Sofar Sounds curates secret, intimate gigs in living rooms

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35th edition - 12th July, 2019

After almost a year of technical break, we're back in the game with Sofar Sounds Krakow. Our first event was a special ''Iranian'' Sofar, created in cooperation with Krakow's city council (www.krakow.pl), mr Jan Burkat, mr Jerzy Donimirski (donimirski.com), Perskie Dywany, East Analytics, and Uvibe. Posters for our event were designed by Spaced Studio, everything was filmed by Rafał Kuczyński, and the audio was taken care of by Manufaktura Dźwięku. The event took place at Studio Luma, a place located at ulica Ślusarska 9, near Kazimierz district. At first, our city leader Marianna Kosch introduced to the audience the story behind Sofar Sounds.

There were only two Iranian artists playing that evening: Farkey & Sasan Bakhsheshi. During their sets, people could see a range of beautiful photos from Iran taken by Poza Trasą Adventure. Colorful Persian rugs were lying on the floor and people needed to take off their shoes in order not to damage these rugs somehow. Farkey, an Iranian musician who plays electronic ambient/electronic/minimal got to the stage first. It was his first live performance (and he has only one song on Soundcloud) and much to that, it was incredible to experience it there, at Studio Luma, in Poland. The musician used a voice of a famous Iranian singer in some of the songs he played. His music created a rather soothing atmosphere and you could see people moving their heads to the rhythm, seating and smiling with eyes closed. By the end he played a quite spontaneous (and great) improvisation on Nord Stage 3 and people were very pleased with his performance. We recommend all of you to listen to his music.

Then, after 10 minutes break, Sasan Bakhsheshi started his set by saying that when he arrived in Poland a few days before the event and met many amazing people, he noticed that Poland and Iran are not so much different from one another, because both countries got through so much in history and survived. As he told the audience, he plays an „industrial noise music”. It wasn't a usual 3 or 4-song set like artists play at our events, it was rather a long sequence of sounds cut into two parts. The music felt like a journey through space and time – a link between two countries, two cultures.  The sound gradually became louder and louder. Some songs started quite peacefully, then they shifted toward a more industrial-driven or noise-driven vibe which created a peculiar atmosphere, a feeling of loosing oneself into music. And once again, you could see people moving their heads or shoulders to the rhythm, and enjoying the set very much, as they could not stop applauding after the musician ended his performance. An amazing music worth listening to!

After our gig, people cheerfuly talked with one another and with the artists, praising their music. But the special ''Iranian'' edition of our Sofar without the help of all the aforementioned people and organizations and, of course, all of the audience, music lovers who came to our gig. Our next gig is very near. 19th July – we're coming!

[sofarkrakow]

Message from Team Sofar Sounds Krakow

Guys, we need to talk.

Many of you ask when will another Sofar concert be.

We answer: We are having a small technical break, in the next few weeks there will be no concerts.

We want to provide you with the best gig experience possible, please be patient.

If there is a concert coming, we'll let you know! ❤️

Meanwhile, we'll entertain you through our social media, suggest best events in our city and remind you about some awesome performances from Sofar Kraków's past gigs.

Stay tuned! 🤗

[sofarkrakow]

33rd edition - 13th July, 2018

Two nights of Sofar Sounds Krakow in a row (we did that for the first time in history), what an epic weekend it could be! On the first night, we, once again, were at the beautiful Goethe-Institut Krakau located in the heart of Kraków (in the Main Square). Goethe-Institut Krakau promotes German culture, so we had some international artists playing there that night.

Chilè, Polish-Czech-French electropop trio played at the beginning of the event. The vocalist Joulie Fox is Polish, the drummer Miro Haldina is Czech and the bassist Damien Ricaud is French. Together they play quite an interesting blend of hard bass and good melody. Speaking in Polish, Joulie Fox joked about how little she understand Miro Haldina, and how much he understands Polish language. They even gave some examples which are, unfortunately,  rather hard to explain. It was a short, but intense set. Mainly because of the bass and the energy of Chilè’s music. But also because it was simply close that day. Nevertheless, the trio were great. The second song they played was their newest single Rhythm of Joy. The title speaks for itself. It was truly the rhythm that brought joy and happiness to the audience. And seeing Damien Ricaud dancing constantly with his bass swinging over his shoulder. Then, they played a song called Am I Wrong, Lykke Li’s cover I Follow Rivers and, at the end, Because of Weather. They very much tuned into the music.

We were back after 10 minutes break with Pola Chobot & Adam Baran. The duo plays blues. One can tell by Chobot’s tone, that she was born to sing the blues. There is much authenticity in their music and in the raw sound of Baran’s guitar. It’s intense (once again, but in entirely different way than it was with Chilè), gripping and just amazing. The vocalist spoke quite much that evening, telling funny stories. She even said that she prepared more than just few stories, but she forgot them the moment she went on stage. At the beginning they played a song called Wstyd (Embarrasment), which, as Chobot said after singing the song, is the perfect title for what she felt then: she discovered that she did not hear herself singing. But the problem was fixed by our technician rightaway. When on stage, she has a little tambourine attached to her shoe - her invention - and she beats out the rhythm of the songs she sings. Then the duo played Brudno (Messily). The vocalist said that everything started with the song. They were looking for a drummer, but no one wanted to play with them, so they decided to play as a duo. And when they did, magically, everyone wanted to play with them. At Goethe Institut they performed with their friend Jarek Korzonek on drums. Pola Chobot also told a story of how she and Adam Baran decided to work at Camp America for 3 months. So they flew over: she was just a laundrywoman, he worked as a driver. There, they wrote a long piece on men in a kitchen (sung in English), heavily inspired by 1920’s, and 30’s blues. They ended their short set with the mesmerizing song. It was a marvel, people could not stop applauding.

