SXSW success
During these last four days we played two gigs which found their way to Rolling Stone, NPR, Chicago Tribune, Sound Opinions, Gigwise and Tucson Weekly best acts list of this years edition!
Trupa Trupa among 10 Great Musical Discoveries of this year’s SXSW according to Rolling Stone!
„On a day that opened with news of another horrific shooting — the massacre of Muslim worshippers at mosques in New Zealand — this experimental hard-rock quartet from Gdansk, Poland, began its set in requiem: “Never Forget,” a violent exasperation of anger and sorrow expressed in marching rhythm, overheated guitars and the title chant, and coming from much closer to home. In January, Pawel Adamowicz, the mayor of Gdansk and a friend of the band, was stabbed to death onstage at a charity event by an ultra-right fanatic. Singer-guitarist Grzegorz Kwiatkowski, his body shaking with nervous, outraged commitment, dedicated this performance to Adamowicz and the distant prospect of “no more hating.” “Dream About,” a track from Trupa Trupa’s forthcoming U.S. debut on Sub Pop, was another rattling challenge to futility. And when the band finished with “Good Days Are Gone,” it was in an angular, frantic desperation to prove the opposite.”
Chicago Tribune sees TT as one of the SXSW highlights!
„Trupa Trupa: Gdansk, Poland’s Trupa Trupa first made an impact in America last year at South by Southwest, and the quartet returned this year to debut songs from a forthcoming album on Sub Pop. The band dedicated its performance to Gdansk Mayor Pawel Adamowicz, an ally and friend who was recently murdered. “These are new radical, dark, anti-hate-speech songs,” singer Grzegorz Kwiatkowski said by way of introduction, as good a way as any to describe the band’s stark aesthetic. The lyrics were often snippets, phrases, designed to provoke rather than soothe, hint rather resolve: “I dream about no one, no way, no one,” “I’ve got nothing to hide, I will just disappear.” The minimalist constructions prized dynamics and drone over melody and often built hypnotic force.”
NPR Music places Trupa Trupa among the most interesting acts of this year’s SXSW! Listen to the podcast from 4:56 [Friday, March 15].
„I thought: wow. They’ve got really really good. They’ve signed with Sub Pop Records. They’ve got a new record coming out. It was great to see them. We’re excited about them.”
Robin Hilton
„Trupa Trupa. Singing dark songs of hate speech and freedom all the way from Poland. Listen!”
Bob Boilen
What I love about Austin SXSW is that they do bring bands from other countries you may never otherwise get to see; that tour very infrequently. Another great example of this is this Polish band Trupa Trupa. We talked about them last year, we’ve seen them at SXSW. This is one of their rare appearances in the US. As a result of that appearance at SXSW, they were covered by a number of writers, including myself. They got a recording contract with Sub Pop Records. So here we are, they returned here playing new songs from their forthcoming Sub Pop record. You know, on top of that, they were speaking about some very crucial issues; the mayor of Gdansk, Poland where they’re from was murdered a few weeks ago. He was an ally, a friend of the band, so they dedicated their shows to him; one of the songs has this dark vibe that very much played into this theme of hate speech and how it’s affecting the way the world works. And that part of Europe is under siege of right-wing forces. And there are are parallels in our own country, so everybody could relate. It was really a powerful performance.
www.soundopinions.org/show/695
Trupa Trupa’s delivery on a promise. There’s a big room in the convention center called the Flatstock, where artists sell their wares and mostly music posters. There’s also, of course, a venue in the middle of the room where bands play shows during the day. Polish rock group Trupa Trupa (which translates literally to „corpse corpse”), played a short set that made me feel hyper and like I was floating at the same time. At one point, frontman Grzegorz Kwiatkowski introduced a song: „The next song,” he cried into the microphone, „is called ‚Snow.’ And it’s about snow. Surprise! From, Poland.” One of the song’s lyrics repeats, „I’ve got nothing to hide, oh, I’ve got nothing to hide.” And they didn’t. They told us they would give us a song about snow, and they gave us a great song about snow.
Emily Dieckman, www.tucsonweekly.com
Whether it’s the heavy, jarring soundscape from new Subpop signings out of Gdansk, Trupa Trupa, or the Pavement-influenced juggernaut of Japan’s Stereogirl, SXSW brings the cream of international music to one spot unlike any other festival.