 2010 Village Kollektiv were part of the international project "Unite: Gathering of Strangers" an album produced by Transglobal Underground. Both bands played at 'Days of Contemporary Arts' in Bialystok, Poland and performed some tracks together on stage.
Iza Byra – the vocalist previously known for her work with famous Polish modern ethno band Zywiolak, joined the band in November 2010 to replace original singer Weronika at some selected shows.
"Subvillage Sound" - the second Village Kollektiv album was released on 27th October 2010.

"SUBVILLAGE SOUND" PRESS INFO

Staying true to their musical inspiration, the band are constantly developing their fusion of modern ethnic sounds and lead the latest international trends and achievements in world music. The new album is again at the forefront of Polish production in this genre and provides a unique cultural record for the rest of the world to see.
Not only do the band merge various styles of electronic music, but also dig deep into a variety of traditional cultures for inspiration.
Musical eclectism has been of major value to the band from their inception and has an even deeper meaning on "Subvillage Sound".
Horn riffs and lyrics based on Bulgarian, Romanian and Gypsy traditional poetry add a balkan element to the most energetic, danceable tracks on the album. You can also hear nostalgic melodies where Polish Kurpie and Podlasie conjur up images of deep forests feeding back with echoes and the Siberian steppe is in the air. Dub, dubstep, electro-rock are in dialogue with nu jazz and improvised melodies.
Flavours are added to this musical and cultural fusion by special guests on the album. The charismatic Pablopavo - singer with prime Polish reggae act Vavamuffin is featured. Daring musicians from Caci Vorba - the Cracow Gypsy band: Maria Natanson and Piotr Majczyna also appear, alongside the creator of multicultural musical project Indialucia and virtuoso flamenco guitarist - Miguel Czachowski.
Looking forward and with a respect to the past is the Village Kollektiv ethos, which they again prove on this new release.