German duo CEEYS played at the end, soothing the audience with their enchanting sounds. The room was very stuffy, but the music somehow made people forget about all the airlessness. They played on cello and piano. It was quite different from the previous performances. The still beauty of their performance moved the audience. All of the people gathered in the room very much appreciated every sound of it. And so the first night ended. 

[sofarkrakow]

32nd edition - 29th June, 2018

We started the holiday season with our 32 edition at the end of June, at Spółdzielnia ogniwo. It was quite a big room with a scene in the middle, where the concerts took place. That was were all three artists performed that evening. Many people came, ready to hear some really good music.

Kasia Tontor, with the help of Piotr Grzanka on trumpet and DJ KOSTA, performed at the beginning of this truly wonderful evening. Her work is hugely inspired by black music and one can easily hear it in her songs. They got the vibe, the groove that makes one want to close his/her eyes and dance to the rhythm. And the vocalist did dance on the stage. She was really feeling the music. As usual, we recorded some songs and the vocalist asked people to stand up and dance during two of them. Some people stood up and started to sway a little, and after roughly a minute, at least six people were dancing. The setlist on her show included two singles from her upcoming album - I’m Fine and Coolgirl - as well as a song Don’t Talk to Me, two songs from the other EP she released in the past, and a tease of an amazing one minute tease / cover of Childish Gambino’s hit Redbone. She surprised most people with that for sure. That set was quite upbeat and energetic.

After about 15 minutes of break, during which people went outside and to the bar to cool themselves, Kirszenbaum went up to the stage, an extraordinary duo of Jakub Wiśniewski and Kacper Szpyrka. Why extraordinary? When our MC Klaudia Urban asked them how best to describe their music in one word, they had no idea. It’s hard to state a specific genre of their work. For the sake of this post, we can say it’s unusual and original alternative music. They play on violin and guitar, with the help of lots of guitar effects pedals and a looper. Their lyrics are rather bizarre or strange, some would say. At Spółdzielnia Ogniwo Kirszenbaum started their set with Samogongon (the name is a word play between Polish samogon which means a shine and ogon which means tail) the vocalist Jakub Wiśniewski sang about meeting a snake, which was constantly making a shine. Then, there was a song in which he sang of being in Tibet for seven minutes (a reference to the book / movie Seven Years in Tibet), and one song about a Golem storming through a city. Kirszenbaum’s last song was about The Groke from Tove Jansson’s Moomin books, yet again combining incredibly good music with witty and intelligent lyricism. Such a fantastic performance.

At the end of our June gig sang Kat Galie, a talented musician who, as a part of duo Kayte, performed at one of our past shows. This time as a solo artist, she sang The River and The Moon from her EP MOONLIGHT, which she released on 5th of May, 2018. Moreover, she played some songs that did not make it to the EP - Hands Can’t Deny and The Right Way - and Cosmic, a song of the duo Kayte. Although in the songs she sang, there is a discernable melancholy behind the lyrics, her delicate and soft voice soothed the audience. Can there be a better way to cool oneself (besides water and beverages) than to listen to such a fine music? People were very much delighted, cheering and applauding. One could say they clearly enjoyed the evening. We, once again, with the help of our partners, including Hergon printing house and Uvibe, brought smile to their faces.

[sofarkrakow]

30th edition - 12th April, 2018

At our April gig everyone felt like it was June or July already. With warm weather outside and happy feelings we returned to Wytwórnia, a studio and place for open workshops. And some four-legged friends were there too, enjoying the evening of truly wonderful performances. We had a delay and some technical problems but it didn’t spoil the good mood.

In the middle of the room was a piano, indicating the nature of that evening. Sternlumen, a composer from Copenhagen got up first to enchant the audience with his music. During his performance, he reminded the audience, that 12th of April was the 57th Anniversary of the day Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin went to space, and he commemorated the day with a piece he wrote. The last piece he played was called Neon Lakes. As he smoothly ran through the piano keys, all people gathered there felt the swing in the atmosphere. It was as if he switched an invisible button joy. Apparently there was no melancholy in his music, just pure passion, love and a positive energy that seemed to flow through the room. It was very impressive.

As a second artist performed none other than Helaine Vis, a young and talented singer-songwriter from Krakow. She performed at our shows in the past and people simply loved it, the music and her pure, angelic voice. The same happened that evening, when she performed her own material live for the second time ever. Beginnings are always the hardest, and she apologized for being nervous, yet, all that nervousness was invisible to the audience as they were quite fascinated with her voice. Helaine Vis’s performance started with Ice, a lovely and sad ballad. Then she proceeded with two more songs, ending with a song she wrote as an acknowledgment to her parents and family.

The last to perform was Simeon Walker, a talkative modern-classical pianist and composer from Leeds. He plays slightly different music than Sternlumen. Walker describes his work as sad piano music. The audience went silent the moment he started playing his pieces. He played quietly, people weren’t making any sound focusing on the pianist. Louder noises from outside the window suddenly were hushed as we all sank into the melancholy. The compositions played that evening were moving to the core. Walker played a song called Drift from his newest album Mono. When introducing the songs, he spoke about how a certain American graphic artist created the cover art for Mono after just hearing some of Walker’s music. The composer didn’t talk him through his inspirations and the meaning behind all songs, yet in that particular artwork, the artist enhanced all what inspired Walker to create this music. He also played Hush, about the need to hide from whatever’s bad in the world, and Shelter, a song he released recently. Last song he played was a short piece introduced with a story of how at the end of the day some monks say a prayer of comfort as a way to sum all day up. He was happy and sad at the same time, as that was his last show in April. After doing some Sofar shows he returns home.  He even managed to sneak a bit of politics into his performance, commenting on the current situation in UK. Walker mentioned that he is a piano teacher, and he teaches some Polish children. He told them about the trip to Poland he was going to make, and ask if they could teach him some Polish words or phrases. Unfortunately, after playing in Germany, when he arrived to Krakow, all he could remember at our show was Dziękuję (Thank you), which seems enough, considering that Polish language is very difficult to learn.

