Myslovitz
| Myslovitz | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| General information | |
| origin | Mysłowice , Poland |
| Genre (s) | alternative |
| founding | 1992 as The Freshmen, 1994 as Myslovitz |
| Website | www.myslovitz.pl |
| Founding members | |
| Artur Rojek | |
guitar |
Wojciech (Wojtek) Powaga |
| Rafał Cieślik | |
| Marcin Porczek | |
| Current occupation | |
Vocals, guitar |
Michał Kowalonek |
guitar |
Wojciech (Wojtek) Powaga |
guitar |
Przemek Myszor |
bass |
Jacek Kuderski |
Drums |
Wojtek "Lala" Kuderski |
Myslovitz is a Polish alternative band around the guitarist and singer Artur Rojek (* 1972). Their style could be described as guitar rock with more or less pronounced melancholic overtones. The music press often refers to Myslovitz as the "Polish Radiohead "; however, their music is mostly less experimental and more similar to the early Radiohead, Coldplay or Travis .
history
Myslovitz began in 1992 in the Upper Silesian industrial city of Mysłowice as a student band - initially under the name The Freshmen (alluding to the film Freshman with Marlon Brando ), before they named themselves in 1994 after their hometown (in a German spelling "strange" for Polish eyes) .
The early days were characterized by a punk- typical attitude, as illustrated by a quote from Artur Rojek: "I founded Myslovitz in 1992. I was twenty at the time and had no idea about making music. Sure, I was a big fan of a few British groups - Ride , Stone Roses , My Bloody Valentine , The Housemartins , but I couldn't play the guitar at all. After several months of rehearsals [...] I just decided to make up for the gaps in my musical training with sheer chaos - the more the better. " Through appearances at several youth competitions, the Polish radio and finally the music industry first became aware of the band.
In 1994 Myslovitz signed their first record deal with the label MJM Music Polska, which released the self-titled debut album the following year. The Briton Ian Harris was won as a producer. a. worked for Joy Division , New Order and The Exploited . The album was voted "Debut of the Year" by several magazines; Critics lavishly compared it to Oasis , which was at the height of their popularity at the time.
In 1996, Przemysław Myszor, a third guitarist was added to the line-up; in addition, the second album was released under the title Sun Machine - this time on the Polish subsidiary of the major label Sony Music . With two singles, stylistically reminiscent of the early Beatles , they achieved the first radio hits Z twarzą Marilyn Monroe ("With the face of ...") and Peggy Brown - the latter was of course a cover version of another band from Mysłowice, the lyrics came from the Irish " National composer " Turlough O'Carolan (in the version of the Polish poet and translator Ernest Bryll .)
A year later, the third album was released: Z rozmyślań przy śniadaniu (for example: "From brooding at breakfast"), on which a tendency towards a somewhat "smoother" sound was noticeable; In addition, the texts became more introspective and were given greater significance. A fascination with the world of cinema, which has now become typical for Myslovitz, comes to the fore, manifested in numerous quotes and allusions to films in texts and titles, and last but not least, an often "cinematic" atmosphere of the music.
Logically, Myslovitz took part in a soundtrack for the first time in 1998 with the unconventional piece To nie był film ("That was not a film") - for the large Polish cinema production Młode wilki ½ ("Young Wolves 1/2"). The text referred to a wave of brutal violent crimes involving minors, which was controversially discussed in the mass media in the late 1990s . The depiction of violence in the text and in the video clip, which later received a Fryderyk (see below) as "Video of the Year", sparked controversy in the Polish media and prompted radio and television stations to boycott the play.
In the same year Myslovitz also gave concerts outside of Poland for the first time (including in Stockholm , New York and Stuttgart ).
Myslovitz's final commercial breakthrough came in 1999 with the fourth album Miłość w czasach popkultury ("Love in the Times of Pop Culture "), which reached platinum and meanwhile double platinum status shortly after its release ; the single release Długość dzwięku samotności ("The length of the sound of loneliness") became the band's biggest hit to date.
In 2000 Myslovitz participated again in soundtracks: for the feature film The Big Animal ( Duże zwierzę ) by the Polish director and actor Jerzy Stuhr , they contributed the song Polowanie na wielblada ("Camel Hunt"); for "Das sind wir" ( To my ) by Waldemar Szarek the single My and two other pieces specially written for the soundtrack. In 2003 Myslovitz continued their collaboration with Stuhr: For his film "The Weather for Tomorrow" ( Pogoda na jutro ) they not only created the theme music, but also appeared in supporting roles (as novices in a monastery).
After three years, the follow-up to Miłość ... appeared in 2002 under the title Korova Milky Bar - an allusion to the cult novel and film A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess and Stanley Kubrick . What was noticeable was that the melancholic tones that had only been occasional up to now gave way to a sometimes downright depressive musical and textual mood. Nevertheless, Myslovitz was able to exceed the sales figures of its predecessor in the first few months; the single Sprzedawcy marzeń ("dream seller ") repeated the success of Długość dzwięku samotności .
