The Voice as Portal: An Interview with Antonina Nowacka

5_an_by_francisco_fidalgo.jpg, default, Antonina Nowacka, photo: Francisco Fidalgo, The Voice as Portal: An Interview with Antonina Nowacka

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Her voice doesn't just fill a room – it seems to stretch time, alter air, and summon visions. When Antonina Nowacka sings, the boundaries between language, sound and spirit dissolve.

The Polish vocalist and sound artist has performed in caves, cathedrals, fortresses, volcanic craters and dreamlike ruins – spaces that don’t just host her voice but actively shape it. Through solo works and collaborations, Nowacka has cultivated a practice where singing becomes ritual, portal and meditation.

Now, with Hiraeth – her second album with Sofie Birch – set to release this month, Nowacka invites listeners once again into a world of imagined landscapes and sonic spells. In this wide-ranging conversation with Culture.pl’s Agnes Dudek, Nowacka reflects on her voice as a spiritual medium, her lifelong relationship with dreams, the acoustics of forgotten spaces, and why her next creative step might be architectural.

Sonic landscapes, natural spaces

Agnes Dudek: You’ve sung in caves, fortresses, sanctuaries, churches, cinemas and volcanic terrains – spaces with deep acoustic presence. How do these environments shape what your voice becomes in that moment?

Antonina Nowacka: Being in awe of a beautiful place or a beautiful acoustic brings on frequencies of excitement and happiness. Those frequencies are the most vibrant and create the most beautiful soundscapes.

AD: What draws you to particular spaces? Is it the architecture, the energy, the reverb or something more?

AN: Yes, actually a mixture of everything you mentioned! I’m really attracted to spaces that have a surreal aesthetic feeling, which feel like they were purposefully designed by humans, other cosmic beings or by nature itself. Natural places that have a sense of the dream-like – landscapes with a mysterious atmosphere.

For example, there are caves in Indonesia that are all inside the mountains and higher cliffs, surrounded by misty jungle. That sort of imagery was very inspiring and exciting, as if I was arriving in a place that seemed out of this world. I was entering a cave full of abstract forms organically sculpted by time over millions of years. That seemed so surreal and made me feel like I was being transported into an alternate reality.

On the other hand, I’m also super attracted to churches and spaces with a feeling of space or that have spacious acoustic qualities. I also adore artistic creations like visionary sculptures depicting weird unusual creatures, visionary or impressionistic paintings, as well as historical architecture with rich ornamentation. Recently I’ve become obsessed with art nouveau or the Italian liberty style – it’s full of spirals and floral elements designed in a beautiful, minimalistic and elegant way. I feel it resonates with me deeply.

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Antonina Nowacka, photo: Aria Ruffini

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AD: Is there a particular natural space in Poland – a forest, a field, a ruin – that shaped your early sense of sound or wonder? And in general, has Poland influenced your work in any way?

AN: I don’t feel like I have a close relationship with any particular place in Poland, however there are places which surely made a big impression on me. For example, my first solo album Lamuna, while it was inspired by my experiences of singing in Indonesian caves, was recorded in one of the tunnels in Modlin Fortress, which had this beautiful reverberated acoustic.

Our newest record with Sofie Birch was recorded in the village of Sokołowsko. It’s a surreal far away place in the mountains, full of original old architecture and some of the most beautiful examples I’ve ever encountered of outdoor metalworks in public spaces.

Earlier in my life, before I ever started recording music, I often travelled to Bieszczady, the region where my parents met and lived in their early years together. It’s a truly magical place and I’ve dreamy memories of wandering around there by myself, reading a lot and just kind of disappearing in the environment for days.

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Antonina Nowacka, photo: Henrik Hellström

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Cultural & vocal lineages

AD: You’ve studied Javanese music, Hindustani classical voice, and listened to opera since childhood. How do these traditions live inside your vocal practice today?

AN: I feel like I’m carrying a mixture of all my experiences and it’s all manifesting in my music, especially in the way my voice sounds. It’s interesting, because some key elements from these traditions are contradictory – for example, in opera there’s a strong vibrato presence but in Hindustani vocalisation the vibrato is forbidden. For me, the vibrato is a truly personal feature, it’s the sound of my sensitivities, of my inner spirit, so I’m not interested in hiding it.