A brilliant atmosphere and amazing performances enlightened our spirits. Due to the delay all of our April guests are invited to our May edition. Happy for the April gig to successfully end, we can’t wait for the next month.

[sofarkrakow]

29th edition - March 23rd, 2018

It’s getting warmer and warmer outside, as Spring slowly takes control over the flora and fauna in Poland. We bid a solid farewell to Winter, hoping for her not to come around until at least November. And, most importantly, we celebrated our 3rd Birthday, inside the exquisite HILO Apartments!

Before our first concert began, our MC Klaudia Urban briefly talked all the people gathered in the apartment through the history behind Sofar Sounds Krakow, and Sofar Sounds in general. None other than our city leader Marianna Kosch, after attending Sofar Sounds London gig, had the brilliant idea, and enough courage to transfer this idea to Kraków, resulting in 1st ever Sofar Sounds Krakow gig on April 1st, 2015. 

And there we were, three years later. Well, almost, to be exact. Nevertheless, after handing out some chocolate cupcakes to our guests, Sabina got up to the stage and started her set as the first musician to perform that evening. The girl has so much power in her voice, she could easily tear that apartment down. Yet she sang with incredible smoothness and feeling. She and her band performed her entire Live Session EP, with a slight change of sequence. Starting with Lepidoptera (meaning Butterfly in Greek) she sang of love, passion, desire and freedom. Then she performed her first single Kołysanka (Lullaby) about physical love of woman to a man. She ended her set with Sreberka (Wrappers), a song about kissing. She sang her heart out for sure.

So did the second performing artist, Edyta Górecka. She’s the living embodiment of kindness and an easy grace. And she has one of the most soothing, superb voices one could ever hear, at least in Poland. Her and her band’s marvelous performance started with Poznaniowa, a song which is actually not about Poznań, one of the larger Polish cities, but about life of a retired sailor Edyta Górecka once met when walking around the beach by the sea. It was only composed in Poznań. When introducing her next song, Mitologiczne miasta (Mythological Cities), she suggested closing one’s eyes, as this song is about a journey to past moments of happiness and freedom, the ones even from childhood. The last song performed that evening, Sierpień (August), took all of us back to dreamy-like, warm and happy summer days. The audience enjoyed it so much, they couldn’t stop applauding.

NIOMÍ, a singer-songwriter from London was the last to perform. She played on keyboard and sang in a delicate manner, as if to lull us to sleep. But no one would fall asleep, not after hearing her voice. As for the music, people were amazed by these simple and melancholic, yet somehow powerful tunes. NIOMÍ’s new single Sugar will be out on the 5th of April, that is a date worth remembering for everyone who loved her performance, as for sure, there were such people.

How magical it was to hear all of the artists playing and singing. And seeing so many music lovers cheering and enjoying the evening really put smiles on our faces. We could only wish for years of Sofar Sounds Krakow, as we will do our best organizing them in the future. Three years? Let’s make it… (insert a number).

[sofarkrakow]

28th edition - February 14th, 2018

With our February gig on Valentine’s Day we greeted people with open hearts. It was at the premises of Making Waves, a counselling agency specialized in IT. The agency threw their really well-arranged, cosy-looking room open for us, and provided various kinds of snacks for all the guests. At the beginning of the gig our city leader Marianna Kosch introduced one of the evening’s hosts to tell something about Making Waves, mainly what is the agency’s main field of activity.

The first musician to perform, at that special in many respects and full of surprises edition, was our dear friend Ed Carlsen. It was his third time playing for us. As he explained that was not his ordinary performance, for during the show he used electronic samples from his laptop, and he usually plays calm, peaceful and slow ambient songs. He played a not-yet-released song, so he was not keen to tell the audience its title. But the song was really good, and people cheered. When he played, he empathized so much with it that the leg of the piano bench he was sitting on almost broke. But it was slightly damaged earlier, so it was not Ed’s fault. Before playing another song he asked the crowd how many couples were there that evening. He was surprised to see that only few people raised their hands and went on to play a more typical song of his, a Loom, from his latest album. Then, he announced the first surprise of the evening by introducing a young and talented Polish singer Jagoda Kudlińska from a band Lor to join him. The duo performed for the first time their collaborative single Snowman. It was a rather fast song with Jagoda singing beautifully (again and again people compared her to a Norwegian singer Aurora) and Ed playing not only piano but guitar. As it was Ed Carlsen’s last song, after they finished, people could not stop cheering and applauding. It was really a remarkable experience.

After ten minutes break our MC and city leader introduced Rubie, our surprise guest, an extraordinary singer-songwriter with a powerful voice. Rubie played on piano with passion and strength. Durability of the piano bench was put to the test once again. They started with a sad a cappella song about one’s identity. It was a rather personal song representing the as Rubie identify themselves as neither a man nor a woman. Then, they played a very dynamic song in which Rubie laid their vocal talent before the audience. Rubie have the voice like one would not expect them to have. The entire set was emotional and gripping.

It was Amani, a marvellously talented singer from London, who invited Rubie to come with her and her bandmate. In the previous year she released her first Perpendicular. At our gig she sang some of the songs from that album. She also did an a cappella piece which was quite intense. Her amazing, soothing yet somehow strong, voice charmed all the people gathered in the room. Her songs could almost touch the core of one’s soul. She sang them with passion and dedication, creating comfort while filling people’s hearts with joy.

Last to perform was a renowned Polish producer Wojtek Urbański. He recently composed music for AXN’s TV series Ultraviolet starring famous Polish actors and actresses like Agata Kulesza (who led in the Awards winner for Best Foreign Language Film in 2015 Ida). On that evening Urbański showed how talented he really is and proved to be a perfect closing musician creating a special atmosphere in the, already filled with positive emotions, room. He played the music from Ultraviolet with some of his older compositions, and recalled that one particular song he played in Kraków that was recorded in a submarine. What an experience it had to be!

