From Chicago’s clubs
to the Icelandic wilderness and Polish roads: get ready for a trip around the
world, all without leaving Katowice. Joining us will be Pablopavo i Ludziki,
EABS feat. Tenderlonious, Hania Rani, Honey Dijon, Soccer Mommy, and P.Unity.
What’s more, we’ll welcome one
of Britain’s most important alternative artists, Jarvis Cocker.
Jarvis Cocker introducing JARV IS…
This is going to be insane! Jarvis is finally coming to the OFF Festival! The artist is best known and loved as the leader of Pulp, one of the bands that defined the 90s guitar band sound. We’ve listened to his solo albums (and the one with Chilly Gonzales) over and over, awing over his musical versatility and brilliant lyrics. We kept in touch through his BBC 6 shows (who cares if it was a one-way channel?). All the more reason for us to await the artist’s latest incarnation, JARV IS, with great hope and impatience, especially after the enthusiastic reviews of his first performances in the UK.
Pablopavo i Ludziki z Naprawdę Dużym Zespołem
Pablopavo became a regular fixture at literary
festivals following the 2017 release of his critically acclaimed short story
collection Mikrotyki
(congratulations!). But Pablo isn’t one to snub his nose at the music scene:
he’s constantly laying down and releasing new tracks with ever-evolving
configurations and lineups of artists and genres, not to mention his myriad
guest appearances (numbering around fifty records, at last count). In 2018 he
released his fifth album—and first venture into the realm of disco—with
Ludziki. This is no Saturday Night Fever,
but more of a contemplative, shoe-gazing dance—somewhat euphoric at the
prospect of no tomorrow, but also sad, because today isn’t much better. Prepare
to hear some old and new material featuring the whole cast
of characters Pablopavo fans have come to love. He might even play the one
about Krzysiek.
EABS feat. Tenderlonious
Electro Acoustic Beat Sessions brings together
a range of artists, from jazz musicians to rappers. Any musical act would be
lucky to have this much talent in one place. Led by Marek Pędziwiatr, the
Wrocław-based ensemble oscillates between genres, blending musical haute culture with swashbuckling
artistic bravado. Their 2017 album Repetitions
(Letters to Krzysztof Komeda), a top-notch effort to grapple with the
eminent Polish jazzman’s musical legacy, landed EABS the very first GaMa Award
and a Fryderyk nomination. Their latest release, Slavic Spirits, delves much deeper into our shared heritage,
attempting to convey the titular Slavic soul through a completely un-Slavic
genre of music. Aiding the band
in this effort is the London-based multi-instrumentalist Tenderlonious, who
takes the stage armed with a flute and soprano sax.
Hania Rani
The pianist, composer, arranger and vocalist
Hanna Raniszewska didn’t just wait around for a stroke of fortune—she worked
hard to make
it happen. There’s no challenge too great for her, no musical aesthetic too
unfamiliar. Hania Rani has reimagined the centuries-old hymns of Henry Purcell
and John Dowland, performed songs by the Polish rocker Grzegorz Ciechowski (in
a duo with Dobrawa Chocher), composed theater scores, collaborated with Misia
Furtak, and formed one half of the duo Tęskno (with Joanna Longić), which
released the excellent album Mi last
year. But the time has finally come for her to launch a solo project. Her first
release as Hania Rani, the outstanding LP Esja,
was recorded partially in Warsaw and in Reykjavik (at the studio of Bergur Þórisson,
best known for his work with Björk and Ólafur Arnalds), and sounds as beautiful
as Iceland and Poland combined.
Honey Dijon
The Chicago-born DJ, trans-rights activist and
fashion icon Honey Dijon splits her time between New York and Berlin. Her sound
reveals
a musical taste shaped in the home (her parents had an impressive collection of
soul and R’n’B records) and in Chicago’s club scene. Her original style is
built on a foundation of eclecticism and boldness.
Soccer Mommy
Sophie Allison cites Taylor Swift and Avril Lavigne as her idols, but don’t expect an explosive cocktail of country and radio-friendly pop from this Nashville native. Soccer Mommy’s original compositions are touching in their fragile beauty and disarming frankness. Her self-produced albums For Young Hearts and Collection are definitely worth a listen, but last year’s Clean is practically obligatory. “I wanna be that cool,” Sophie sings in one song. Which is a bit weird, because she already is.
P.Unity
If P.Unity was nominated for a Fryderyk award for best blues album, it’s only because it’s really hard to pinpoint the exact genre played by this Warsaw band. It’s definitely funk, but it’s also soul, jazz and rap, all simmered in a trippy, psychedelic sauce. There’s echoes of Parliament/Funkadelic and a hint of Prince—but the songs that never made it into the top 40. If you like P.Unity’s debut album Pulp, or their collaboration with Michał Urbaniak, then rest assured that that’s merely an overture to their live performance in Katowice…
This year’s OFF Festival also features the previously announced acts: Foals, Suede, Stereolab, Neneh Cherry, Aldous Harding, Superorganism, Perfect Son, Electric Wizard, The Gaslamp Killer, The Comet is Coming, IC3PEAK, Daughters, Lotic: Endless Power, The Body, Dezerter performs Underground Out of Poland, slowthai, Black Midi, Masecki Jazz Trio, OM, SAMA’, Jakuzi, Phum Viphurit, Durand Jones & The Indications, Lebanon Hanover, Loyle Carner, Emerald, Octavian, Ammar 808, Tirzah, Wczasy, Entropia, and Boogarins, as well as Bamba Pana & Makaveli, and the Śląsk Song and Dance Ensemble.
The 2019 OFF Festival Katowice will take place August 2–4 at Three Pond Valley, its regular venue. Three-day passes are now available at the OFF Shop for 330 PLN. This price lasts until April 7 or until the second round of tickets is sold out! Campground tickets are also available for 80 PLN.
Contact
Nikki McNeill | Global Publicity
nikki@globalpublicity.co.uk