Polin (Mathka; 2012)
Jarosław Bester (bayan)
Jarosław Lipszyc (voice)
Laid somewhere between experimental, folk and history lesson, Polin is a masterful short work developed over a seven year period by Ireneusz Socha. Based around the heritage of Polish Jews, Ireneusz Socha crafts a delicate narrative through all sorts of found sounds, klezmer dialogues, electronics and sampled vocals. It's quite an enjoyable and spiritual journey.
Polin, while set as one continuous piece is broken into a number of short movements that might be slightly unnoticeable but all intensely satisfying. Early on, there is a skilled combination of various outside sounds seamlessly woven into the percussion and vocal elements. This all makes for a wildly different picture of Jewish culture over almost a span of two centuries.
The instrumentation moves from samples to electronics and textures that move up and down along with the bayan, a beautiful almost rarely used instrument. The tone of piece swirls and leaves a psychedelic nature lingering in the listeners mind as you flow toward the pieces final movements.
A great and detailed message lies within this recording. It's rich in heritage and exudes creative structure. Probably not every ones cup of tea. There's a lot going on that needs a few spins to absorb but this is a fantastic piece that deserves your undivided attention. Polin is a real must listen.