“Spacer po Warszawie” is a conceptual album. In the songs we will hear, artists associated with the capital show us its contemporary face – they talk about the corners they have chosen, personal memories associated with them, or stories that happened or could have happened on the streets of Warsaw. The aim of the project is to pay tribute to Warsaw and recall its connections with Polish popular music – we read in the information about the upcoming album.
He is responsible for the artistic concept and music production Robert Cichy – an artist who was awarded the Fryderyk statuette for his original albums “Smack” and “Dirty Sun”, in 2019 and 2021. He participated in nearly a hundred recordings of albums by Polish artists, in various roles: from composer to instrumentalist, and some of these productions received the title of Gold or Platinum Record. In his musical activity, he does not focus on specific musical genres, he moves with equal ease in pop, rock, alternative music and hip hop. He also constantly experiments with the sound and character of compositions.
In the first single “Nowolipki” (check!) she sang Ania Dąbrowska – Robert Cichy has been supporting her as a guitarist for 20 years.
The album prepared by the National Center for Culture (publisher and producer of the album) will consist of ten songs written and performed by invited artists. Together with them, Robert Cichy drew a personal musical map of the city. This is how the album was created, on which subsequent songs were named after the capital’s streets, creating a special walking route around Warsaw.
Michał Boroń, Interia: What was it like with “Idol”, how did you get into the program? Someone tell ushe said? You decided yourself that you need to checktry your best?
Ania Dąbrowska: – When the casting for the first “Idol” began, I was studying psychology in Warsaw. No one encouraged me, it was just this inner call, a bit suppressed over the years, or whatever you want to call it, passion for singing that “dragged” me to this casting. I thought I had finished making music, but something inside me wouldn’t let me forget about music.
How do you remember that time after 20 years? Did any friendships survive, or did you go back to your own world when the cameras turned off?
– I remember this whole experience very well, it was like a dream come true. It was a bit like going to a great summer camp. I moved from a small town to the capital for a few weeks, lived in a fancy hotel, basically all inclusive, and in the good company of people who have similar passions and similar dreams. I absorbed every moment like a sponge, and the least important thing for me was the competition itself. We kept in touch for a while, but eventually we all went our separate ways. A year ago I invited you to a concert at the Stodoła club Ewelina Flintawe sang together “Simply the best” by Tina Turner and let me tell you, it was really… I wish I could curse it!
Would you take such a step today (knowing what your fate has turned out to be)?
– Of course.
Did your “Idol” experience help you while working as a coach in ““The Voice of Poland”? You regret that this adventure ended so quicklyand? Sam myou said you were too harsh on the participantthat.
– These are two completely different experiences. Unfortunately, participating in “Idol” as a participant did not prepare me to be a juror. I guess I can say that I don’t have television intuition. Honestly, it was all stressful. I felt the burden of responsibility for my choices. After all, these programs are designed to arouse many emotions. You need to have nerves of steel, for me the cortisol dose was too high. Will I ever do it again? Nobody knows, I don’t rule anything out, maybe one day I will be more relaxed.
It’s also been 20 years since the premiere of “Loneliness after Twilight” – do you ever come back to this album? How do you remember working on this album?
– I regularly come back to this album, even at concerts. I naturally have great sentiment for her. The work on this album was long. Everything was so first, so new to me. The producer of the album is Bogdan Kondracki. We worked for him in a rented apartment in Mokotów. We didn’t have a rigidly defined style or genre. The record company didn’t interfere with our work either, although many people think about the Polish music industry in this way. Nobody imposed anything on me then, Bogdan and I had artistic freedom. It was nice to discover myself through music, I liked it.
Sometimes you wonder what it is about Ania Dąbrowska that makes you love her so muchand you the audience?
– Hmm, unfortunately I don’t know the answer to this question. In my head I am still Ania from Chełm, who sometimes would like to sink into the ground when she sees such a crowd of people. All I can say is thank you and maybe it’s all thanks to the songs…
In addition to writing for yourself, you sometimes write for other artiststhat. Is it more difficult because you have to get into the mood of a given person, or is it easier because you don’t have to “pack” yourself into the song?
– It’s different. I like challenges, working for others is sometimes more motivating than writing for myself. I can’t stand stagnation, I willingly go beyond my framework, beyond what I already know by heart. It happens that a request for one song results in ten songs, and a request from a label for my new album… nothing for five years. I need artistic stimulation, a spark that will set me on fire. Writing for others often motivates and pleases me even more than writing for myself.
At the end of 2022, you presented a new song “Someone else”. Is this an announcement of some new plan?that? It will be eight years since the last album “For Naive Dreamers”.
– I’m still composing, I’ve collected a lot of material over these eight years, but at this stage I don’t have anything concrete in the form of an album yet.
