Composer, musician, producer – for the past few years one of the most original artists of Polish electronic, electro-acoustic, avant-garde music. Born in 1972 in Toruń.
Composer, musician, and producer.
Michał Jacaszek (performing and recording under his "Jacaszek" moniker). Working as a sound engineer for the University of Toruń's Radio Sfera (1997-2003), he began his experiments with electronically-generated sound. This led to numerous radio programmes that included his music, and lyrics read by local poets. In the late '90s, he staged his first live performances. This early period was documented by two self-released CDR albums, Wiersze zmieszane and Rocznik dźwiękowy.
In 2002, Jacaszek began an artistic partnership with poet and singer, Miłka Malzahn, producing her album Mapa. That same year, he released his first solo album with the respected independent label, Gusstaff Records. Lo-Fi Stories combined electronically processed instruments (with Jacaszek playing guitar, violin, percussion) with synthesizers and samples taken mostly from vintage children's records. The result was highly original, both fragile and dreamy, and with a slightly absurd sense of humour.
In 2005, Jacaszek created Lem Konzept, a project commissioned by Radio Copernicus, a sort of radio play based on Bajki robotów / Mortal Engines by renowned Polish sci-fi writer, Stanisław Lem.
Another album with Miłka Malzahn, Sequel appeared in 2005, offering catchy songs based on steady, almost club-like electronic beats.
In 2006, Jacaszek started collaborating with Stefan Wesołowski, violinist, arranger and composer of church music. After two years of work, Kompleta CD/DVD was released, including a composition based on Catholic prayers, written for string quartet, two voices and electronics. A few months earlier, Wesołowski arranged strings for Treny, Jacaszek's second solo album. This record, quiet and minimalistic, uses silence as an integral part of the music, and was released simultaneously by Gusstaff and the well-known Miasmah Records from Norway. Treny was received enthusiastically by the music press all over the world, eventually showing well in many end-of-the-year charts for both classical and electronic music.
Jacaszek's latest album is Pentral (2009). Playing on the borders of ambient and musique concrete, the album attempts to recreate the spiritual ambience of a sacred space, and is based on field recordings from the interiors of several Gothic churches.
At the moment, Jacaszek is composing theatre and movie themes, while working on his new solo effort, this time based around the human voice.
Discography:
- Lo Fi Stories (Gusstaff, 2004),
- Mapa (Offmusic, 2004; billed as a solo record of Miłka Malzahn),
- Sequel (Gusstaff, 2005; as Jacaszek&Miłka),
- Kompleta (Kompleta, 2008),
- Treny (Gusstaff/Miasmah, 2008),
- Pentral (Gusstaff, 2009).
Author: Maciej Sienkiewicz, November 2010.
composer
musician
producer
electronic
avant-garde
