So what do I think about Polish music? Well, if you were to explore my Spotify account right now, you’d see a lot of indie rock and indie pop. So right now I’m listening to BORNS, Grimes, Best Coast, Halsey, Purity Ring, Churches, and lots of others that are very similar. Here I wanted to discuss a few Polish bands which I’ve been listening to that I think everyone should know about, Polish speaking and non.
NOTE: I didn’t include singers like Brodka or Dawid Podsiadło because I wanted to include bands/singers who were slightly less mainstream. But, yes, I know they exist and are good.
Both English and Polish:
The Dumplings – The Dumplings hail from Zabrze, just a hop, skip and a jump away. One of my students told me about them a couple years ago and I fell in love with their dreamy electronic tunes at first listen. Then I saw them in concert at the Radio Station in Gliwice, and later at Męskie Granie in Chorzów, which further solidified my love for the duo. They perform in both English and Polish which adds to their unique sound. I love/appreciate the mix.
this one too with Justyna from The Dumplings:
Bands that sing in Polish:
Artur Rojek – I know Rojek is mainstream and basically everyone knows and loves Rojek. No need real to describe his music. I had to include him because I think he’s such an incredible artist. Once part of a famous band called Myslowitz, now a solo artist. Better in the band or solo? I’m curious what everyone thinks. What is his best song? Hard to say. I think this:
Also, this is a cover but it was lovely to see live:
Mela Koteluk – I like the way she enunciates so that I can actually understand what she’s saying and the music is really folky. She’s another artist that I discovered at Męskie Granie. She played in Poznań last year if I remember correctly.
Bezsensu – The singer of this band sounds so similar to Rojek that I thought it was him. Seriously just listen to it. Anyway, it’s super catchy music and an awesome band name (literally translating to “without sense” or maybe “senseless” would be better in English.
Mikromusic feat. Skubas – this is a really beautiful song from a duo – a guy and a girl – two singers with a killer voices. Featuring Skubas who I like to think of as the Polish Timbaland. He’s got collaborations with everyone it seems.
And here’s a few random bands which I have discovered recently who sing in English:
Side note: to my friends/students who ask if I can tell that people aren’t native speakers when they sing in English, the answer is quite simple: not really. Sometimes I can hear that something was pronounced strangely but Americans and Brits do weird things too so it’s quite difficult to say if I’m totally honest.
Wild Books – a kind of lo-fi, surf rock band from Warsaw reminiscent of the Pixies. I like. They have a real American feel which makes me feel like I’m in college again.
Bokka – Bokka puts on a badass show. When I saw them, they were all wearing the same outfits, complete with masks and stuff. Pretty awesome. Like Grimes, their music is a little dark and creepy but just the right amount.
Patrick the Pan – Ok this guy definitely sings in both Polish and English but this song is English so it’s here. The song “Bubbles” is a bit old now but it’s so lovely I couldn’t not put it here. I have to say that I didn’t love his latest album.
A big shout out to the blog, WAFP – We Are From Poland – which posts all the new music from Polish bands. Amazing blog, really. Great taste, much appreciated.
So which Polish bands/singers are you guys listening to now? Based on my taste, what would you recommend?? I’m open to all your suggestions!
57 Comments
Really hard to say if You will like those but here are some of my suggestions (surprisingly, I don’t listen to as many Polish bands as I thought 😀 ) :
Kasia Stankiewicz – W środku myśli (also, Mokre ulice)
George Dorn Screams – 69 Moles
Psychocukier – Małpy morskie i krawat miłości
Benzyna – Amores Perros (also, Rozpalę Wielki Ogień)
Los Trabantos – Rabatki
Ok I will check them out 🙂 thanks Tomek!
Hey!
Try listening to other polish bands: Fismoll, Lao Che, Julia Marcell, Łąki Łan, Brodka
Hey Romek – nice to hear from you 🙂 I know Fismoll and Brodka of course but the others are totally new. Thanks for the info and I hope all is well with you!
Hey!
Really nice blog keep it up 🙂
Some of my favourite Polish musicians
Voo Voo – Gybym
Waglewski – Ile jeszcze życia
Fisz Emade – Zwierzę bez nogi ( inspired by Beastie Boys), Ślady( ft Justyna from The Dumplings)
Fisz & Emade are brothers and Wojciech Waglewski, who is also frontman of Voo Voo, is their father
Coals – Sting
Pozdrowienia
Hey Filip – Fisz Emade and Coals I know but the others I will definitely check out! Thank you for the suggestions!
It shaming that I haven’t heard about most of foregoing bands :(:P
I would add to your list FISMOLL – for me most of his songs are very good!!!
Ola – yeah Fismoll was kind of a runner-up in this. He’s like a Polish Bon Iver, don’t you think?
