Oliwia Kopcik, Interia: This year you are celebrating 40 years on stage, so first of all I must congratulate you on your career for so many years.
Małgorzata Ostrowska: – Thank you very much. It's 40, but the pandemic has messed things up a bit, so I'm still celebrating my 40th birthday (laughter).
At the beginning of this path, did you think that you would actually be able to make a living from music, or initially it was more of an adventure and we'll see what happens?
– Absolutely on an adventure basis. To be honest, I was even a little defensive about it. I wanted to be a biologist, I applied for biology, I didn't get in and I only enrolled in the Stage Art Studio in Poznań to spend the winter.
So plan B turned out to be the better one.
– That's one way to put it, indeed. Life and all events kept pushing me in this direction, probably since I was 11, and I did everything to reverse it. It didn't work out, fortunately.
Musicians who were active in the 1980s always have some funny anecdotes about those beginnings. Or ones that are funny now but were terrible back then.
– And I don't have one because I'm different (laughter). I don't remember any anecdotes, probably funny things happened somewhere, but I remember them at various, least expected moments. Right on cue, no.
You will celebrate your 40th anniversary, among others, at the Guinness Guitar Record or at Next Fest in Poznań. What can we expect at these concerts?
– Certainly what everyone expects, i.e. old songs, those that arouse sentiment, like “Meluzyna”. On the occasion of anniversary concerts, we play old songs, but not only the most famous ones. We also play some songs that we find interesting. Sometimes there are people who remember them, sometimes the public is just discovering them.
In connection with these concerts, especially at Next Fest, we also want to present some completely new repertoire, prepared for the latest album, which will be released in the fall. There will be some premiere songs, because we also want to show what's new going on with us.
I will stop for a moment at Next Fest. Many debutants will also present themselves there, or rather: mainly debutants will present themselves. Do you follow this young Polish scene?
– A little bit yes. I know that there will be mainly young performers at Next Fest, and we will be in the opposition and we will see how it will be received. I think it will be good, because people like best what they know well. And these young performers often refer to the 80s and 90s. I think it will be a cool event because it will be an attempt at such… confrontation. I don't know how it will turn out, because of course I have great stage fright myself, but such challenges must be taken.
Do you have any of these young people in mind with whom you would like to record something?
– Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. What I dislike most is rejection, so if I revealed something like that here and it didn't happen, it would be a disappointment. There are certainly such artists, there are many young and even younger performers. Among these young people, for example, Daria Zawiałow. But she also already has the younger generation behind her back. This is the way of things and the laws of the market.
What advice can you give to debutants? Or what would you tell yourself from 40 years ago?
– Since we are talking after 40 years and I can say that I managed to stay in people's memories, I would tell myself what I experienced. That you should pursue your passions, even though it is sometimes a very big risk, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. This is a very difficult profession, which, first of all, involves sharing very deep emotions. This is sometimes very difficult for people, it is for me too. Secondly, in this profession, even if you put everything on one card, you may fail.
However, I would still encourage young people to pursue their passions, because if they succeed, there will be great satisfaction. And besides, if you want to succeed, you have to devote yourself one hundred percent to it. It will work or it won't – it's a stroke of luck. But you have to take risks.
Do you think that debutants have it more difficult now, because anyone can post their material online and there is a lot of competition, or does that make it easier for them, because it is easier to present themselves to a wider audience? I've already heard from experienced musicians that they wouldn't want to debut now.
– I think they wouldn't want to debut at the moment, just like me, because the rules have completely changed. For me, they are difficult to understand because I know other ways of promoting, reaching people, and other principles of running this profession. Here we enter the managerial area. Yes, I definitely wouldn't want to debut in these times.
But is there much more competition? I don't know, because now, from the perspective of many years, we simply do not remember 90% of the artists and bands that debuted in the 1980s. They simply did not survive the time verification. Of those artists who are starting now, at least 90% will disappear and those who follow, in 10 or 20 years, will claim that there was much less competition in the 1920s. Time verifies all this. And human memory.
Leaving aside the debutants, I can't help but ask about the new “Mr. Kleks Academy”. “Journey into the land of fairy tales” has a new version, now sung by the film's Albert. Some say it's a profanation, others say it's nice that a new generation can get to know these classics, and what do you think about it?
– I watched it, I was at the premiere, and overall I like the film very much. I liked that it was a new look at old stories, old songs too, it's nice that they appear there. However, I did not like the new version of “Journey into the Land of Fairy Tales”. In my opinion, she lost something. This is my opinion, but of course everyone has the right to a completely different opinion, because there are probably people who like it more than the original.
It is much more lyrical, and when I listen to both versions, I have the impression that this song is about something different.
– New music has been added, first of all, the lyrics are not the same either, they are more of a quote, so it is not that song. Maybe that's how it should be assessed – as something completely new, where only fragments of the old text are quoted.
Was this “Mr. Kleks' Academy” a dream come true for you back then?
– There was no. For me it was a huge challenge, mainly the acting part. I absolutely did not expect that “Meluzyna” would become so popular. It was a challenge that I was very afraid of and a little defensive about it. I don't think anyone expected this movie to have such a story back then.
While writing down these questions, I was thinking that many people who grew up in the old Kleks area probably still wonder who Pustorak was.
– (laughter). Me too! I only know who Meluzyna was, but I haven't read anything about Pustorak.
I educated myself before the interview! This is a legend from the 14th century, Pustorak was the husband of Melusina and there was a story that he did not keep a given secret and a curse fell on his family.
– I'll fill in the gaps (laughter). I treated both characters as purely fictional characters.
And since we were talking about dreams, do you still have any musical ones?
– I have a lot of different dreams and I'm reluctant to share them because they usually don't come true.
Finally, philosophically – if the whole world were listening, what would you say?
– I would be glad! This is where my more sober view of life comes into play: there is no way the whole world can listen to me. I am extremely satisfied that through my songs, through a certain coincidence, life put me on stage and I have an audience listening to me. I am not a person who lives offensively, so if it were not for this coincidence, I would never be able to convey my emotions, thoughts, or any statements to a wider group of people. So I am extremely satisfied with what I have at the moment. And if the whole world listened to me, I would probably be even more so.