All of the performing musicians showed the people their craft, their artistic sensibility and the ability to attract and charm the crowd. For all we knew after the show, people were quite sad to leave. With the help of our partners (Artery Hotels, Hergon printing house, On Lemon, Valerio Rubino, Skład Muzyczny, Uvibe) and our great hosts we, once again, successfully showed that music is a language that everyone understands. And it would be impossible if it weren’t for the people, all music lovers and music freaks that gathered there. What an evening to remember!

[sofarkrakow]

27th edition - January 19th, 2018

Our first show in 2018 was at Krakow Technology Park - one could be stunned by the place’s design. All modern style architecture, with framed photos from our previous shows on the wall (thanks to lablab), and little lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling slowly turning on and then off during the concerts, repeatedly, so to add up even more atmosphere to the gig.

At the beginning, our MC introduced Mateusz Cybula, Manager of Technology working at the venue. He introduced himself and thanked for the opportunity of hosting such an event. The first to perform that evening was Sonbird, a young alternative rock band with high hopes and dreams. And actually their dreams might come true, as their gaining more and more attention and acclaim. Their debut album is set to be released in spring. At our gig, they played a short acoustic set consisting of five songs. Among them was their soon-to-be single called Głodny (Hungry). Starting off with their debut single Ląd (Land), they brought smile to people's faces with their performance. Besides these two songs, they played Wtorek (Tuesday), Ananasy (Pineapples), and Wada (A Vice). During the penultimate song, the vocalist and the guitarist Dawid Mędrzak forgot the song lyrics - he paused for a few seconds, then he laughed and started singing Pa pa ra ra. Were people bothered? No. They sang with him! It was a very refreshing and energizing set.

After ten minutes break, The Moon, French - Polish duo lulled the audience with their soothing folk songs. The combination of cello and acoustic guitar was perfect for a cold winter evening. One of the songs they played, entitled Margo, was a song the vocalist and the guitarist wrote for his little niece. They created a very unique atmosphere of proximity, exactly what Sofar Sounds is so famous for.

Speaking of proximity, the last concert of the evening delineated the boundaries between musician and audience, or at least redefined them in some people’s minds. All because of Charlie Hole, a well-known British singer-songwriter who, at the end of his set, at first unplugged his guitar, then went to sing between people sitting on the floor. All of it while playing a cover of Three Little Birds to exhilarate everyone. But earlier on, he played his own four songs: Stones on a Sandy Beach, Find Someone Who Cares, Someone Else’s Dream and Chapel of Unrest. What's most important, he told funny stories while introducing the songs. Find Someone Who Cares is a song he wrote for his father’s wedding. His father asked him to play something for the occasion, so Hole asked him what song would he like him to play. “There’s this Bob Marley song, No Woman, No Cry”, Hole’s father replied. That was a terrible choice, obviously, so Hole’s father asked him to write something. The last song, Chapel of Unrest was written as Charlie Hole's “ticket to a radio station in UK”. But the radio station refused to play the song, saying it was too dark for the radio. At Krakow Technology Park he brought down the house with his vocals and guitar. People cheered and applauded him for a long time.

The atmosphere of the place, with its design, along with all the skilful performers, and the feedback from our partners (Artery Hotels, Hergon printing house, On Lemon, Valerio Rubino, Skład Muzyczny, Uvibe) contributed to the success of our January edition. Of course, what would it be without the people who came to our gig? Going home, one could hear people talking about how they cannot wait until next Sofar performance in February. How delightful to hear such praises!

[sofarkrakow]

26th edition - December 15th, 2017

 Sitting in peace and focused on the moment, people enjoyed our December edition. All because of both the musicians involved and the location where the concerts took place. Centrum Kultury Dworek Białoprądnicki, with it's structure and classical interior,  was a perfect choice for such performances. A grand piano was a lead of that evening.

However it all started with a laptop and Ukrainian Melancholy Drive. The two, Alana and Dima, met in Lviv. Then, they discovered that they were born on the same day. Such a blessing resulted in a musical friendship and forming a band that combines samples from a laptop and a piano. Pleasant, lovely sounds entwined in the air. During their performance, they had some minor technical difficulties, but it all created the feeling of authencity and naturalness. Besides, when they started playing again, people instantly forgot about it. Dima, the vocalist, sings in a very high notes. He sang in falsetto and those people at the back, who couldn't see him were asking whether he is a boy or a girl. Along the songs performed that evening, was a cover of Radiohead's Idioteque. It was, to some extent, a faithul cover and the song surprised those of the audience, who are fans of Thom Yorke and his band. The whole set was very entertaining.

Wojtek Szczepanik, one of that evening virtuosos, started playing after a 10-minutes break. I'd like to invite every one of you to my musical world. Have a nice trip he said after introducing himself. He played four songs taken from his 2016 album Instinct. A task that a good composer should undertake is not only to make sure that every tune is in its right place is, but also to communicate with the audience through the music, he said. And so he did. The music Szczepanik played, with an incredible passion and investment, was very emotional. He encouraged people to close their eyes and let the music flow through them. He also mentioned about the recording process of his latest album; he wanted was to convey and express a closeness and escape from the city in its sounding . Piano was recorded in a chapel. Because of that, the sound on the album is very natural. Every minute of his set was astounding.

Roberto Attanasio, performing as the third musician and the second guest from abroad (Italy – he even made a joke that his English is very bad because of the fact), showed another, a different approach to playing on such a wonderful instrument as a grand piano. His compositions were more calm, delicate and soft than that of the previous composer. Along with the Christmas tree in the background, it created an almost ideal atmosphere of silent appreciation. Attanasio does not like to talk about his music as other musicians often do. Still, he explained shortly that the aim of his music is to help people in some way. Four songs played that evening, were taken from his 2017 album Isolated.

