ZIMPEL / ZIOŁEK
VENUE CAFE OTO, LONDON DATE 07/09/2018
It’s difficult to pinpoint the precise moment that it happens, but the feeling that time has stood still to become an utterly meaningless concept becomes both overwhelming and apparent tonight. with kuba Ziołek remaining in a sedentary position as the apreggios and strums from his guitar are looped and then treated further through the phalanx of pedals in front of him, his partner wacław Zimpel is blowing up an intense yet subtle storm on his clarinet. and right now, this is all that matters.
The appearance of Zimpel/Ziołek on these shores is the next step of a musical rebirth that’s currently happening in Poland. a generation born just prior to and also after the fall of Communism is now expressing itself in a new musical language that owes little or no debt to the 12-bar tradition that underpinned so much western music. Unencumbered by major label interference or compromise, these conditions have created a fecund environment that is producing what is arguably some of the most inventive and exciting music operating under the progressive, psychedelic and underground banners anywhere in europe.
successful musicians in their own right – the restless kuba Ziołek has recorded under the stara Rzeka banner as well as heading up the numerous alameda projects among others, while wacław Zimpel’s career has seen him produce the excellent jazz-inflected minimalism of the solo album Lines and work on the hypnotic Indo-Polish project saagara – their collaboration is certainly a meeting of colossal talent that brings together their individual achievements to create a whole new entity.
with their debut eponymous album making justified waves through feverish word of mouth and an end of The Road festival performance at the insistence of Radio 3’s Late junction show, it comes as little surprise that Zimpel/Ziołek’s debut London headlining performance is sold out. Rewarding the faith of their audience, the duo deliver a beguiling 45 minutes of progressive music that blends folk, psychedelia, jazz, drone rock, electronics and modern classical without giving nods to one particular set of influences.
The 13-minute Memory Dome sees Zimpel/Ziołek taking the audience on an excursion that becomes less a trek on a well-worn path and more a magical mystery tour. as Ziołek’s intricate guitar playing is looped and treated to meet with Zimpel’s clarinet and minimalist keyboard phrasing, there’s an undeniable transcendence to a higher plain. elsewhere, wrens’ rhythms slowly reveal themselves to add to music that’s warm, empathetic and inclusive.
with the applause comes the realization that something special has just occurred. as a wise man once noted, this is the start of a beautiful friendship.