Urbanski

1/2 of one of Poland’s most acclaimed electronic bands of the recent years goes solo.

Aphex Twin allegedly came up with his “Selected Ambient Works” in a mid-dream state. Wojtek Urbański produced the material for his first solo release “in the so-called meantime”. That means between his regular duties as one half of RYSY – an electronic duo that has won substantial acclaim in Poland over the recent years, but now apparently went on hiatus – and between his commissions for TV and theatre.

I mentioned Aphex Twin’s debut LP also for aesthetic reasons. For “Selected Works” EP, Urbanski (he apparently prefers to ignore the little dash above “n” in “Urbański”, some export thinking here) polished tracks he had produced over the last 6 years “without a concrete purpose”. And they do have this light-minded approach to rhythm and atmosphere that Aphex Twin offered us a quarter of century ago.

“Widmo” (“Spectre” or “Spectrum”) was the first single of Urbanski’s debut, and most of the other tracks on this release provide a similar mix of techno/house/dub inspirations, all in an unhurried pace and rather relaxed mood, with transparent sound and the accessibility of early minimal techno / IDM classics.

However, two finals tracks stand out from the rest. “Wracam” is a remix of a recent hit by Sorry Boys (which you might know from our Best of 2016), originally a stadium-oriented folk rock anthem, now adapted to the club requirements.

The 2-minute track called “VOID”, on the other hand, brings Urbanski to the 21st century with a thicker and darker sound. Closing the whole EP, it seems like an entrance to a new and unknown reality for the artist, and maybe for us well – as soon as we get his “Selected Works Volume II”.

Stream “Selected Works” EP on Bandcamp.

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Photo: Pawel Fabjanski

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