OFF FESTIVAL KATOWICE 2015: Patti Smith and The Sounds Of The Future

Patti Smith’s performance of Horses is going to be one of the top musical events of the season. But that’s not all we have in store for you today: this cult album is just the beginning. The OFF Festival lineup this August will also feature Son Lux, Future Brown, Pablopavo, Władysław Komendarek, and Decapitated.

Patti Smith Performs Horses
This lady needs no introduction. Neither does her debut album Horses – released 40 years ago in 1975 on Arista Records – which Patti Smith will be performing at the OFF Festival in its entirety, from the first note to the last! Produced by John Cale, the record not only launched the career of the most acclaimed poet in rock’n’roll, it also became one of the pillars of the nascent punk rock movement. No “Best Albums of All Time” chart could fail to include Horses somewhere near the top, while innumerable artists list the record among their personal sources of inspiration. This is going to be an unprecedented event: the history of music will come alive this summer in Katowice!

Pablopavo i Ludziki
Pablopavo has managed to record over a dozen new records since his last OFF performance just a few years back: solo, with Ludziki, with Vavamuffin, with Zjednoczenie, and as a guest in myriad lineups. You’d be hard pressed to find a more diligent and versatile artist on the local scene that cares as much about the quality of his work as Pablopavo does. The past year has been period of absolute domination for the artist. Polor, recorded with Ludziki, and the solo record Tylko were rightly mentioned on numerous end-of-year lists, culminating in a Polityka Passport award for Pablopavo. But just to be clear: we had already invited him to the OFF Festival a weeks earlier ;)

Władysław Komendarek
We know you’re not supposed to judge people by their appearance, but Władysław Komendarek looks like a cross between the guru of a mysterious cult and a mad scientist, and that image finds reflection in his music. A psychedelic, flower-power sense of freedom rubs up against mathematic discipline, futuristic visions, and synthetic sounds. Komendarek rose to fame with his work in the prog-rock band Exodus, but thanks to his later ventures into such fields and theater and film scores, the artist is now considered a visionary and pioneer of Polish electronic music, if not an entirely separate genre of his own.

Son Lux
It’s almost impossible to unambiguously determine the genre of music made by Ryan Lott – the man behind the stage name Son Lux. He’s a songwriter for the 21st century, an artist who takes advantage of all the means at his disposal in order to achieve his goal. And you have to admit, he’s very effective, whether he’s composing an intimate yet monumental hymn that combines folk with avant-pop sounds, or a film score like the one for Looper. If the company an artist keeps has any bearing on his class, suffice it to say that Ryan his collaborated with the likes of Sufjan Stevens, Richard Perry (Arcade Fire), and Lorde. And if it’s the concerts rather than the company… well, you’ll see.
 
Future Brown
The first half of this collective’s name says it all: this is what the music of the future sounds like. The names of its members, meanwhile, give us some more insight: if you see Fatima Al-Qadiri, J-Cush, and the DJ duo Nguzunguzu (i.e. Asma Maroof and Daniel Pineda) teaming up on a project, you know the result is going to be original and intriguing. No wonder the band quickly scored an offer to sign on with Warp Records, which will release Future Brown’s full-length debut in late February.
 
Innercity Ensemble
This isn’t a band. It’s an idea shared by seven individuals who sometimes take the stage to briefly form a band. Take it from us: you don’t want to miss this! Performing under the banner of Innercity Ensemble, this collective of musicians hailing from such groups and projects as HATI, Sing Sing Penelope, Ed Wood, Stara Rzeka, and Dwutysięczny hurl themselves into a raging river of improvisation that flows through jazz, noise, and Krautrock, taking them all the way to trance-inducing electronic experiments.
 
Decapitated
One of Poland’s top metal bands, led by none other than Vogg, the phenomenal guitarist from Lux Occulta and Vader. Praised for their original take on death metal, Decapitated debuted as teenage greenhorns on the legendary Earache label – the one that gave the world Napalm Death and Morbid Angel. Their music has taken them around the world, and now they’re finally coming to the OFF Festival to promote their latest album, Blood Mantra.
 
The Budos Band
The pearl in the catalog of the cult NYC label Daptone Records. Dominated by a raging brass section, this instrumental ensemble combines euphoric Afrobeat, jazz improv, and a funky beat in a way that is all their own, along with the weight and intensity of heavy metal. We didn’t it was possible, either, until we listened to their latest album, Burnt Offering. We recommend you do the same, or just show up front and center for their performance in Katowice.
 
Peaking Lights
A good old husband-and-wife duo from the US (well, maybe not that old). Aaron Doyes and Indrea Dunis must be more than just friends, because their ebullient and danceable psychedelia is something that just can’t be faked. It’s euphoric homemade music; imperfect, and yet (or perhaps thus) real and hypnotic. Their contract with Domino and numerous concerts around the world prove that we’re not the only ones taking this at face value.
 
Selvhenter
Is it jazz or is it pure pandemonium? Don’t let appearances fool you: when these pleasant, smiling Danes take the stage, they will rain down such punishment that you’ll forget your own name. Following in the footsteps of The Thing and avant garde Japanese bands, this female quintet pumps their free jazz full of noise and uncompromising metal. You might think that their latest album Motions of Large Bodies (December 2014) leaves little room to turn up the tempo and radicalize their sound, but Svelhenter is even more uncompromising when performing live.
 
 
OFF Festival 2015 Tickets
Tickets are now available for 200 PLN at the OFF Shop, www.offshop.pl.
The price of a camping spot is 60 PLN, with an additional night (August 6/7) for 20 PLN
Tickets for OFF Festival and Festival Village camping spot passes available at OFF SHOP www.offshop.pl and See Tickets www.seetickets.com
Festival passes, packages incl. camping spot and hotels at www.festicket.com
 
 
About OFF Festival:
A truly unique boutique music festival, OFF Festival takes place annually in August in ‘Three Lake Valley’, Katowice – a beautiful green oasis in the heart of industrial Silesia. OFF Festival is a way of life, one that flies in the face of current trends and stays true to itself, and the ethos of organiser Artur Rojek is firmly aimed at supporting art and music with the festival bringing many acts to Poland for the first time.
Growing in prominence year on year with this years event promising one of the strongest line-ups to date in line with Rojek’s forward-thinking, eclectic music policy. From the greatest alternative music stars from around the world to showcasing artists from the increasingly strong Polish scene, OFF has inspiring music in abundance.
Over the years, OFF has amassed its own demanding yet appreciative audience who come to witness Artur Rojek’s musical vision come to fruition. Having gained and a well deserved reputation in Poland and abroad, it’s not without reason that it has been said and written that OFF is the best alternative festival in this part of Europe and the only place east of Berlin where one can catch a glimpse of the boldest and eclectic acts on stages worldwide.
As well as music, OFF features a number of accompanying events: film, art, performance and poetry. It’s also an event which keeps the environment in mind – all food and drinks come in environmentally-friendly packaging and there is a big emphasis on recycling. It’s a completely safe place, an event where diverse tastes and appearances are welcomed and where everyone is the same because everyone is different.

Website: http://off-festival.pl/