It’s very important that I feel free in expressing my inner spirit, so I prefer to find elements that resonate with me in each tradition and apply them in my own way – it allows me to feel like my voice is expanding into a universal realm. From my Hindustani practice, I learned how to elaborate on a theme with an elegant and purposeful manner. You have a very limited set of notes and you learn how to use a small number of notes to create very long, complex and beautiful ornamental compositions. There are endless combination possibilities, it’s almost like mathematics. Once you enter this universe, it feels like opening doors into a new world.

In Indonesian music, there’s a very specific tonality that can sometimes feel out of tune, but it creates a specific resonance between the instruments of the whole orchestra. I really love that the harmony is created just by the overtones and I also like applying this to my vocal practice.

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Antonina Nowacka, photo: Aria Ruffini

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AD: Do you ever feel like your voice is speaking a language that doesn’t exist yet? Or perhaps, is remembering one that was lost?

AN: Definitely. Working with voice outside the borders of language can feel like you’re touching something very deep and old, something universal for all living creatures. As we come into this world, even though we’re not aware of anything, we scream. Sometimes when I practice and sing my melodies surrounded by nature, I feel like nature hears and understands me, that the birds are flying by and responding.

The voice as portal

AD: Your voice often feels like a portal – a gossamer thread pulling listeners into dreamlike, otherworldly dimensions. Do you remember when you first began to sense that your voice could transport people to other states of being?

AN: Thank you, that’s a really beautiful description of what someone’s voice might sound like – I feel blessed! I think it comes from what I feel when I’m by myself and singing, from the moments I’m truly connected with myself – connected to my emotions, vulnerability and imagination – and I allow them to flow through. I truly feel a sense of pure beauty and immense pleasure when I sing and I want to share these feelings with others. I don’t know if there was a particular moment of realisation, rather a process that took some time, but surely it’s related to the discovery of my own path – for the most part, it’s about travelling to far away places and experiencing life as an adventure, exploring both the inner and outer worlds.

AD: You’ve developed a vocal quality that’s often described as hypnotic, theremin-like, ephemeral. What’s going on internally when you sing?

AN: It’s quite difficult to describe verbally, but I’ll try. I often experience visions that take the form of visual clouds. I call them ‘clouds’ because their appearance is blurred and vague, but they present me situations of various kinds. There is usually narration, but sometimes just a visual impression. Very often it’s the presence of places that resemble landscapes, but landscapes I’ve never seen before and I don’t even know if they exist on our planet. I call them imaginary landscapes. Most of the time I sing with my eyes closed and that’s when these imaginary landscapes appear. Their atmosphere brings me a warm pleasant feeling and I’m often moved to tears because they remind me of something I can never truly gasp. It’s like the feeling you get when you meet up with someone you love after a long time of separation.

AD: Do you think of your voice more as an instrument, a medium or perhaps a being in itself? Does it have its own will or consciousness?

AN: I feel it’s a very ethereal matter, simply because we cannot see it. It’s like the air or a kind of vibrating field of frequencies that appears in front of me, that I can shape as I desire. I think of it as a rather neutral being – it just exists and the moment I decide to let it out, it awakens into its beautiful presence. But I also feel it is very connected with me and my sensitivity, so sometimes it can say more than I’m aware of, for example, if I feel uncomfortable or if I’m uncertain about something.

Antonina Nowacka: Performances [Image Gallery]

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Imagination & inner states

AD: You describe imagination as the core of your creative process. What nourishes your imagination the most: solitude, travel, dreams or encounters with others?

AN: Surely, all of those, but I have to admit that, being an introvert, I’m mostly inspired by my solitary experiences during inner and outer travel. Dreams are very important for me as I’m an enthusiast of abstract realms – I get excited by happenings that go beyond the borders of language, logic and the so-called realistic approach. In dreams, everything can happen. The most fascinating for me are the ones that carry a symbolic meaning, as they feel scripted or designed. Somehow they operate in different realms and yet carry a message which applies to reality.

AD: What are your dreams like? Do they influence how you compose or perform?

AN: They influence and broaden my vocabulary. If I’m dreaming about something, even though it’s something that couldn’t happen in an awakened state, I am still experiencing that situation and it has a real feeling. This feeling allows me to believe it was as real as anything else I experience. If I’m dreaming about a cosmic plant that grows high up into the sky super-fast in front of my eyes, my voice can become that feeling and that moment. It’s the beauty of creation.

AD: How do hypnagogic states – those moments between waking and sleep – manifest in your work, if at all?

AN: Such moments are very dear to me, as they bring the most interesting visions. Such visions can turn into the feeling carried by my voice.

