Complementing a film festival with concerts is like adding a soundtrack to festival events. Every day (1-7.05.2022) filled to the brim with screenings – ends with a concert at the Festival Club. Over a dozen extraordinary rendezvous with independent artists await our audience! The Off Stage will surprise you with its diversity.
The program contains a range of genres: from rock, through rap to electronics. The confrontation of international music projects with the sound of fresh and independent artists is a field of experimentation and a source of inspiration for both sides.
Seeing Club Poczta Główna (Westerplatte 20 street) is an official festival venue and will let you feel the flow of urban energy even stronger – let yourself be carried away!
CONCERTS SCHEDULE:
1st of May 2022 - Sunday
- KIWI
- Balkan Taksim
2nd of May 2022 - Monday
- Bluszcz
- Plastic Mermaids
3rd of May 2022 - Tuesday
- CUKIER
- The LaFontaines
4th of May 2022 - Wednesday
- Córy
- Sarapata
5th of May 2022 - Thursday
- Decadent Fun Club
- Brunettes Shoot Blondes
6th of May 2022 - Friday
- Oliver Keane
- Jann
7th of May 2022 - Saturday
- Bukowicz
- Jakub Skorupa
Concerts will start at 8:00 P.M.
You can buy tickets on www.offcamera.pl or in the Festival Center.
If tickets are available on that day, you can also buy at the club before the concerts.
Read about The OFF Stage artists:
KIWI
photo Wiktor Franko
This pulsating electropop flows straight from Victoria Nazarian's half-Polish-half-Armenian heart. The artist from Krakow made her name two years ago with the "Nocą" EP. Now, as part of OFF Stage, she will present her latest album "Pętla", released at the end of January. The album is full of pop songs, some of them rhythmic, energetic and danceable, others shrouded in a dark fog, enticing you to take a hypnotic journey inside yourself. This is exactly what you can expect when KIWI performs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_44vBwTU2Y
Balkan Taksim
They describe their music as a fusion of Balkan folk with synth and bass-laden electronica. One thing they have plenty of - original sound that escapes all classification. The band has only been around for a short time, but they have already managed to create a solid style that would be at home both at the main stages of electronic music festivals, as well as those presenting the latest face of world music. You think it's an unlikely combination? Be sure to check them out at OFF Stage - listen to the rhythm of the heart of the Romanian land.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4kAWVX0l5Q
Plastic Mermaids
A kind of futuristic approach to rock is the driving force behind brothers Douglas and Jamie Richards. Their music is roughly described as a combination of dream pop and psychedelic rock. Several factors contribute to this phenomenon: Douglas Richards' delicate, slightly oneiric voice, the use of guitar effects of his own construction, and playing the strings of an electric guitar with a bow - to name but a few. There is a surfer-like carefreeness between the spacey passages and the air seems to faintly smell of a sea breeze.... and this is not a far-fetched association, as the band comes from Wight – the southernmost island in the British Isles archipelago. So what does their idea of a siren song sound like? Find out for yourself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Utsyj8bIbBk
Bluszcz
photo Hubert Misiaczyk
Not many Polish bands play their first concert at the OFF Festival in Katowice. Brothers Jarek and Romek Zagrodny, the Wrocław duo Bluszcz, belong to this exclusive group. They have three albums to their credit, the common denominator of which - and at the same time a motif already characteristic of Bluszcz - is constant inspiration with guitar and synthesizer music from several decades ago. The last album, "Kresz", from 2020, is a contemporary nod to the classic Polish songs of the 80s and 90s. Currently, the duo is working on a new release, which is heralded by the song "Lasy Prywatne", an ironic comment-manifesto of passive attitudes towards the issue of protecting the planet and ecology.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcz6XyTHchI
CUKIER
CUKIER duo is an electronic-rap planet residing in a galaxy beyond the Milky Way. If one had to define the output of Amek Krebs and Bartek Caboń with one word, the first association would be eclecticism. It is hard to identify any one point of musical reference, whether lyrically or musically - their material sounds unique, escaping any labels. Their songs are sometimes based on old-school beats, sometimes on strong bass lines, with vocals which do not shy away from some autotune fun. They have two albums under their belt, " JEDEN" and "CK Anderson", as well as a still warm EP "KĘDZIERZYN-KOŹLE", released in February, packed with retrospective stories from the title city, surrounded by nitrogen plants, small communist housing estates and the Manhatan market. As long as your eyes are closed, "Fear Nothing", the ghosts of the past won't catch up with you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAAh_a73y2o
The LaFontaines
The LaFontaines are what British music fans are most drawn to – a blend of upbeat, guitar-driven playing and charismatic vocals. The band from Scotland combine many influences to create their own sound, which is often characterised by heavy riffs, temperamental rapped verses and soaring choruses. Known for their energetic live shows, they have won over home audiences with performances at TRNSMT, Download, Reading and Leeds festivals among others, as well as sold out shows in the UK. They have supported artists such as Twin Atlantic and Anderson. Paak. Not surprisingly, their shows are widely reported to be extremely energetic and filled with audience interaction. As the band say: there is no other band like The LaFontaines. The Krakow concert might just prove that they are right.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-8BGpbUziE
Córy