Not only 20 years have passed since “Idol” and your debut, but that’s also how long you have togetherplaying with Robert Cichy. How did you meet? It was immediately surprising that you had to get there somehow?
– I played without a guitarist in my live lineup for a long time at the beginning of my career, and there came a moment when I missed this sound. The musicians who played with me knew Cichy. Once I went to a concert Chilli, Robert’s team. He had a broken arm in a cast, but he decided to play anyway. What surprised me then was his enormous stage charisma and a large dose of sense of humor. I offered him cooperation and we immediately started working on my second album. “Several Stories on the Same Topic” is filled with his guitars, he certainly contributed to the atmosphere and style of this album. We’ve had a lot of fun on tour together over the years. Cichy has several hidden talents that always make us laugh. For example, he can imitate the voices of famous people.
After playing for so many years, you probably know each other like bald horses, so you probably weren’t surprised by the invitation to play together.a general walk around Warsaw?
– I was very happy. And when I heard the demo of the song that Cichy wrote with my vote for this project in mind, I had no doubts that he wanted to take part in it. I also liked the concept of this project, in which the streets, which are also the titles of the songs, mark the route of a non-obvious walk around Warsaw. The artistic spark that I mentioned earlier appeared here and ignited my action.
Do you like to wander aimlessly sometimes? Do you have your favorite places for a walk?
– Now I mainly walk with my dogs around the Wawer meadows and fields and I love it. The hustle and bustle of the city center excites me less than before. I like to observe how nature changes according to the seasons, and each has its own charms. Sometimes I meet wild boars, less often foxes, and regularly pheasants. It’s a pity that all this will be built over someday…
How long have you been living in Warsaw and can you confidently say that it is your city?
– I have lived in Warsaw for about 20 years. Is this my city? Chełm will always be in the first place, but I love Warsaw in many respects, especially Wawer, I relax here.
You recorded the song “Nowolipki” with Cichy – how would you explain to people from outside Warsaw what this region is and what it reminds you of?
– Ciche’s idea was that some of the streets from the “Walk around Warsaw” project would be a challenge for the invited artists, so that it would not be a street that I know very well or that I live on. That’s why I had to immerse myself in “Nowolipki”, I had to take on the role of someone who lives in this place. This is a beautiful part of Warsaw with nice tenement houses. Perfect place for a walk. Nowolipki connects with the Krasiński Garden, a unique city park in Śródmieście.
She once lived in Nowolipki Maria Curie-Skłodowska, during World War II. Nowolipki was also part of the Warsaw ghetto. Personally, when I walk there, I feel both the beauty and the weight resting on these walls. This part of Warsaw has a lot of history, but we focused on contemporary stories, and I wanted to write a text that you can listen to and identify with in any other place.
Do you have Saintoh my favorite songsomething about Warsaw or a favorite artist closely associated with the capital?
– It’s impossible not to mention what a classic it is “Dream about Warsaw” by Czesław Niemen. This is definitely my favorite. And soon my favorite Warsaw project will be “Spacer po Warszawie”, where each song is truly something special!
You’ve probably already heard the whole project, or at least you know the details from Cichy – which area of Warsaw would you visit based on these recordings??
– This project is a journey through many levels, and each artist tells it to us in a different way. The aim of the project is to provoke reflection on the fact that every street has a history created by people, buildings and events. First of all, this is not about well-known tourist trails, you won’t find such a walking route in any guidebook. The performers invite you to this walk through their stories and emotions presented in Cichy’s various compositions and combined with his production.
This is a really very interesting project, which will be released as an album on July 12, and until then there will be successive singles and events accompanying the premieres of these singles, i.e. guided walks around a given street or surrounding area. “Spacer po Warszawie” is a concept album, it’s worth listening to it and following all the recordings. I would dive into this project in its entirety, but above all, I’m curious about where these songs will take listeners.
The guitarist, vocalist, composer, producer won two Fryderyk statuettes in 2019 for his first solo album “Smack” in the following categories: country/blues album of the year and country/blues music production. The award jury appreciated Cichy’s experimental approach to the sound of the guitar and his introduction of modernity to blues and country.
In 2019, Cichy was also the winner of a competition on radio Trójka i Męskiego Granie – won nearly 10,000 audience votes, which allowed him to be included in the concert line-up on the MG tour, as well as a music video from Papaya Young Directors.
Robert Cichy headed the teams Chilli and June. He cooperated with Ania Dąbrowska, Urszula Dudziak, Michał Urbaniak Whether Ania Rusowicz. He composed for Piotr Ziołarecorded for Julia Pietrucha.
In the recordings of his second album “Dirty Sun” (2021), he was supported by, among others: Rahim, Mrozu, Sosnowski and Kasai. At the end of 2022, Cichy released the experimental release “3 & remixed”. This is an album consisting mainly of remixes of selected songs from two original albums; also includes three new songs.