OFF Festival Katowice

Leave the stream: OFF Festival Katowice

Going with the flow is easy, but we’re no fans of easy solutions. We launched the OFF Festival in 2006 not to win friends but to intrigue and inspire people, to pose questions, and provoke outrage and discussion. We appreciate your praise, the critical acclaim, and the many awards, of course, but what we appreciate even more are the many ideas that were born at our festival, the inspirations that influenced your art, your work, and your private lives. Because maybe it’s true that you can’t change the world with music, but no one can keep us from trying.

PJ HARVEY

She’s an outstanding composer, poet, multi-instrumentalist, and singer with a charismatic stage persona. She’s the one-of-kind Polly Jean, an artist whom we’ve admired for years in all her incarnations, from her early rough post-punk days to the more refined and intimate work on White Chalk and the inspired political folk-rock anthems on Let English Shake and The Hope Six Demolition Project. We’re impressed by PJ Harvey’s ambition to change this world by singing, and we’re sure she’ll convince many of us to join the cause in Katowice.

FEIST

Leslie Feist is a charismatic Canadian singer who follows her own path between tasteful indie pop and an original interpretation of American folk. She’s a favorite with audiences and the music industry for her unique character, a quality that’s most evident in her solo albums and her contributions to Broke Social Scene. Feist has been showered with trophies, including several Juno Awards and the Polaris Prize, and nominations to the world’s most prestigious music awards — the Grammys and BRIT Awards. Many of her songs have been featured in films, commercials, and the repertoires of other artists — James Blake’s career took off after he released his cover of “Limit to Your Love.” There’s a lot to look forward to this year, with new records coming out by both Broken Social Scene and Feist (her long-awaited fifth solo album), and — something we’re particularly excited about — the artist’s first performance in Poland. At the OFF Festival, of course.

SWANS

Everyone knows that straying from marked routes when you’re hiking in the mountains could end in death. So this band risked a lot, aiming high and never sticking to the beaten path. Yet they’ve not only managed to outlive their peers, the remaining pioneers of New York’s no wave scene, but they’ve even reinvented themselves — twice — each time creating new musical phenomena that others were quick to pick up. Their 2016 album The Glowing Man was yet another surprise, if only due to the unexpected juxtaposition of massive, torrential sounds next to hushed, intimate pieces. Still, this is no easy listening: most contemporary vocalists scream with less fury than Michael Gira whispers.

But the triumphal march of Swans’ current incarnation, which opened with the release of the monumental My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky, is drawing to an end. The band is coming to the OFF Festival to say goodbye in its current form. But we’re not crying: we’re celebrating, because Michael Gira is sure to come up with something that’ll shake us to the core. Especially since the Swans Apocalypse will go on longer than your typical festival set: get ready for at least a two-and-a-half hour show. Are you ready to be devoured?

TALIB KWELI LIVE

This Brooklyn-based rapper/activist first appeared on our musical radars as one half of the duo Black Star, which also featured Mos Def. Fifteen years ago Talib Kweli debuted as a solo artist with the album Quality, an apt title considering that the artist’s technical finesse and musical awareness are equalled by his social and political involvement. He has worked alongside the likes of Kanye West, The Roots, and Madlib, and contributed to the success of the young Kendrick Lamar. The ever-exploring Talib Kweli is among the most important and original names on the American hip-hop scene. This approach doesn’t always guarantee you a smooth ride to the top of Billboard charts, but we’re certain he’s going to feel right at home at the OFF Festival.

SHELLAC

If we were to put together a list of the artists most requested by OFF Festival veterans, Shellac would definitely have a spot on the podium. We’re not in the least bit surprised: headed by the charismatic musician and producer Steve Albini, this trio is in all respects a perfect match for our OFF Festival philosophy: they play their own music on their own terms, and they don’t care what anyone else thinks. Shellac upholds the best traditions of independent American guitar rock, but this is no museum of hardcore and noise rock; just listen to their latest album, Dude Incredible (2014), to find out how alive their sound is! And their live shows can be a real kick in the ass, too.

BEAK>

A Bristol-based trio featuring Geoff Barrow (the backbone of Portishead), Billy Fuller (best known for his work with Robert Plant), and Will Young. Why would the former embark on yet another musical adventure, seeing that he’s already the co-founder of one of the most important bands of our time? Just have a listen: BEAK> is a completely different set of inspirations and emotions. With its nods to Krautrock, the minimalist roots of contemporary electronic music, and British underground dance music, this English trio rises to entirely new levels. An engrossing yet irritating trance, one that throws down the gauntlet to its listeners, like any good music should.

