Combining resonant samples lifted from Polish jazz records and the sublime sounds of live instrumentation, Skalpel is the new musical checkpoint between Eastern and Western Europe. Masterminded by Marcin Cichy and Igor Pudlo, the two natives of Wroclaw first attracted attention with a mixtape they passed on to Ninja Tune’s DJ Vadim. They landed a spot supporting his Russian Percussion tour, and immediately set about deconstructing their pile of Polish jazz records. Vadim’s Soviet abstract hip hop style plowed a deep furrow into Western music and now that they are labelmates, Skalpel’s jazz-themed cuts are set to do the same.
Their debut long-player is sculpted with sounds that are shrouded in mystery and intrigue. Like a Cold War spy sat in a smokey jazz club on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain, conspiratorial horns and crackling beats plot their way through tracks like “Break In” and “1958.” “That’s the Polish sound,” says Igor. “There are many producers who copy the Western sound, but we wanted to create our own — something Polish.”
It’s a little known fact, but Poland’s jazz scene gave birth to some of the most prestigious musicians of the 1970s. Krysztof Komeda, for instance, who composed film scores for Roman Polanski and Michal Urbaniak, who played with Miles Davis. “Melomani were the first Polish jazz group,” remembers Marcin, “but in those times it wasn’t just music, it was freedom. Jazz was dangerous because there were no lyrics and because of its abstract form, it was possible to interpret different meanings. Censorship was still in place at the end of the 1980s, then electronic music was discovered and with the collapse of Communism, it changed the whole culture.”
Despite the rich organic music Skalpel produce, they work with electronic machines, not real instruments. It’s surprising to hear it, but as Igor says: “It’s electronic music that is made to sound live. The aim isn’t to cheat peole. We just want to give them good music.” And we agree. Afterall, music is about the output, not the method. “Skalpel” (Ninja Tune/Pias) Out Apr 19