Teielte was first known by the alias Tilt, in honour of the French artist whose illegal murals eventually made him one of the world's most well-known graffiti artists. Street art and urban music played significant roles in Paweł Strekczyk's musical explorations. In an interview for the newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza in 2010, he revealed an early penchant for hip-hop, remarking, "But I didn’t wear baggy pants or a baseball cap, I didn’t rap. I was interested chiefly in the music rather than in the lyrics".
In a certain sense his debut record in 2010 opened a new chapter in the history of Polish electronic music. Homeworkz holds a prime position in the catalogue of U Know Me Records, a label that is the younger sibling of the hip-hop record company JuNouMiRecords. For the past few years JuNouMiRecords has been a beacon of the independent Polish club scene. It is a label that is focused entirely on releasing vinyl records. The company releases music by innovative Polish artists including Kixnare, Daniel Drumz and Eltron John. Homeworkz proved how futile it is to identify music by genre - attempting to pigeonhole its compositions would end with a very long list of inspirations and a serious headache.
Teielte’s sound demonstrates how hip-hop’s instrumental realm is closely related to club, dance and electronic music. Homeworkz points to links between these seemingly distinct styles, which isn’t necessarily an effect of Strzelczyk’s musical interests alone. Ties between these genres are rooted in the history of club music, with rhythms that easily shift to a complicated break beat that gets even the most jaded toes tapping.
Yet the tempos aren’t imposing, seldom exceeding 120 beats per minute and quickly shifting again, the rhythmical bits turning into flowing streams of static and pulsing bass. Homeworkz' tracks, with their variety of samples and textures, evoke different, incongruous emotions in the listener. This is the music of modern flâneurs, who wander around the city with headphones, lost in their own worlds of rhythm and tempo.
Teielte’s next album, Wooden Love, was released in 2012. On this record, melancholy and complex backgrounds play a smaller part, their place taken by rhythms that often take sharp turns. Sparks of colourful, abruptly cut, reptitious sounds surround listeners, nudging them to dance or simply to contemplate the formal and compositional ideas.
Strzekczyk's music caries its own independent style, evading simple categorisation while drawing on a wide range of global trends. Polish music critics emphasise the world-class level of his production skills as Teielte, with Dominika Węcławek writing in Życie Warszawy:
with no doubts or second thoughts, the young Mazovian producer cuts, mixes and interweaves various sounds to a great effect.
Maceo Wuro of Radio Roxy writes:
He is up to date with all the newest trends, but he doesn’t copy anybody’s style, he creates his own original world. One has to admit he does this with great skill and imagination. I think it’s only a matter of time until the whole world hears about this young producer from Płock.
Discography:
- Homeworkz (CDr, U Know Me Records), 2010
- Selcouth (MP3, U Know Me Records), 2011
- Wooden Love EP (12'', U Know Me Records), 2012
- Crystalline EP (12", U Know Me Records), 2013
For more on Tielte, see the fanpage at www.facebook.com/pages/Teielte. Contact: djteielte@gmail.com
Author: Filip Lech, April 2013. Translated by Marek Kępa
02.05.2013