26th Sofar Sounds Krakow didn't end after Attanasio's show finished. Our MC Klaudia Urban stood up and once again introduced all of the perfoming musicians. Then, she asked all the hosts and musicians of our previous shows who were present at Dworek Białoprądnicki that evening, and all of our Sofar crew to stand along with the artists and sing a Christmas carol. We chose Silent Night, as this is a very old song that was translated into so many languages that it is impossible for people to not know the lyrics. And so we sang in Polish, English, and Italian!

(Just above there is a picture of some part of us (meaning the crew, artists and hosts) singing -  or at least trying to - Silent Night. The rest of us did not fit in the frame). After such a surprise people cheered and laughed. During that evening one could clear his/her mind. Clear head is what one really needs at the time. Just before the Christmas, shopping for presents, cooking Christmas meals, decorating the tree and wrapping up Christmas gifts.

[sofarkrakow]

25th edition - November 24th, 2017

When it is getting colder and folder each night, one have to think of some ways to warm up. Our November show was at Goethe Institut at Kraków’s Main Square. Again, it was a perfect place to experience what truly is Sofar Sounds. This time our MC was speaking both in Polish and English. From now on, our guests from abroad will understand us.

The first to perform was none other than our dear friends - a prestigious string quartet - Dobry Ton. Playing at Sofar Sounds Krakow for the fourth time (and for the fourth time that year), it was the first time they played solo.They chose to play four covers of Sigur Rós that they arranged for the special occasion. And the whole audience went Awww when they revealed the fact. They started with the peaceful, yet climatic Untitled #3 (Samskeyti) - Samskeyti means Seam or Joint)-then proceeded to more introversive Untitled #4 (Njósnavélin) - Njósnavélin means The Spy Machine, and more aggressive Sæglópur - Lost at Sea. Yet it was the ending of their set that transfered all the people to another dimension:  Starálfur - Staring Elf. As members of Dobry Ton said during song breaks, music of Sigur Rós means a lot to them and they hope that most of our guests feel the same. These songs are very poetic in meaning and they are performed in Sigur Rós’s own language - the one that speaks of emotions. Dobry Ton brought the magic of these songs to Sofar. It was very emotional set, indeed!

The second artist was a very talented girl from Canada: RIELL. Currently she’s in UK, and will be there until Christmas, doing a couple of live shows before returning home. At Goethe Institut she accompanied herself with a mini keyboard and laptop. She performed mostly her own songs (pop with a touch of soul, including a single wonderful Eye to Eye, a promise of her first EP)  and one cover. Well, two actually, because it was a mash-up of Imagine Dragons’ Radioactive and Britney Spears’ Toxic. She surprised the audience but was welcomed with open hearts! Though she was a bit stressed, she did a great performance and surely found herself new fans and listeners. One could dream of a voice like the one she has.

We went international by having a German singer-songwriter with Jamaican roots, Novine, to perform at our show with a help of a friend accompanying her on a guitar. She was grateful for the opportunity we created: It was her first Sofar Sounds ever - she was a bit nervous. Nevertheless, she mesmerized all of the audience with her soul-r’n’b songs, pure vocals and charming modesty. Soon she will be releasing her first EP. She sang a single from the minialbum, Roots, . As she described, the song is about that time when one feels like their all alone in a whole world, alone in a new place. It's about remembering the importance of one’s roots.

Novine’s show ended with people cheering and applauding. She had to come back to us and perform one more song. And so she did, how beautifully! All of the artists warmed up people’s hearts and brought back the happy memories that could get lost on such a wet and cold weather. And, most importantly, the three concerts let people experience the true essence of Sofar Sounds!

[sofarkrakow]

24th edition - October 31st, 2017

What an evening it was! On 31st of October we managed to obtain the true essence of what is Sofar Sounds. Our 24th edition was held in a small tattoo studio – Make Art Tattoo. It resulted in a quite limited number of people who could get on the list – they were the special audience, “the chosen ones” (as our presenter Klaudia Urban, said jokingly). The hosts provided 10% off for a tattoo to every person who attended the show. Given the coziness and warmth on such a “cold, cold night” in Poland, the place was ideal for such a gig.

It was Halloween, but again, only our presenter remembered to dress up for the occasion, and was standing in the room as a rather ghoulish or zombie-ish version of herself. The atmosphere was certainly not spooky and scary. The audience cheered throughout the shows. Artists playing that night were singers-songwriters, performing solo or in a duo, without a mic, assisted only by their guitars.

Kuba Zaborski performed at the beginning, bringing all the people gathered in the room to a place of hopes and dreams. As a skilled singer, he charmed us all with his voice, and stories he told us between the songs. He started with a very short song Beat that stopped suddenly, then he proceeded to longer compositions. He is studying philosophy and is fascinated with a theme of death and passing by. It reflected in one of the songs he presented that evening, though he explained that the song has a cheerful, major melody. It is worth noticing that was the only song he sang in Polish. He felt it that way, as all the other musicians were singing in English. The song was, perversely, called Otchłań (The Abbys). One of his songs, All My Lovers was dedicated to someone once very close to him and the first part is about his past and present friends. The text is somehow so universal that one can even blush relating it to a part of their lives. Delicate melodies and touching texts moved the audience. At the end of his set, he sang a song called Neverland. Before that, he explained that he also loves Disney and the song brings back all his happy childhood memories, and asked the public to sing along some melodies of the song with him. And so they did, wonderfully.

