John Malkovich to Appear in Polish Music Video
The video clip for the song Kalifat, written and recorded by Kazik and Kwartet ProForma, will feature the famous Hollywood actor John Malkovich. The video will take the form of a 5-minute short film.
Caliphate
The idea for Malkovich to appear in Kazik’s music video was apparently born after the American actor attended one of his concerts in September 2014 in a Warsaw theatre called Teatr WARSawy. After the concert, Kazik and Malkovich met and the actor agreed to this unusual acting job. A few months later, the video clip for Kazik and Kwartet ProForma’s rock song Kalifat / Caliphate began to take form. The creators of the music video declare it will be a massive production, made on a much bigger scale than any other Polish clip.
We came to the conclusion that since we’ve got a great actor like John Malkovich, and this is something so out of the ordinary, it would be silly to make just an ordinary music video. That’s why we pushed it to the limit and we’re doing something big – says Mikołaj Świderski, director of the music video.
The video is meant to be a grand-scale 5-minute short film using cutting-edge technology (it will be shot in 4K quality). Almost a hundred people are working on the clip, for which 10 sceneries are being prepared in a large studio. 47 costumes will be made especially for the video and 4 horses are going to appear in it. As of yet not much is known about the storyline. According rumors, the Polish musicians will play the emissaries of Malkovich’s character – the boss of all bosses. The clip is meant to be deeply symbolic. It is being produced by Studio Absynt, a Poznań-based film and photography production company. Judging by this studio's previous work with clip for Kazik and Kwartet ProForma, Gwiazda Szeryfa / Sheriff’s Star, the music video for Kalifat has the potential to be exceptional. The creators of the Kalifat clip are aiming for it to premiere in November 2015.
Kazik & Malkovich
Kazik is a living and active legend of Polish popular music. His real name is Kazimierz Staszewski and he has been on the music scene for over 30 years. He became a recognizable vocalist in the 80s when his punk-influenced alternative rock band Kult rose to fame. In 1988 Kult released the song Arahja, one of their biggest hits. In the 90s Kazik became active as a solo artist. In 1997 he released his smash-hit solo album 12 groszy / 12 Cents, which contains the No. 1, hip-hoppy single of the same name. In 2003 Kazik released the solo album Piosenki Toma Waitsa / Songs by Tom Waits containing Polish versions of songs by the American singer which are stylistically close to the originals. Recently Kazik began to collaborate with the Poznań-based band Kwartet ProForma – together they released this year the double album Wiwisekcja / Vivisection, which contains both live and studio recordings. Kalifat is the only new song by Kazik and the Poznań group on the album. The remaining tracks are various compositions that were penned before the singer and the band started to record together. These compositions include songs by, amongst others, Kazik, his father (who also was a musician) and Kwartet ProForma. The live recordings that can be found on the album were all made at the September 2014 concert at Teatr WARSawy which was attended by Malkovich. The clip for Kalifat won’t be the first music video featuring the American actor. Malkovich has appeared in the video for Annie Lennox’s 1992 song Walking on Broken Glass and in this year’s clip for Eminem’s number Phenomenal. In 2006 during a visit to Warsaw, the Hollywood actor gave his support to the people who were protesting (unsuccessfully) against the eviction of the local club Le Madame, which was a meeting point for the socially liberal.
Author: Marek Kępa, Summer 2015
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