And so, in 2022, the Bassałyki project was born. The originator and main producer of the project is Mariusz Dziurawiec, aka Mario Activator, one of the most renowned alchemists of the audio sphere, musician, bassist, DJ and producer, dub mainstay of Joint Venture – apioneering sound system on the banks of the Wisła River. Co-founder of the legendary AS One Studio. In the crew of the Warsaw Village Band for over 20years. He invited music producers and instrumentalists Grzegorz Rytka, Michał Marecki, and Jerzy Markuszewski to collaborate on the project.
In addition to WVB’s immortal evergreens, now presented in ethno-dub arrangements, a new repertoire has also been created. An innovative, progressive style. The bass guitar and dub drive of the band’s double bass player, Paweł Mazurczak, are a novelty here. There is an extended set of baraban drums by Piotr Gliński and a shamanic drum, as well as bowl swith a rootsy gallop of Maciej Szajkowski’s frame drum. Traditional acoustic instruments – Polish fidel, dulcimer, violin, and hurdy-gurdy – resound in perfect interplay and harmony under the fingers of Magdalena Sobczak-Kotnarowska, Sylwia Świątkowska, and Ewa Wałecka. They construct chants and polyphony that captivate with the authenticity of the white voice.
Miłosz Gawryłkiewicz, a trumpet virtuoso, is joined (to form the horn section) by Grzegorz Rytka, a tenor and baritone saxophonist fascinated by all things trance in music, from jazz, blues, afrobeat, and reggae to punk rock and world music.
Michal Marecki has similar sonic inclinations. An arranger, composer and sound virtuoso, he specialises in the creation of ambient spaces, electronic collages and sonic transmissions. He has been collecting the sounds of analogue and digital instruments for many years. They all fulfil one condition – they must resonate with the soul.
The third musketeer behind the Bassałyki conceptis Jerzy Markuszewski. A shaman of percussion and futuristic membranophones. His credo is maximum minimalism, perfect groove, and extreme rhythmic sensitivity. With a single beat, he can capture the essence of the art of drumming. With a tap on the bass drum and the snare, he can guide you into a deep hypnosis.
It is the trance that is the core element that binds the musicians together. Let yourself be carried away!