The reason for this popularity, presumed critics, is that the band has met a resigned-recessive mood in Polish society - a thesis that guitarist Przemysław Myszor apparently confirmed to a Canadian journalist: "For us, the Korova Milky Bar is [from Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange"] a place where something strange can happen to your mind - a place like Poland today. [...] It's a country full of crises, everything around you is very sad, very dark "Very broken. There is an economic crisis here. People have no money, politics sucks. That's why the lyrics on our record are sad. We sing a lot about strange states of consciousness . "
In the same year Myslovitz appeared at several festivals in other European countries, including a. the traditional German Bizarre Festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival , and played in Western Europe in the opening act of Iggy Pop and Simple Minds tours .
In November 2002 Myslovitz signed a new contract with the Polish EMI subsidiary Pomaton. The first album on the new label was a newly recorded version of Korova Milky Bar in English , which was released in 2003 in a total of 27 countries (including Germany , Benelux , Switzerland , France , Spain , Russia , Turkey and South Africa ). English versions of older pieces were also included; so Długość dzwięku samotności became The Sound of Solitude .
Janusz Kamiński , an Oscar- winning cameraman for Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan , who describes himself as a "fan" of the band ( "I only work for Spielberg and Myslovitz [...] does not play any money." Rolle. What you don't do for your idols " .) The video received regular appearances on MTV , the album in Western European media - including Focus and the FAZ - consistently positive reviews. Nevertheless, the English-language pieces were mostly only played sporadically or in alternative programs by western radio stations, so that the desired chart success has so far not been achieved.
In 2003 Myslovitz u. a. in Great Britain together with Travis and Skin (ex- Skunk Anansie ) as part of the Road to Edinburgh - at the end of which the MTV Europe Music Award was presented as "Best Polish Act" (for the second time in a row).
In 2003 Sony Music released an almost obligatory best-of album to change the contract. As a single release a new version of appeared Kraków , the Myslovitz common with the 1970s - folk rock hitmakers Marek Grechuta and Anawa recordings.
In the summer of 2004 Myslovitz went on a European tour again - starting with a concert for the WDR on the eve of the EU expansion (April 30, 2004). In addition to appearances as headliners in smaller halls and festival appearances (including OpenAir St. Gallen ), they played again a few times as the opening act for Iggy Pop , then in October / November as the opener for The Corrs on their European and UK tour.
In December 2004 the album Skalary, mieczyki, neonki ("Skalare, Schwertträger, Neonfische ") was released. However, this is not a regular studio album, but a collection of soundtrack-like, psychedelic- experimental and mostly instrumental "outtakes" with a very melancholy mood; on this album Myslovitz correspond most closely to the critic comparisons with Radiohead so far; clear echoes of Pink Floyd can also be made out.
The success of Myslovitz contributed to the revival of the Polish alternative music scene - newer exponents include eM , Kombajn do zbierania kur po wioskach and Lili Marlene .
Artur Rojek left the band in April 2012. Since then Myslovitz has performed with Michał Kowalonek.
Myslovitz and Mysłowice
When choosing a name, the band was inspired by an ambivalent relationship to their hometown, which is perceived as provincial - an ironic allusion to American "rock dinosaurs" of the 1970s such as Boston , Chicago, named after their places of origin . The liberal-Catholic weekly Tygodnik Powszechny stated in a review that Myslovitz had "come from Mysłowice, [...] entered the new, great world of show business loaded with small-town complexes". The guitarist Przemysław Myszor described Mysłowice in a Canadian interview as "depressing" , "like all small towns. In Poland there are only a few big cities. And by big city I mean a place where there is culture. [...] We always live still in Mysłowice, but this is a city to die in, not to live in. Our region, in the south of Poland, is very industrial - mines, heavy industry ... " . Such statements earned the band the reputation of polluting the nest; paradoxically, however, Myslovitz also indirectly contributed to the upgrading of the city. The music journalist Leszek Gnoiński (author of the "standard work" Encyklopedia Polskiego Rocka ) on this: Mysłowice is a town with a hundred thousand inhabitants in Upper Silesia. Until the beginning of the 1990s , it was only known for its coal mines. It was only thanks to these five guys with guitars that this mining town became a well-known place that can be found on the map of Poland .
The success of Myslovitz gave impetus to the local music scene (though not monocausally ); In the meantime, there is a lively alternative and hip-hop culture there, with bands like Negatyw and Supermusic , which thrives far away from Warsaw as the center of the Polish entertainment industry and which benefits from the image of the peripheral, out-of-the-way and uncommercial - in some cases quite comparable to that especially in the 80s and 90s influential independent scene in the northern English industrial city of Manchester .
