WoWaKin at WOMEX 2017

WOMEX 2017 was held in Katowice, Poland, and WoWaKin was one of the bands among a real treasure trove of new and old Polish music to be heard. I came in too late to catch them playing a full-tilt mazurka, (you will hear the last few notes of one in the beginning of the video) but they are a great dance band if you know the dances, and there were plenty of folks swirling about in the aisles and on stage. Each player is a virtuoso, and I thought the band had real polish….pun intended!
The Polish Folk revival has been a long time coming, but it is here, and well enough established so that at this point people are starting to experiment with it. This may dismay purists, but is inevitable. WoWaKin’s approach still cleaves to tradition with only minor excursions, like using a banjolele 😉 It is important to remember these are dance tunes, used for the release of positive energy at the end of a long day of work. Dances were an important part of the social fabric of rural life. It is wonderful to see these dance forms being carried on and enjoyed.
WoWaKin is: Paula Kinaszewska, violin and vocals, Mateusz Wachowiak, accordion and cello, and Bartłomiej Wozniak, drums, banjolele, and vocals. Here’swhat they have to say about the music, in their own words:
“I hope that this music will return to so called pop culture; that there will be a fashion for it, that we will all know these songs, and dance till we drop to obereks and polkas - this is my dream and that is what I work towards when I’m recording, teaching children and taking part in educational projects.” Paula Kinaszewska
“Traditional music continues to excite me. All too often I try to analyze the rhythms many of which fall outside the parameters of classical notation. This is music straight from the soul, pure energy, which in no way lends itself to being reined in and fastened to a stave. This music must be played” Mateusz Wachowiak
“Work on this album is for me a completely new experience. For the first time I have recorded dance music so close to its roots, for the first time I’m singing, and playing on the baraban, banjolele, dulcimer. All of this gives me tremendous joy and enormous energy.” Bartlomiej Wozniak