In 1975, Czesław Niemen released Katharsis, which he recorded completely on his own and played all the instruments, with significant involvement of electronica. Next, he released a triple album Idee Fixe, recorded during countless sessions with the musicians of Aerolit and, once again, with Zbigniew Namysłowski. Niemen spent 1976-80 mainly on tour, from USSR to the USA, from the Bombay Jazz Festival to the Youth Festival in Havana. In January 1980, he promoted his Postscriptum compilation album at the MIDEM Fair in Cannes.
During the 1980s, Niemen played a few shows with various backing musicians as well as solo. After re-releases of his classic albums, he finally released Terra Deflorata, a solo album he had been painstakingly preparing for years, filled with experimental electronic music illustrating his original lyrics.
1995 saw the release of the first compilation authorized by the artist, Sen o Warszawie / Dream of Warsaw, followed by rereleases of his previous albums on CD. In 1999, a readers' poll of the "Polityka" weekly recognized Niemen as a timeless Polish artist.
His final album containing original material, spodchmurykapelusza, continued his experiments with electronica and was released in autumn 2001. By that time, the artist seemed to be more interested in painting and computer graphics than music.
Czesław Niemen spent the final years of his life battling cancer. He died 17 January 2004. An urn with his ashes was buried at Warsaw's Powązki cemetery on 30 January in a ceremony that brought together several thousand fans and numerous friends from the music industry.
Discography:
- Dziwny jest ten świat - Muza, 1967;
- Sukces - Muza, 1968;
- Czy mnie jeszcze pamiętasz? - Muza, 1969;
- Enigmatic - Muza, 1970;
- Niemen - Muza, 1971;
- Muzyka teatralna i telewizyjna - Muza, 1971 (with Wanda Warska and Andrzej Kurylewicz);
- Strange is This World - CBS, 1972;
- Ode to Venus - CBS, 1973;
- Vol. 1 / Vol. 2 - Muza, 1973;
- Russische Lieder - CBS, 1973;
- Mourner's Rhapsody - CBS, 1974;
- Niemen Aerolit - Muza, 1975;
- Katharsis - Muza, 1976;
- Idee Fixe - Muza, 1978;
- Postscriptum - Muza, 1980;
- Samarpan - Muza, 1987 (with Sławomir Kulpowicz);
- Terra Deflorata - Veriton, 1989;
- spodchmurykapelusza - EMI Music Polska, 2001.
Author: Maciej Sienkiewicz, July 2010. Translated by: Jerzy Kamecki, July 2010.