Prizes and awards
- In addition to numerous prizes from Polish music magazines and radio stations, Myslovitz received the renowned Paszport award in 1999 in the "Pop / Rock / Stage" category of the weekly Polityka ; In 2000 the Polish playboy declared Długość Dzwięku Samotności and zum Song and Myslovitz to be Band of the Year; the Polish Elle made the band one of the "most stylish music stars".
- A total of 7 times (with 21 nominations) Myslovitz received the Polish music award Fryderyk, which was more prestigious in Germany with a Brit Award or a Grammy than the German Echo : 1998 in the category "Video of the Year" for To nie był film ( see above), 1999 in the categories "Band of the year", "Rock album of the year" (for Miłość w czasach popkultury ) and "Song of the year" (for Długość Dzwięku Samotności ), 2000 in the categories "Song of the year" (for Chłopcy / "Jungs") and "Video of the year" (for Dla ciebie / "Für dich") as well as 2003 in the category "Album of the year" (for Korova Milky Bar ).
- Following nominations in previous years, Myslovitz received the " MTV Europe Music Award" in the Best Polish Act category twice in a row in 2002 and 2003 .
- On January 23, 2005, Myslovitz received the European Breakthrough Award for the Korova Milky Bar album as the best-selling album from one of the ten EU accession countries outside of their home country at the EU Commission's Border Breakers Awards at Midem in Cannes .
Discography
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Albums
- 1995: Myslovitz (MJM Music Poland)
- 1996: Sun Machine ( Sony Music Polska)
- 1997: Z rozmyślań przy śniadaniu (Sony Music) [ Out of ruminations at breakfast ]
- 1999: Miłość w czasach popkultury (Sony Music) [ love in the times of pop culture ]
- 2002: Korova Milky Bar (Sony Music Polska)
- 2003: The Best Of (Sony Music Polska)
- 2003: Korova Milky Bar (English version) ( Capitol / EMI Pomaton)
- 2004: Skalary, mieczyki, neonki (Capitol / EMI Pomaton) [ Angelfish, swordtail, neon fish ]
- 2006: Happiness Is Easy (EMI Music Poland)
- 2009: Miłość w Czasach Popkultury - Reedycja [Love in times of pop culture] (Sony Music Entertainment)
- 2011: Nieważne jak wysoko jesteśmy ... [ No matter how tall we are ... ]
- 2013: 1,577
Singles
- 1995: Myslovitz
- 1995: Zgon ( death )
- 1995: Krótka piosenka o miłości ( Short song about love )
- 1996: Maj ( May )
- 1996: Z twarzą Marilyn Monroe ( With the face of Marilyn Monroe )
- 1996: Historia jednej znajomości ( The story of a love )
- 1996: Peggy Brown
- 1997: Blue velvet
- 1997: Scenariusz dla moich sąsiadów ( script for my neighbors )
- 1997: Margaret
- 1998: To nie był film ( That wasn't a film )
- 1998: Zwykły dzień ( Ordinary Day )
- 1999: Długość dźwięku samotności ( The Length of the Sound of Solitude )
- 2000: My ( We )
- 2000: Chłopcy ( boys )
- 2000: Polowanie na wielblada ( camel hunt )
- 2000: Dla Ciebie ( For you )
- 2002: Acidland
- 2002: Sprzedawcy marzeń ( dream seller )
- 2003: Chciałbym umrzeć z miłości ( I want to die for love )
- 2003: Kraków (Myslovitz vs. Marek Grechuta & Anawa )
- 2003: Behind Closed Eyes
- 2003: Acidland (English version)
- 2003: Sound Of Solitude
- 2004: Życie to surfing ( life is surfing )
- 2006: Mieć czy być ( To have or to be )
- 2006: Nocnym pociagiem do konca swiata ( With the night train to the end of the world )
- 2007: W deszczu malenkich zoltych kwiatow ( In the rain of small yellow flowers )
- 2011: Ukryte ( Hidden )
- 2013: Prędzej później dalej ( Faster, Later, Next )
Video albums
- 2003: O sobie 1995-2001 ( Sony Music Polska)
- 2004: Życie to surfing [ Life is surfing ] ( Capitol / EMI Pomaton)
- 2005: Singles 1995-2005
- 2006: Happiness Is Easy - live (PL:
platinum)
Web links
- Official website (also in English)
- Extensive American fan site
- Myslovitz at Discogs (English)
Reviews
- Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (from August 9, 2003)
- NEON (Stern youth magazine, January 21, 2005)
- Frankfurter Rundschau (from August 22, 2003)
- Focus, 2003
swell
- ↑ a b http://www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVES/2002/112802/music2.html ( Memento from May 8, 2003 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from April 16, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from October 1, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Chart sources: PL
- ↑ Awards for music sales: PL
