BOKKA in Wrocław: ambitious pop, electronic sounds and the band’s mysterious world

BOKKA are undoubtedly the biggest surprise of the past decade on Poland's music scene. With their line-up still an absolute secret, the band have taken ambitious pop to unprecedented heights while having a wonderful time. City Sounds invites you to see the mysterious BOKKA on 22 January in the atmospheric Gothic Hall at Stary Klasztor, ul. Purkyniego 1.

They debuted a year ago with an album simply titled “BOKKA”. When a modest video for “Town of Strangers” appeared online, it unleashed a frenzy, setting social networks and online media alight! The project’s ultra-modern sound and air of mystery proved a perfect combination. No 2013 ranking was complete without BOKKA near the top. The band also won praise from Pitchfork, an exceptional occurrence on the Polish scene.

The album is driven by unfettered imagination and a bold spirit of experimentation. It features superb, original compositions that began with sounds drawn from everyday life: a shaken bottle of water, tissue and shoe boxes being struck, and nuts dropped into a drum. All of this is presented as an irresistible, continuous and utterly unrestricted musical adventure. There is the infectious, straight-out-of-the-1980s “Violet Mountain Tops” and the new-wave spirit of “K&B”. Brimming with positive energy, “Reason” will knock you off your feet. “Strange Spaces” is equally stunning: a mix of seemingly incompatible elements in which the beat becomes a backdrop to a psychedelic solo recalling King Crimson’s finest work. The album’s promotional single, “Town Of Strangers”, is built on a hypnotic vocal and a minimalist beat that sounds as though it has been lifted straight from an old vinyl record.

Then came fantastic live performances, both at major festivals — Open’er Festival, Audioriver, Tauron Nowa Muzyka, Męskie Granie and Britain's The Great Escape — and in clubs large and small. Every BOKKA appearance is a small musical celebration. It is hard to imagine a better setting than the walls of Stary Klasztor.

▶

Listen and watch

▶