Zakopower engages Belarusians to get acquainted with Polish music

“Pan-studio” and Polish Institute have organized a concert of the popular Polish band Zakopower in Minsk to help Minsk music lovers get acquainted with modern Polish music. The educational idea of the organizers resulted in a positive response of the audience. It turned out that the majority of viewers did not know anything about the Polish musical stage.

“The idea is very good because it is always better to know than not to know, - confessed the director of the studio “Osmas”, Pavel Yurtsevich. – What other Polish band would I like to invite? It seems that I do need this “education” because I hardly know them.  Only “Rima” but it is because they take part in “Basowiszcza” and they are a good band. It is necessary to organize such concerts so that I knew who else I would like to listen to”.

Although some viewers confessed that they had come to listen to KRIWI – outstanding participants of the concert who rarely perform in Belarus – the good advertising of Zakopower’s performance gave its result: music lovers got interested in the band and came to get acquainted with the Polish musical culture.

“To tell you the truth, I did not know about Zakopower, - said Alena, a viewer. – I was invited to the concert and I accepted the invitation. I just read something before the concert, listened to the music a bit and thought that it was good that I had come”.

Zakopower turned out to be a strong men’s orchestra with nine musicians, fantastic sound and lighting. The art-rock the performance started with puzzled the audience at first: the band was described as an ethno-rock band in the advertisement.  However, it was meant: national instruments and elements of the musicians’ clothes reminded about their origin. And the songs were people’s songs adapted to the present.

“I almost reached the state of jumping to Gogol Bordello in the rain at Be2gether, - head of the “Talking Tomatoes Radio” Papa Pomidor shared his impressions. – It turned out that I knew very little about Polish music. I did not know about Zakopower. That is why it was a pleasant surprise”.

Zakopower’s art-rock changed to ethno-art-rock after the eleventh song. Representatives of the Polish Embassy and Polish Institute in Minsk supported the band by singing their songs and dancing during the whole concert. Polish Ambassador to Belarus Mr. Leszek Sherepka was pleased by his compatriots’ concert. However, he would not invite a modern band to Belarus next time.

Leszek Sherepka: “I am not that young and I would like to invite some of the old bands like Lady Pank and Perfect”.

Ihar Znyk, manager of many Belarusian bands in Poland, would like the organizers to pay attention to the new Polish project “R.U.T.A.”. Famous Polish musicians have joined the project. “R.U.T.A.” are making a Belarusian programme at the moment.

Ihar Znyk: “We would like to present the programme in Minsk in the first place. Secondly, Belarusians would be interested to look at the Poles’ approach to Belarusian music. It is one of the first projects where Polish musicians are working with Belarusian material”.

Belarusians would be glad to listen to Polish music even without any “Belarusian material” no matter how complicated  it may be (like Zakopower). Dear organizers! Do not stop, please! Continue filling up the gaps in our musical education!