Dagadana with “List do Ciebie”: Janusz Różewicz’s poems, folklore and electronics

Ethno Jazz Festival invites you to a concert by Dagadana, a band well known to Polish world music enthusiasts.

The Polish-Ukrainian trio have just recorded an album setting poems by Janusz Różewicz, elder brother of outstanding poet and playwright Tadeusz Różewicz, a Wrocław resident for many years. The band will present the material to Wrocław audiences on 12 February at Firlej, ul. Grabiszyńska.

This time, the band renowned for unconventional folklore/electronics combinations turned to unjustly forgotten poet Janusz Różewicz. “List do Ciebie” combines characteristic DAGADANA sounds with the work of this little-known Polish poet, brother of Tadeusz and Stanisław. “We must tell the story of this extraordinary, unjustly forgotten figure,” emphasise the musicians, who have spent recent months touring extensively in Asia, Europe and South America.

The new album consists of twelve tracks. Carefully selected poems by Janusz Różewicz intertwine with the recorded material’s sound in a truly exceptional way. Through music, DAGADANA seek to highlight the beauty of this young poet’s work, which the world never had time to discover and appreciate. The musicians hope this unusual combination will help the poems reach the widest possible audience. The project also has the support of the poet’s family, including his brother, Tadeusz Różewicz.

For the album, the group invited American drummer Frank Parker, whose collaborators have included Kurt Elling, Randy Brecker and John Patitucci. Marcin Pospieszalski oversaw the entire musical production, having previously worked with Armia, Raz Dwa Trzy, Martyna Jakubowicz, Zakopower, Tie Break, Young Power, Soyka Yanina & Kompania and Anna Maria Jopek.

The album’s presentation also deserves particular attention. Alongside the CD, the package contains a selection of Janusz Różewicz’s poems in Polish and in Ukrainian and English translation, comments from many distinguished journalists, musicians and cultural figures, and a letter from DAGADANA. Specially created collages illustrate the whole package. The musicians explored their family archives and shared the photographs they found there. More than one familiar face can be spotted in these evocative images.

The band will begin touring three days before the album's release. They will visit not only major cities, including Białystok, Łódź, Kraków, Poznań, Szczecin, Warsaw and Wrocław, but also smaller towns such as Strumień. The concerts will be accompanied by a letter-writing and posting campaign. Everyone attending a DAGADANA concert will be able to send a unique keepsake to their loved ones.

“List do Ciebie” will be released on 15 February by DAGADANA, Narodowe Centrum Kultury and Etnoteka.pl. Release partners are the National Audiovisual Institute (NInA) and Poczta Polska. The album was created as part of the National Programme for the Development of Reading 2014–2020. Karrot Kommando concert and publishing agency supports, distributes and promotes the release.

Dagadana’s line-up: Dagmara Gregorowicz – vocals, electronics. Dana Wynnycka – vocals, piano. Mikołaj Pospieszalski – double bass, violin.