Yeah, definitely Polish Bon Iver 🙂
I like this kind of music 🙂
I love Artur Rojek! He was a singer in a band called “Myslovitz”, but he left to start his own career, they have a new singer now, but the music that they did together with Rojek was awesome! My favourites are: “Długość dźwięku samotności”, “Acidland”, “Art brut”, and many many more, but I don’t have good memory when it comes to the titles, I could sing an entire song and forget the title (My memory is just weird), BUT! They even did one album in Polish and English so you may listen to it on youtube if you want. Well, their pronunciation is not so good, but the translation of the lyrics quite satisfying, so I recommend it to you 🙂
Have a nice week!
Hey Agata! Thanks for the recs 🙂 More Rojek sounds good to me.
Hey Leah!
I’m reading your blog almost from the beggining and really like it! 🙂
From my audio library I think I can recommend you (but you propably already know them):
*Pidżama Porno – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3MLNlPP0-w
*Happysad – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Q1YCETCOUI
and some oldschool – Dżem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arK3cElT_2A
Dziękujemy za docenienie – Thank you for appreciating!
WAFP! team
Try Scandinavian Low, WAFP also wrote about them 😉
Hi there!
How about Iowa Super Soccer or Natalie loves you band? The same girl is singing in both of them. And she is form our backyard – Mysłowice. 🙂 And from the other part of Poland – Jacek Lachowicz – absolutely amazing man and NP (napszykłat) – pretty weird collective. 🙂
In case of Rojek, I use to like him very much, but unfortunately I’ve grown out of it. Maybe because I had a “pleasure” meeting him from wrong side. But if you like him it’s good for you. 🙂
Cheers!
Without unnecessary words: Luxtorpeda, Lao Che, Hey, Marek Grechuta (Ocalić od zapomnienia! and other ones), Jacek Kaczmarski, and something reaaaaaally good – Studio Accantus. They sing songs from famous musicals in Polish. 🙂 Enjoy!
hey Inga! Yeah Luxtorpeda and Hey I know of and have seen in concert but the other are new for me. Thanks for the suggestions!
I agree that it’s hard to say which Artur Rojek’s song is the best one. My favourites are “Beksa” and “Czas, który pozostał” also “Myszy ludzie” and “Długość dźwięku samotności”. Especially the last one is important to me, very personal.
I think Dawid Podsiadło is now one of the best Polish artists and I’m glad that you’ve already got to know his music. Do you know his band Curly Heads? 🙂
I rather listen to hmmm… hard music and I’m afraid you won’t like it as I do. By the way, if you want, you can check band Coma and their songs: “Los, cebula i krokodyle łzy” and “Pasażer”.
There is one song that recently really amazed me – “Kaktus” by Bovska. You may like it.
Pozdrawiam! 🙂
Hey Aleksandra! I do know the Curly Heads – actually I saw them in concert once. They were really good 🙂 I’ve never heard of Coma or Bovska so those are bands I definitely need to check out. Thank you!
Hello,
We were just making a playlist with polish song and found your blog. Thanks for Bokka! There is our playlist, if you want to check it out: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi6-oFbynlJUvhr60b4fs5jEgX4bLxgOK
And we have to read all your posts 🙂
Hello! I will definitely check out your playlist. And thanks so much for reading!
so far it’s amazing! Kroki <3 thanks for that
I didn’t know some of the musicians you wrote about. So thank you! (Side note: Myslovitz is written with “v” not “w”).
I love Hey (and Nosowska alone as well), Lao Che, Taco Hemingway, Tomasz Mazowiecki, Coldair, Translola and Adam Bałdych 🙂
Hey,Leah, have you had a chance to check out Julia Marcell’s music?
She used to sing in English but finally released a fully Polish album called “Proxy”. (However those first 3 albums recorded in English are so much better).
Another Polish beauty who sings in English is Kari Amirian. Both of the girls deserve a hashtag Polish-and-proud ^^
Hey Kath! I haven’t heard of either of them actually. I’ll listen to them now! Thanks for the suggestions 🙂
My fav (beside your propositions) are Taco Hemingway, xxanax, Happysad, Sarcast, Czesław Śpiewa, Damian Syjonfan – I hope you’ll like (at least some of) them 🙂 xx
Ola! hm I’ve never heard of the last three. What kind of music are they?
Hi! I listen Artur Rojek as everyone 😉 I was on a concert of Bokka and they are quite interesting, because they don’t show their faces, they always have masks. I fell in love with Mela Koteluk, she is totally amazing and her concert is worth-seeing/worth-listening!! You should find records of Dawid Podsiadło, really young but talented musician. You may also be interested in Domowe Melodie, they play kind of weird music but there is something in it. Wesołych Świąt Wielkanocnych! 😉
Dobre nutki, dzięki 🙂
Leah, you must listen Afromental 😉
Hi, Leah 🙂
I just found your blog and I’ve to say I love it. I’s a strange but also nice feeling to read about Poles and our (sometimes crazy even for some of us) customs. For sure I’ll be visiting your website.
Also I’ve to say I like your taste in polish music, I love Rojek and Bokka. I can also recommend you Brodka (she sings in Polish and English) and Lao Che.
Thanks Kasia!! Glad you’re enjoying 🙂 and thanks for the music suggestions
I don’t know what I should write, without that I really enjoy your blog.