THE BLACK MADONNA

When The Black Madonna takes the stage, you know it’s about to go down. We’ve invited one of the world’s most popular and respected female DJs, one whose sets rest on the delicate balance between dependable hits and bold new discoveries, a well-regarded producer, to name but Exodus and A Jealous Heart Never Rests, and a resident host at the legendary Smart Bar in Chicago, which — under her curation — has been lauded as one the best clubs in the US. “Dance music needs riot grrrls. Dance music needs Patti Smith. It needs DJ Sprinkles. Dance music needs some discomfort with its euphoria. Dance music needs salt in its wounds. Dance music needs women over the age of 40. Dance music needs breastfeeding DJs trying to get their kids to sleep before they have to play. Dance music needs cranky queers and teenagers who are really tired of this shit. Dance music needs writers and critics and academics and historians. Dance music needs poor people and people who don’t have the right shoes to get into the club,” says The Black Madonna, a woman who’s transforming club culture before our very eyes. We’re confident that her OFF Festival performance will be a transformative experience for us, as well.

WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM

Extreme metal has a way of provoking strong emotions and controversies: some people are enchanted by it, others find it revolting. And that’s precisely why it’s been a constant feature of the OFF Festival. But there’s another, more important reason: metal, in its radical forms, has been one of the most creative scenes in music for many years, not just just building upon its nearly half-century-long heritage, but also borrowing from 20th century avant-garde and experimental electronic music. This is particularly true of the American group Wolves in the Throne Room, founded by the Weaver brothers in 2003. Nearly a decade and half and five albums later, the artists behind Celestial Lineage consistently prove that black metal has about as much respect for boundaries as it does for anything sacred.

DANIEL JOHNSTON

Hi, how are you? When Kurt Cobain posed for a photo wearing that t-shirt, the world finally noticed Daniel Johnston, a musical outsider and one of the most legendary figures on the independent music scene. Beautifully portrayed in the documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston, this bipolar artist is a lo-fi icon and the author of several hundred captivating songs released on a few dozen albums, along with innumerable fascinating illustrations. The leader of Nirvana isn’t the only artist to take inspiration from Johnston: the list includes such names as Tom Waits, Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo, and Mark Linkous. We’re happy to host Daniel at the OFF Festival and we’re certain he’ll be right at home here.

PREOCCUPATIONS

Another Canadian addition to our lineup, Preoccupations debuted in 2015 with the then-self-titled album Viet Cong. The band later discovered that the reference to the name of the Communist forces of Vietnam was too much for some people, so they rebranded themselves as Preoccupations and followed up with a sophomore release in the fall of 2016, the once again eponymously-titled Preoccupations. It was every bit as good as the debut, but much richer: a post-punk roller coaster with new loops and corkscrews, from industrial and noise rock to ambient and shoegaze. As one Pitchfork reviewer points out, Preoccupations is a nod to both Swans and Echo and the Bunnymen, yet the band communicates with its audience in its own vivid language.

KWADROFONIK I ARTUR ROJEK

Whatever it was that brought together Kwadrofonik, one of the most original and visionary bands on the Polish music scene, and Artur Rojek, the artistic director of our festival and a singer who draws inspiration from a range of alternative music traditions — it must have been extraordinary. Indeed: Industrial Symphony No. 1, composed by Angelo Badalamenti in cooperation with David Lynch (and featuring references to his films), is truly remarkable. This melancholy story of love, loneliness, and darkness is told through a dark musical transcribed by Kwadrofonik into the sounds of their own trademark instruments (piano, drums, marimba, synths). Artur Rojek lends his voice, replacing the original vocal parts by Julee Cruise. You’ll hear Industrial Symphony No. 1 at the OFF Festival, but be prepared for it to haunt you in your dreams…

PRO8L3M

Anyone who saw their mind-blowing performance two years ago was probably willing to bet a hundred bucks they’d be back. And that would have been a winning bet. But no one could have predicted that the nostalgic yet urban vibe of their debut album Art Brut would be reforged into the dystopian futuristic visions assembled on their follow-up concept album. Simply titled PRO8L3M, the record reinforced Oskar and Steez’s presence on the scene while proving that the horizons of hip-hop go on forever.