The second to perform was Magdalena Radecka, a very talented singer who performed at our 21st edition a couple of months ago with her band Side Roads. It is interesting how she got to perform at Sofar Sounds again. Our city leader was in Paris, and she went into a bar or a restaurant where Magdalena was playing. She  did not recognized her voice at first, and thought that it was beautiful. How surprised she was when she found out that it was the voice of Magdalena Radecka! That time she went solo and did a great job. She accompanied herself on a guitar and sang, as she described, a set of introvertic songs. Her soft voice, combined with the warmth and the atmosphere, created a feeling of comfort. One could just close their eyes and sank into a land full of amazing sounds. She rarely spoke during her show, however there was a moment when she asked the audience to sing along with her.  In her set was a place for a cover of Youth by Daughter. She did well and recreated the charm and beauty of the original one.

Last but not least, David Fly started his set of acoustic songs. One could say that almost everybody felt the goosebumps when he sang. He had the strongest voice of the three performing musicians, yet he fit in perfectly with songs taken from both his first and second album. He told a story of how he had to gather some money, record and release his debut on his own, because no one he knew was interested in helping a folk musician. Whereas, in America, as he said, in every third house there is someone playing folk music. One song, Just stop, he wrote when trekking in Annapurna Massif in Himalayas. It is about taking the life as it is. During the song he, as well, asked the audience to hum along with him.

After he finished the set, people in the room were so astonished they could not stop applauding and asking for an encore. Magdalena Radecka and Kuba Zaborski joined David Fly for the beseeched encore. He played on guitar and sang one of his song, and Magdalena and Kuba improvised vocally at the same time.He was playing on a guitar and singing one of his songs while Magdalena and Kuba were improvising vocally. That was magical! At the end people stood up and went out joyfully exchanging the opinions on the effects the concerts had on them.

[sofarkrakow]

23rd edition #GiveAHome - September 20th, 2017

Sofar Sounds and Amnesty International teamed up for a greater cause- to raise awareness of the refugees cricis.  Secret gigs named #GiveAHome took place in over 60 cities around the world with performances of such big names as The National, Nigel Godrich and much more. As for Krakow, we took a chance on inviting such artists whom we know they are simply great at what they do. And by all means they were.

The event was held in a beautiful flat in one of Cracovian districts. Autumn started taking control over the Southern part of Poland, and the rain was pouring down all day long. Despite  bad weather we kept our good spirits so necessary to be ready for action. The first artist to perform that evening was Ed Carlsen, Danish modern classical and ambient artist and composer, backed by a prestigous string quartet Dobry Ton.  At the beginning, Ed recalled the previous time he played at Sofar Sounds Krakow, jokingly mistook Warsaw for Krakow saying he was in Warsaw recently and introduced himself as Ed “not Sheeran”. Beautiful sounds filled the room with magic and created a special climate of warmth, closeness and kindness to one another. It was like the touch of Spring at the end of cold Winter days (that, supposedly, are yet to come later this year to Poland). Ed performed three songs of his 2016 album The Journey Tapes - Close, Rain and Loose - as well as one song from his new album Elusive Frames and one of his older songs. People were clearly moved by the music.

After Ed's concert all of the audience were asked to stay in the room and the representative of Amnesty International's Cracovian agency stood up to tell the story of our special guest – a girl named Batul, who is a refugee from Aleppo. She fled from the war and left her family. At the moment she is studying in Bratislava, but it took her a lot of time. At first she spent a day at the sea, when she was at a boat with, presumably, other refugees. Then she travelled by a bus, a train, and by a car. But mostly on foot. She didn't want to stay in Turkey for some unknown reasons, and were held in a prison twice. When depicting her journey, she frequently used Czechoslovakia, name of a former country which peacefuly dissoluted into Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993, so it was hard to tell whether it was the Czech prison or the Slovakian one. When in prison, she decided to go on a hunger strike twice. The first strike lasted for 10 days, the second for 25 days and it left her feeling weak and depressed. After the first strike, she was brought to a court when she was ruled a terrorist because she was a muslim.  A month later she was brought to a second court where a human right organization helped her. She recalled with some kind of a giggle that there were no clothes or even underwear at the prison and at the second strike she also demanded giving her clean clothes or at least to launder the ones she was wearing. She also told she was very sad because of no connection to her family. As for now, she decided to stay in Bratislava to study and teach children Arabic. She considers moving to another country, but not returning to Aleppo, at least not when the Bashar al-Assad's regime still rules the country.

After the touching story of Batul and ten minutes break, a “sad techno” band SALK played their gig, starting with, as the vocalist Marcela Rybska said, half sad, half jolly song Alien. She also said the setlist for that concert was carefully set and the whole band chose songs with topics related to that particular event. Once again SALK charmed the audience with their unique sounds and songs like Taiga  (My Taiga brother/ I found another family/but still the same sky above us), Latarnik about a lighthouse keeper and a house that went out a thousand times, and Sen Zofii about the dream of the vocalist's mother in which she can't recall the path to home. At the end of the song the emotions took control over the vocalist and she cried a little bit. It was a stunning and wonderful concert.

The last to perform were Lor, an all-girl quartet playing amazing, rather folkish, alternative and melancholy songs. These young girls are still in school, and yet they can compose magnificent and skillfully written tunes as though they were doing it for years. They have the talent, the feeling and a remarkable singer Jagoda Kudlińska, whose voice is a reminder of Aurora Aksnes from Norway. And, likely, they have one of the best lyricist of their, so to say, generation – Paulina Sumera – whose mature and well written English lyrics evoke many topics including the need of helping one another. At the event they played Keaton written when Sumera was filled with emotions hard to describe, Cinnamon about the need of being a better person for the sake of oneself and the world, or Bonum (latin for good) about which Sumera jokingly said that it can describe Lor's concerts. The girls created almost spirited atmosphere and everyone left the venue uplifted and more caring about the world's problems. The event was successful and one can hope it would have a positive effects in the more or less forseable future.