Córy are a duo of Poznań-based vocalists Natalia Hoffmann-Pawlak and Kasia Tontor. They describe themselves as a soul-rap duo that grew up on the music of Sistars and TLC. It is hard to overlook the period of fascination with these bands in the process of their artistic identity building. Córy are inspired by the simplest everyday activities and objects - a visit to the hairdresser's, fortune cookies or Nokia 3310. Nostalgia for the 90s can be heard not only in the lyrics, but above all in the music - feminine, sensual, but also energetic. The danceable beats are served with harmonically orchestrated vocals. Córy are currently working on their debut album.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRHfsnhgXFE
SARAPATA
photo. Grzegorz Łach
Brothers Michał and Mateusz Sarapata are probably one of the most versatile duos on the Polish music scene. They started out as co-founders of the group SALK, where they realised their musical vision mainly through the use of live instrumentation - guitars and drums. But this is not their only musical side. As producers, they can be heard in the songs of KIWI or Jann, and they have also collaborated with the band LOR, Paulina Przybysz and Arek Kłusowski. Eventually, they chose electronic music as their means of expression, which is perfectly illustrated by their minialbum "EP1" from 2021. It's club music with an intellectual touch, where each track tells an autonomous story. A multitude of musical themes, penetrating production, clever manoeuvring of vocal samples - this is a recipe for material suitable for dancing and self-exploration.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrTbWTSM2qA
Decadent Fun Club
photo. Natasza Von Yullen
They blazed their way into the minds of the Polish audience with the song "Serendipity" with an extraordinary video, the memorable "Glitterball" and a unique interpretation of Maanam's "Paranoja jest goła", to name just a few of their hits. It's all thanks to their music, oscillating around coldwave, dark pop and broadly defined electronica, as well as the characteristic voice of the vocalist, Paweł Ostrowski. They have been around since 2017, successfully touring, opening concerts for BOKKA, New Model Army and Krzysztof Zalewski, as well as hitting the festival stages of Jarocin, Castle Party and Pol'and'Rock festival, without having yet released a debut album. Rumour has it that this moment is coming soon. Could it be that the single "Genie", released in mid-March, is its harbinger?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2dYWStZKIY
Brunettes Shoot Blondes
If you're curious of the sound of genuine indie pop straight from Kiev, you can't miss Brunettes Shoot Blondes' performance. They became known to the international audience thanks to the self-directed video for the song "Knock Knock", which went viral, currently has over 60 million views on YouTube and won the award for best concept at the Berlin Music Video Awards. They have played at Hungary's Sziget, the Czech Colours of Ostrava and Ukraine's Atlas Weekend without having yet released a full-length album. They are currently working on their debut EP, hopefully we will hear the results of this work in Krakow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC_0NzJ2mWA
Oliver Keane
Olivier Keane is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has produced a number of singles, combining the rawness of rock songs with the delicacy of pop ballads. He has released his debut EP “16 mm dream sequence” in April this year. His songwriting is characterised by a lyricism that goes far beyond his age, and it quickly won him many fans, especially on TikTok. The distinctive timbre of his voice and his talent for writing catchy songs make his music impossible to ignore.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu-h7nM3QgQ
Jann
The owner of a rare countertenor, with features as if chiseled by an ancient sculptor, his songs will enchant even the most charm-resistant audience. His first single "Do You Wanna Come Over?" reached over a million listeners. The EP "Power", released at the end of March, is a mixture of slow ballads and slightly faster pieces bordering on ambitious pop and R'n'B. But don't let Jann's fragile and delicate appearance fool you. Under this subtle guise there is an energetic onstage beast, for whom the biggest Polish stages seem to be too small. We know it, because we have already had a chance to see him in action, and you still have a possibility to experience one of the most unique shows of this part of OFF Stage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYOM3KfOBfQ
Bukowicz
photo. Tomasz Wiśniewski
They first appeared on the Polish music scene in 2015, but they made us wait as long as three years for their first album, "Dyskomfort w głowie". The album cemented the fact that, next to Trupa Trupa, they are the only Polish band from the alternative music genre to reach for shoegaze references in their work. The guitar walls of sound, common in this genre, delve into oneiric dreampop depths, into which their next release, the "Madera" EP, plunges even deeper. Although the release of "Madera" took place in the late spring of 2021, don't think that Bukowicz has been focusing on just playing through these songs since then. The band is hard at work, and this autumn they plan to release new material promoted by the single "Jak Muzeum Śląskie", enthusiastically received by the media.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4rH6e2p0GE
Jakub Skorupa
Not many artists take the risk of releasing their debut at the age of 36. After listening to the whole "Zeszyt pierwszy", one can safely say that it was worth the risk. In his first "notebook" Skorupa did some serious soul-searching, summed up some changes and transformations that life brings and created an insightful soundtrack for his generation. "Zeszyt pierwszy" is probably the most interesting music premiere on the Polish alternative scene this year, winner of the "Sanki" plebiscite for the most interesting new artists in Poland, ogranized by "Gazeta Wyborcza". The album received a lot of praise in the industry, starting from Michał Wiraszko, the leader of alternative band Muchy, and finishing with acclaimed music journalist Piotr Stelmach
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1UysB12-A8