Checkout Lor (it’s band of few teenege girls) on YouTube. They are singing in English their own songs and what I can write more – they are amazing! Hope you’ll like it.
Sorry for English skills.
Hey Ola! Cool I will check them out 🙂
First polish band on my mind are happysad ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7WpRLvvRng&nohtml5=False ) and Jacek Kaczmarski ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YGS9vhmFS0 ). I think they are little different than bands in ur post, but I hope u’ll like it. 🙂
I really like Ania Rusowicz and Mira Kubasińska 🙂 i think you will like them
Thanks Olcia!!
Let me recommend you some polish stuff sung in English:
-> Riverside – The Depth Of Self / Delusion -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qU1JYSzlYJI
-> Acid Drinkers – Swallow the Needle -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y6Fj8q7HjE
-> Black River – Free Man -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8CiouJzvVY
Not mentioning more abroad-famous bands like Behemoth, Vader, Decapitaded. But those are only if you like really heavy stuff.
Thanks Adrian – always good to know the local metal bands 🙂
Riverside <3
Omg, you listen to great music ! I’m in love with The Dumplings. 🙂
Thanks Basia! I know, aren’t they great?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaVh6Sjh9f0
It’s a debut album of a polish actress and I am completely in love with it. I thought you might like it too 🙂
cool! thanks Tosia 🙂
Wow you really hit a cord (pun intended!) with the music. I really like the Dumplings…the video was amazing and the Wild Books 🙂
I would recommend You some classic polish songs form 80’s, but I don’t know if You’re interested in rock etc. But, hey! I think Baasch will do. He’s great, but underrated. Pablopavo’s good too. Maybe You would like some ballads from Koniec Świata too (1980). To be honest – I had to give them a few tries with every their song to fully enjoy them (to enjoy them at all), but it was worth it. They’re maybe a bit too bold and repetitive, but I haven’t seen such pure energy in a while.
Regards!
Hi!
Maybe the post is a bit outdated now, but I found it just today as well as your blog and I love it 🙂
you should also listen to bands that are a bit older, lets say
Republika – “Moja krew” “Reinkarnacje” “Obcy astronom” amazing lyrics and they come from Toruń, my beloved city, unfortunately the leader, Grzegorz Ciechowski, died in 2001, much too early
Kult – “Po co wolność” “Gdy nie ma dzieci” “Wróci wiosna, baronowo” “Arahja” again the lyrics are very important, and depending on the album the genres really change, they still keep on playing concerts which is amazing
Have a nice time listening 🙂
Hey Michał 🙂 Glad you found/like the blog! I’ve never heard of those bands so I have to check them out! Always happy to learn about new bands. I need to a do a new, updated music post so these could be candidates 🙂
If you want to hear some Polish music, old and new I personally propouse to you find on YouTube bands and solo artists such as:
– SBB (Search, Break & Build)
– Perfect
– Light Coorporation
– Laboratorium (Laboratory)
– Zbigniew Seifert
– Tomasz Stańko
– Michał Urbaniak
– Czesław Niemen
– Katedra
– Andrzej Smolik
Enjoy 🙂 !!!
Hear, You have some sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwtHJW5PoGw
Below is a translation to the lyrics in the song:
There is nothing quite extraordinary
In the consumption of the fruit
Nor the fruit itself
Apple a small planet in the orchard of the macrocosm
You raise it and shake it down
Water and fire
Perhaps only the crossing of the boundary
between the green and the white
A tasting grove amidst russet fields
Daughter little lady with an apple in her hand
With a clever little beast
The deceitful ermine of hope
There is nothing quite extraordinary
In the consumption of the fruit
Nor the fruit itself
Nothing here is easier than salvation
of flea market paintings
Of the father releasing an arrow in the direction of the son
The tempted and the temptress
Of the elegant islander
Who for a long time denied
Mankind the hope of leaving the earth
There is nothing quite extraordinary
In the consumption of the fruit
Nor the fruit itself
Daughter
The slain lay amongst the apples in the orchard
Awesome thanks Marcin 🙂 for all the comments!
All pleasure by my side 🙂 I like your blog, your writing about Poland i very neutral. I personally have interest in other countries around the world (especially in music), so for me is always nice to hear or watch that someone have interest on my country. All greetings to You and your Husband 😉
Sorry for this storm of posts 🙂 But I i remind to my self that we have laso one very interesting band called Percival. This is a band playing a slavic folk music from many slavic countries like: Poland (of course), Slovakia, Belarus, Russia, Czech Republic, Ukraine and others. Here the sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7RLBXpQm0g
Hi!
If you likie Fismoll and The Dumplings you should check Kubaterra, Karlla and Leski. Also you can listen Daniel Spaleniak or OLY. 🙂
My favourite polish band is Riverside <3
https://youtube.com/watch?v=QuIflRajVvw
Very interesting?? I found Polo TV music channel in Warsaw and every man singing seemed to be 40-50 years old,i assume there is better music to listen to apart from what you put on here?
Thanks for posting this. I’m trying to learn Polish and I find that music helps. Thanks also to all the commenters who added to the list of new artists for me to check out.