[sofarkrakow]

22nd edition - August 25th, 2017

Although summer isn't over yet, we figuratively bid it goodbye with 22nd edition of Sofar Sounds Krakow. It was a very special day because for the first time ever in history of Sofar Krakow's gigs, it was held in a private house with a decent-sized garden in Łagiewniki, Cracovian district. All of the instruments were set up in the garden. The weather was perfect for such a concert, and mosquitos were having quite a fine supper later that evening.

FJORS, a four-piece band with a wonderful feeling of what they are doing. Usually, they combine the sounds of classical instruments like cello, kalimba or a harp with a bit of electronics, but that day the band played a semi-acoustic set. The songs they prepared for that evening created an extraordinary climate of closeness, and a wonderful and pure voice of the singer filled the air with charm. One can say that people basked in those magnificent tunes. FJORS played songs written mostly in English, except one with Polish lyrics - “Sen” (“A Dream”). It seemed, at the beginning, as another simple love song, but alternatively turned into a strong confession of a broken-hearted soul, and because of those lyrics some people in the audience probably felt the goosebumps on the skin of their arms. When the band ended their set, people were in rapture.

And the good spirit took over the place. The second to play was Leepeck, the talented musician, composer and a songwriter from Warsaw. As he said, his pseudonim derrived from combination of Lee Marvin and Gregory Peck (famous Hollywood actors). He described his music as alternative folk. Leepeck released his debut album “BORDERLINE” in April 2017 and despite a numerous musicians playing on the album on various instruments, at Sofar he played in a duet with Piotr Czajer who played on banjo. Folk connotes with telling great stories on a vaste range of topics, and Leepeck took the greatest and nondepletable theme of love playing and interacting with the audience. Subtle love songs floated in the air and the musician casted a spell on the audience making them feel the summer atmosphere of peace and joy. All of it combined with a soothing voice ideal to ease the pain. If it weren't for the mosquitos, one could lay in the grass, look at the sky and dream.

MITKA with a guest singer Helaine Vis ended the event with a touch of magic. Halaine Vis amazed the audience with her jazzy feeling as well as clean, gentle and captivating voice. The musicians involved in the project, including a trumpet player whose part was exceptionaly good, created a unique mood, a cheerful and peaceful vibe of summer. What a performance! Their set was ideal for the venue and the weather that day. One cover they performed, a song “1335” by Dillon, was so skillfuly played that one could think it was their original song. Vis felt it perfectly. Once again, it was a splendid moment to lay down and enjoy the last warm evenings of the year. The summer may be over in a month or so, but the good spirit will prevail in memories of such events as the 22nd Sofar Sounds Krakow, thanks to the incredibly talented musicians that played on that event and took all of the people gathered there to a one-of-a-kind place where music lovers can find happiness.

[sofarkrakow]

21st edition - July 7th, 2017

As the holiday season began, one can say that people seem to be brighter and happier. Nothing can contain their good spirits, even the constantly changing weather on the day of the 21st edition of Sofar Sounds Krakow .The event was held at Wytwornia, a studio and place for open workshops, with a room big enough to accommodate classical instruments like grand piano, piano and bowed instruments.

Great acoustics of the venue provided pleasure in listening to tęskno, the first band to perform.  Lovely music project of a vocalist Joanna Longić and Hania Rani, the pianist, consists also of string quintet - Kornelia Grądzka, Paulina Kusa, Artur Wieczerzyński, Zuzanna Stradowska and Mateusz Woźniak – perform songs written entirely in Polish. Their gentle, yet powerful, songs shifted the audience somewhere to the unknown places of our galaxy. It's funny that, as they said, it was their third concert in a week. No sign of weariness was visible. Their tremendously well written lyrics (and music) spoke much about what we all desire and long for. It was a comforting performance and all the people gathered there cheered and applauded so long that the band had to bow three times before leaving.

After ten minutes's break, Side Roads started their set. This was a light pause from the much emotional music that was played before. As she went on stage, the vocalist Magdalena Radecka seemed a bit shaken and touched by the previous performance, though. It was her (and the band's) first concert in Krakow since she alone moved there from Gdansk, North of Poland. The male vocalist Adam Tomaszewski said that the band was afraid they might split up but when the occasion of playing at Sofar Sounds Krakow arrived, all the other members (altoviolinist Jakub Wojna, bassist Jerzy Jurkowski and Adrian Cygi Kondratowicz who played on two cajons) decided to come right up. They might even played the same day as they arrived. Nonetheless, the set was great. People were stunned by their music, mostly by the beautiful vocal harmonies of the singing duo. The arrangements were such nicely done that one could fear he would flought out of the place.

Last but not least, Maya and the Hummingbirds, amazing seven-members band that are yet to record their debut album went on stage. The vocalist Maja Kowalczuk seemed like she was spirited in a way she moved her hands and body while singing. In that particular way, along with a long dress she was wearing, she was reminiscent of old blues singers, sometimes even, more contemporary, Florence Welch or Polish singer Bela Komoszyńska. The concert was moving in a very spiritual way. It was a magical and gripping performance. The vocalist spoke diaphanously explained As she described one song (“Wounded Healer”): sometimes we need to decide - are we staying in pain or we'll become Wounded Healers. All of the very skilful musicians perfectly knew what they were doing and how to create exceptional and wonderful tunes. It was a clear feast for the ears. All of the three performing bands really did their best to contribute to this marvelous experience. People applauded joyfully and went off to their homes pleased and contented.

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20th edition - June 2nd, 2017

We celebrated the beginning of summer with 20th edition of Sofar Sounds Krakow that took place in Centrum Kultury Dworek Bialopradnicki. Once again, music lovers had the opportunity to witness the power of sound and emotions, and those who attended our show for the first time were greeted with open arms.

