Szymon Gąsiorek

Percussionist, graduate of the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen and composer interested in music that emerges at the intersection of genres, yet is characterised by original, coherent expression.

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Szymon Gąsiorek, photo: Dawid Gąsiorek

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Szymon Gąsiorek is a percussionist and composer whose work is characterised by genre eclecticism. Most of the bands he plays in are based in Copenhagen, but the artist often makes his presence felt on the Polish and Slovenian scenes as well. Although he has enjoyed eschewing stylistic and geographical co-ordinates over the years, it is easy to locate his origins. Born in 1993, the musician started out in his hometown of Wschowa, where he first watched his older brother’s rock band rehearse in the town’s community centre, before later enrolling at a primary music school. After completing the percussion class, he continued his education at the State Secondary Music School in Leszno.

Between developing his skills under the tutelage of his teachers, Gąsiorek was involved in his first musical projects. He played in the Wschowa Youth Brass Band (mainly on the trombone) and also performed in the jazz-rock band Meagre Quartet. It was colleagues in this group that convinced him to go to Denmark to participate in the entrance exams. The musician explains:

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I had previously heard about the more open approach of Scandinavian jazz schools to teaching, and I had that in the back of my mind. When I graduated from the secondary music school, I knew that I wanted to continue my musical education. However, I knew it was a moment of choice between the drum kit, improvising and creating my own music, and the classical repertoire. I was closer to the former, but I was not convinced by the Polish jazz academies. Rhythmic Music Conservatory turned out to be it.

Eruption

Among the many students at the Danish academy with whom Gąsiorek shared the stage and recording studio in the following years was a large group of Poles. In Copenhagen, the percussionist met, among others, pianists Grzegorz Tarwid and Kamil Piotrowicz, saxophonists Jędrzej Łagodziński and Kuba Więcek, percussionist Albert Karch and double bassist Franciszek Pospieszalski.

Constant contact with inspiring musicians from all over Europe, access to rehearsal rooms, instruments and a recording studio meant that Gąsiorek was involved in countless projects in Copenhagen. Even before the start of his first semester, he founded the trio The Love And Beauty Seekers together with Łagodziński and Pospieszalski. Their first album, Żar (Ember), was released in 2016 by Love & Beauty Music, a label set up by the musicians. In Poland, the album passed unnoticed – perhaps because it was overshadowed by another release.

On exactly the same day, the debut album of the Pimpono Ensemble, an impressive nonet led by Gąsiorek, was released. The album HOPE LOVE PEACE FAITH received enthusiastic critical reviews, and the international line-up performed at Warsaw’s Jazz Jamboree the following year. On his blog Polifonia, Bartek Chaciński wrote:

The convention of this music is somewhat unusual, as the punk eruptions of a sound that is heavily boosted in the lower registers (three double basses, tuba and a baritone saxophone) create a monstrous force, but one that’s controlled brilliantly and punctuated by choral shouts.

Due to the size of the line-up, the massive nature of this music and its Scandinavian roots, critics have compared the Pimpono Ensemble’s debut to Mats Gustafsson’s famous Fire! Orchestra. Others heard echoes of post-rock and even metal in this music. And they were probably all correct. The other thing is that, although bringing so many individuals together in one ensemble makes it easier to fulfil diverse artistic intentions, running such a line-up is also a challenge.

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From a compositional perspective, I try to find a balance between the execution of my ideas and the individual personalities and sound of the musicians in the band. Journalists have written about the co-existence of collective discipline and individual freedom on our recordings. I am happy if such a thing has been achieved. It also translates into human dynamics in the band. The musicians have to want to play, to be a part of it, and my task is to tie it all together.

Szymon Gąsiorek’s education helped to reinforce him in his chosen path and helped him build his artistic autonomy. ‘Paradoxically, by the end of my Bachelor’s degree I didn’t particularly care what the examiners would say or what grades I would get. And that was because I felt deeply that I know what I am supposed to do.’

If the opinion of any teachers mattered much to him, it was certainly that of the American artists from whom he learned as part of the External Integrated Module programme. In 2017, he spent two months in New York and Chicago, studying under the tutelage of jazz, improvisation and ethnic music masters: William Parker, Chad Taylor, Adam Rudolph, Cooper-Moore, Joshua Abrams and Avreeayl Ra.

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When we met, Cooper-Moore bought me chicken soup, and then we talked for five hours at his flat. He asked me a lot of questions, and for every answer I gave, he demanded a specific justification. Zero bullshit. He was strict, but kind and generous at the same time. After the lesson, he didn’t want any money from me. I will probably remember this meeting for the rest of my life.

During his studies, Gąsiorek was involved in numerous musical projects. Through them, he sought new inspirations, forms of expression, and musicians with whom he would like to develop original bands. The drummer estimates that he co-founded fifteen or even twenty ensembles during that period. Although it was an extremely creative period for him, today he admits that functioning in so many groups is impossible in the long run from a practical point of view. Currently, Gąsiorek is concentrating on only a few musical projects. One of these remains the Pimpono Ensemble, which has been functioning as a septet since 2019. Since working on the album Survival Kit, the line-up of this group has stabilised. In an enthusiastic review for the Nowe Idzie od Morza portal, Jakub Knera wrote:

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‘Survival Kit’ overflows with very invigorating compositional solutions – from explorations of jazz, big band sound, to ambient, improvised passages or rhythmic cavalcades set by Gąsiorek.

Among the other ensembles in which the artist is involved, one worth noting is E/I sextet, whose album Emission/Intention contains Gąsiorek’s compositions situated at the intersection of instrumental ambient and drone music in the spirit of Éliane Radigue. This restrained, soulful work, led by cello and three saxophones, stands at the opposite pole to the Alfons Slik duo’s Nie Przejmuj Się (Don’t Worry). Recorded with pianist Grzegorz Tarwid, the album is a frivolous dialogue in which free jazz collides once with instrumental hip-hop and even rock’n’roll. Gąsiorek also appears on it as a vocalist. However, he does so much less frequently than on Pozdrawiam (Greetings) – a solo album recorded under the pseudonym Pimpon. This is the artist’s most song-based record, although his self-produced pop is generously sprinkled with psychedelic electronica and even concrete music. Gąsiorek explains:

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In my music, I try to combine the worlds of the so-called avant-garde, experimental music and pop culture. This division seems unnecessary to me, by the way. Lately, when recording vocals, I like to use autotune, which gives a sound that is often found in contemporary pop, trap or new school rap. By combining it with textures, noise, improvisation or acoustic drums, I achieve the desired effect. Ultimately, what excites me most is music that is created somewhere at the intersection of genres yet has an original and coherent expression.

Released in 2022, Pozdrawiam received very good reviews in Poland and abroad. The British website The Quietus ranked the album 59th in its list of the 100 best albums of the first half of 2022.

szymon gąsiorek

The Love And Beauty Seekers

Pimpono Ensemble

contemporary polish composers

polish electronic music