Kroki

Each of them seems to come from another world. These worlds have been combined into one — intriguing and surprising. At a time when it seemed that the Polish music scene had already reached its limit in terms of electronic and pop music, Kroki (“Steps” in Polish) showed that still there is more to be done.

Łukasz Palkiewicz (aka Szatt), Jakub Goleniewski (aka Jaq Merner) and Paweł Stachowiak met at the intersection of their inspirations and accomplishments. Szatt, a talented and well-acclaimed producer, received applause for his solo project in which he combined Bonobo’s trip-hop with the hip-hop style of DJ Shadow (he’s also known from hip-hop crew called Nocne Nagrania). Jaq Merner, who comes from Wroclaw, started his career working as a vocalist in collaboration with other musicians. The emotionally charged manner of Jag’s singing gives each composition a distinguishing character. Paweł Stachowiak, a leading Polish bassist, was involved in such projects as EABS or Hatti Vatti. The meeting of these three infernally talented and industrious creators has resulted in a mosaic of sounds in which organic, pulsating electronic and soulful, intimate vibe are intertwined. As Kroki they recorded and released their debut album titled Stairs. The potential of this project is undoubted aided by the fact that their record was published by the largest Polish record label, Kayax.

Kroki have endeared themselves to fans of Rebeka, Kamp! or The Dumplings, but electronic music according to Palkiewicz-Goleniewski-Stachowiak seems to be a much more intimate proposition than music of the aforementioned bands. Stairs is full of mesmerizing sounds suggestive of Amon Tobin (“Cover Me”). With the vocal lines of Jaq Merner, the music of Kroki at times attains an emotional charge reminiscent of the songs of Son Lux, RY X or SOHN (“Eyes”). The trio’s sound has a subtle shade of darkness from which the warmth radiates — the compositions of Kroki capture the heart both in the lyrical and the sound layers. Such connection could not go unnoticed — the band is constantly invited to numerous festivals and concerts all over the country. And this is just the beginning.

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