Our opening act for the night was Ed Carlsen from Copenhagen, whose music could be best described as a mixture between modern classical music and ambient, where delicate electronic elements pair up with ethereal string instrumentation. Ed was accompanied by a local string quartet that rehearsed the material with him just hours before the show. During all four songs that they played together, the atmosphere was magical and it could be seen that our audience was enchanted by Ed’s melodic compositions. The performance was full of emotions, as if one could close their eyes, focus on the music and float.

After such strong introduction to the evening, Polish duo Pola Chobot & Adam Baran came to the stage, accompanied by drummer Janek Rusin. Their blues-rock songs were a pleasant surprise after Ed’s equally engaging instrumentals. Pola’s rough and intense vocals were a perfect fit to their blues-like compositions. At times, the songs sounded a bit like Alabama Shakes. However, blues is not their only inspiration – they also love the vibe that Scandinavia and sounds from that region have to offer, including Scandinavian jazz. Combined with the vocalist’s bluesy feel, it created a truly spectacular mixture, expressed by the duo in one of their recently written songs that they shared with our audience that evening. At the end of their performance, we could witness some improvising from Pola, who then came to the stage with a tiny tambourine attached to her heel – “an invention”, as she spoke about it. It was a bright, eye- and ear-catching performance.

In the meantime, we decided to experiment a little, using the audience as our main subject. People were given Post-Its and asked to write/draw/express feelings that they had during the performance through it – and then, pin the small sheets of paper onto a corkboard in the hall.

Next up, it was The Missing Part’s time to shine. They integrated well with the blues-rock climate of the previous act. Just like Pola and Adam, The Missing Part is a duo formed by Natalia Kwiatkowska and Robert Kapkowski – musicians of another Cracow-based band, Cheap Tobbaco. As the duo, they play both covers and their originals songs, and during our 20th show they decided to perform exclusively in Polish. Both Natalia (the vocalist) and Robert (who plays the guitar) showed us their vocal skills, as there was one song in the lineup written and composed fully by Robert. Their performance was upbringing, but there were moments of sadness, with haunting melodies and vocals full of reflection.

Even though The Missing Part were our final act, the moment when they came off the stage was not the end of the night. After a short break, Ed Carlsen appeared there again, this time with some vocal help from his friend from Iceland, Heidrik. They sang one more song together, which was a perfect and atmospheric ending to the event. For one more day, Centrum Kultury Dworek Bialopradnicki in Krakow became a creative hub full of beautiful sounds, good vibrations, and inspiring stories. And all of that thanks to all the talented musicians who performed for us and made the 20th Sofar Sounds Krakow gig unforgettable.

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19th edition - May 12th, 2017

Two years have past since Sofar Sounds is organizing the events in Kraków. It brought to the city a refreshing breath of spring with its 19th edition that was held on Friday, May 12th,  in a townhouse at Kraków Old Town. The place created a familiar feeling of closeness and almost homelike atmosphere. On that afternoon, Kraków Old Town changed into a home of great perfomers and musicians.

It all began with Paulina Sumera of Lor, an alternative band created by young and incredibly talented girls. She hosted the event and did a good job by telling jokes, breaking the focus of all people gathered in the room and speaking of a community we create once in a month: „Sofar family.” One never knows what she might hear, so it's better to be prepared for anything and come to us with an open mind and ears eager to hear new tunes.

Helolove, an interesting band, with a charismatic and talented vocalist Ada Szulc,  was the first to perform. The band played five very good and energetic pop/rock songs. The vocalist jumped and danced around the little space she had and woke up those people who were still a bit confused due to the constantly changing weather. One song that was played then, hadn't got the name yet, and Ada Szulc introduced it as “the song with an ugly tittle”. The group worked a chorus of “Chasing Cars” by Irish/Scottish band Snow Patrol into one of their songs. The part was played on the acoustic guitar and sang by the guitarist.  Still, the songs and Ada's voice were like a wind that circles around the room.

After a short break, the other artist sat down on a chair to began his performance. It was Melo De Noisy, a musician and composer. He plays the acoustic guitar and writes his own lyrics. As he said, he already released three studio albums and wanted to share the music he wrote with other people. He “lulled” the energy that pented-up after the Helolove's performance with soothing sounds of his guitar. Singing soft but powerful because of emotions songs, he spoke of loneliness, love, sadness and longing.

The second perfomance was supposed to be the last, or at least some people thought so, but after a 20 minutes break, the host came up again to say that she and her band Lor would be playing right now, but they would do it without the sounding. She also explained that another band, a duo, was to play then, but due to the unforseen illness of its vocalist, she and another organizers had to find a good and a quick solution to the problem. She offered that Lor would play and, as a result, its violinist, keybordist and vocalist had to get out of the school in the middle of their lessons.

Lor started their unplanned gig when the sunbeam hit the room. After the first song, the show host, who writes lyrics to their songs, joked that without sounding the performance sounds like a rehearsal, and they hadn't rehearsed in a while. So could this be a big, common rehearsal? It is worth to point out that the girls ask the people who came to their shows not to clap during the concert. They also asked for it now and people sitting on the floor gladly fulfil the “requirements”. It was a melancholic, intimate and beautiful concert. The pure voice of the vocalist flowed to the listeners hearts and filled them with amazingly well written lyrics on multiple themes.

All of the three musisians have the passion to create and to perform. It is clear that they love music and it speaks through them. Once more Sofar Sounds Kraków gathered people who wanted to listen  to really good music and took something out of it. It could be a reflexion or a song by a newly discovered band that stucked in one's head. These kinds of concerts people remember for a long time – the gigs that evoke the full scale of positive emotions, give them pause for thought with the lyrics message, give strength, cummulate the good energy, and, in a way, relieve. And surely inspire.

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Now You have next chance to get involved in Sofar Sounds Krakow gig! To sign in - click link below and don't forget to convince us that you're the one to be invited!

https://www.sofarsounds.com/krakow