Urban Balafon by MACIEJ MACIĄGOWSKI

„Urban Balafon” is Maciej Maciągowski’s further exploration of the music of Global South. The artist - based in Poznań, Poland - has already experimented with deconstructing singeli and baile funk. On his new album, he’s taking a closer look into the traditions of balafon and gamelan orchestras, substituting dance chaos with radical minimalism and testing of the possibilities of digital synthesis.

This is the first Maciągowski’s work, that was created completely on a computer. Thanks to a modern digital synthesis, that allows for physical modeling of membranes, strings or plates, „Urban Balafon” is in its entirety based on the modifications of rhythm. It is the primary content of the album which is completely devoid of any ornaments or even melodies. Focusing on polyrhythms and their possible evolutions is a fascinating way of putting specific tones of percussive instruments in between two distant worlds. It is a music that resembles both raw field recordings and extreme academic electronics. As if Ocora encountered Editions Mego.

The most extreme however are the limitations, that Maciągowski imposed upon himself. Six tracks that comprise „Urban Balafon” are composed in such a way, that it seems that they are all performed by a single drummer, for whom someone prepared a very specific set of West African - Indonesian instruments. Swarming drum hits, however overwhelming and confusing with their intensity and dizzying pace, don’t seem impossible. The precision with which Maciągowski blurs the distinction between reality and fiction, opens up new possibilities in music.

Maciej Maciągowski is a sound artist and producer known for his solo works released in such labels as Baba Vanga, Pointless Geometry and Glamour as well as his contributions to improvises groups such as Bachorze and Strętwa. He has been working on „Urban Balafon” for two years, which was finalized on the advice of Mateusz Rosiński of Dynasonic. - Łukasz Warna Wiesławski

Tracklist

1.	Dadadhd	3:14

2.	23 Skibidi dop	2:55

3.	GLDWERK	3:46

4.	Śfix	3:22

5.	Pikzdotka	3:47

6.	Plac dubowy	4:33

Credits

released September 13, 2024

music, mix & mastering: Maciej Maciągowski
cover art: Zofia Paloma Hyjek

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