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Antonina Nowacka, photo: Francisco Fidalgo

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Spirituality & sound

AD: You’ve said you see spirituality not through religion, but through energy, beauty and love for the world. Can you describe a moment whilst singing when you’ve felt that kind of presence or revelation?

AN: I try to channel those feelings every time – they are the most beautiful and pleasant frequencies. I think the first time I truly started having such an experience was when I discovered Seplawan Cave in Indonesia. I travelled to this cave frequently just to sing by myself for hours inside. I feel it was a form of meditation practice that allowed me to better connect with parts of me that are hidden deep inside.

AD: Do you think sound can carry messages or emotions that words fail to hold?

AN: Yes, definitely. Sounds go beyond the borders of language, they’re universal. Generally, I’m a person who isn’t very talkative. I operate mostly in the realms of physical presence, gestures, touch and energy, and these are also the qualities that can be carried by sound.

Performance as ritual

AD: Each of your performances is site-specific, unfolding uniquely in response to place and people. Do you experience your concerts more as rituals, meditations or storytelling?

AN: Yes, it’s something between a ritual and a meditation. Every performance is different for me and I never perform the same composition twice. I tune my zither differently every time depending on what tuning resonates with me on that particular day. Before a concert, I always come into a peculiar state of being that is somehow psychedelic, as it reminds me a lot of the states induced by substances for consciousness alteration.

In this state, I’m unable to talk, I feel more sensitive to touch and, in general, I feel extremely vulnerable. It is a very automatic process. I somehow start, I enter the zone, I play with the sound matter, something happens and then I come back after everything and I feel elevated, happy and so relaxed. I have no idea what’s really going on, however it’s all a very beautiful and mysterious process – and I love it for that.

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Antonina Nowacka, photo: Helena Majewska

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AD: And can you tell me briefly about the costumes you wear for your performances? I feel they always perfectly match your vocal performance.

AN: I like applying a holistic approach, so it’s not just about the music but also the space, scenography, costumes – every element is part of the experience. I believe every compound is important and every detail can change the viewer’s perception. I prefer to perform in spaces with costumes and scenography that all match the energy and atmosphere of a dream-like imaginary realm, with references to historical styles and the subtle wonders of nature. I often collaborate with other artists whose sensitivity and energy feels close to mine and who share and understand my vision.

AD: What remains with you after a performance ends – what lingers in your body or spirit?

AN: I feel very elevated – I get a sense of lightness and feel excited, but at the same time also relaxed and truly happy – I literally smile all the time. I feel like I’ve just experienced a beautiful trip.

Daily life, grounding & the future

AD: How do you return to everyday life after long periods of travel, performance and dreaming?

AN: I don’t feel like there’s a border separating them – travel, performance and dreaming are an important part of my everyday life, and actually an essential part. Even when I’m not travelling for concerts, I travel to make discoveries and for soul nourishment. I feel my life without dreaming and imagining would be so empty and shallow. It makes everything more joyful and pleasant, more relaxed and sparkling.

AD: What does ‘home’ mean to you? Is it a place, a feeling, maybe a sound?

AN: It’s rather a feeling for me. A familiar feeling that’s comfortable, light, warm, peaceful and pleasant.

AD: What are you currently curious about – musically, spiritually, personally?

AN: I’m curious about human nature, as it seems like a never-ending field of mysteries to me. I wish to understand why humans, despite being one species, are so different from each other. I cannot comprehend how one thing – a taste or a sound – can be so pleasant for one person but unbearable or uncomfortable for another. It’s so fascinating to me. If you knew me personally, you’d see I’m someone who always asks: ‘Why? Why is this like this, not like that?’ I love to investigate everything, including myself (‘Why do I like this and not that?’). I don’t think it’ll ever resolve anything, it’s more like an odd hobby.

In terms of my artistic practice, I’m now very interested in researching and visiting architectural sites. As a big fan of historical architecture, I seek out specific examples of visionary art that are somehow unique in their field or hold weird esoteric qualities. I’m super curious about such oddities. In Italy, there’s quite a number of unique spots so I already have a whole schedule planned for the summer. I’d like to bring more of these locations into the spotlight – examples of human creation that go beyond the norm and touch upon topics related to imaginary worlds and the cosmos.

AD: ‘Hiraeth’, your second album with Sofie Birch is coming out this month. Any other upcoming future projects that you’re working on?

AN: This year, I’m working on an exhibition for a gallery in Poland. I’m also working on a new solo record, a return to voice in a cosmic imaginary realm.

www.antoninanowacka.com

Instagram @antoninawidt

Bandcamp www.antoninanowacka.bandcamp.com

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