Re-uploaded by request 4/17/2023
I know all you un-PC muthas out there are snickering right
now. Poland,
right, I get it. Wrong, you don't get it. But you're gonna get it. Right here
right now. You're getting the Crisis Brigade, is what you're getting.
Brygada Kryzys or BK were an extremely influential Polish
band. They have only two studio & two live releases, yet their music has
touched many ears & hearts. They played a unique blend of punk/rock/reggae/new
wave, well, they’re hard to classify.
The story might go something like this…Around 1979 Tomasz
(Tomek) Lipiński formed the band Tilt, one of the first, if not the first punk
band in Poland.
In 1981 Piotr Mrowiński left the band Kryzys & was replaced by
singer/guitar player Lipiński. With Lipiński joining the band, its direction drastically
changed.
Kryzys was sort of a Mark Stewart's Pop Group clone, not
that that's a bad thing. You all know I like MS PG, Maffia, or solo shit. Because
of their new musical outlook, Kryzys founding member & composer Robert
Brylewski decided to change the name of the project to Brygada Kryzys.
They are legendary from the Polish revolutionary Solidarity
period. In December 1981 the military government led by General of the Army Wojciech
Jaruzelski & the Military Council of National Salvation (Wojskowa Rada
Ocalenia Narodowego, WRON) usurped the government & implemented wartime
powers with the issuing of their stan wojenny, or "the state of war". The Polish
government wanted the band to shorten its provocative name, Crisis Brigade, but
they refused. As a result, they were banned from playing any public concerts,
& were not allowed to leave the country for its planned Netherlands
tour.
About this same time, the recording company Tonpress opened a new studio in Warsaw & began
looking for a band to test the facilities. They decided to give BK a chance, as
they were going nowhere…literally. Several songs were recorded as part of the
try-out. Tonpress decide to record & release the record.
The new band's self-titled first release produced one of the
most original albums of the Nowa Fala movement. Strong dub bass lines, walls of
echoed saxophone, an impressive range of guitar work (liquid delayed lines,
proto-noise assaults, intricate solos), & fast rhythms that moved the band's
musical direction away from the more common stop&go rhythms of more reggae
influenced New Wave. The only song on their first effort with a typical reggae
rhythm is "Ganja".
The first side of the record is sung in Polish, the second one in English. Both
sides are excellent.
Brygada Kryzys main problem was longevity. Or lack thereof. After
playing in late fall 1982, the band disbanded, citing political pressures. Tomek
had been severely beaten & arrested by the milicja. He was released shortly
afterwards because there was not enough room in the overcrowded jails. The band
was still under constant pressure by the government. BK played their first show
since 1981 at Warsaw's
Remont club in September 1982. Even without doing any gigs throughout the year,
the album sold more than 200,000 copies. It was not enough to keep the band
together, however, will all the oppression.
Robert formed a reggae band, Izrael, while Tomek returned to Tilt. A week before the Berlin
Wall comes down, on the way to a Berlin
concert, Tomek & Robert talk about reforming BK. In August 1991, BK reunite
for their first concert in nine years for the Jarocin Festival. Then, in 1992,
Lipiński & Brylewski reform Brygada Kryzys to record a second studio album
(they had a second album in 1982, a live recording called Brygada Kryzys
Live 1981) at the Izabelin studio. The new album is Cosmopolis. The
LP features both old & new songs. After organizing shows on December 13 in
1992, 1993, & 1994 (that date was the start of martial law in Poland). After
the 1994 show, the band again disbands once more.
Since that time, the band has reunited several times for
shows & tours. Lipiński usually returns to play in Tilt.
Whew, even I'm comfused. Well, just listen…the music stands
on its own. Just supplying a bit of history about a band playing in the fray
during a tumultuous time in Polish history pre- Lech Wałęsa.
On their self-titled release, the band are:
Tomasz (Tomek) Lipiński – guitar & vocals; Robert Brylewski –
guitar; Irek Jeżyk Wereński – bass; Tomasz Świtalski –
saxophone; Janusz Rołt – drums; & Jaroslaw Ptasińsk.
Brygada Kryzys – Brygada Kryzys, Tonpress – SX-T 16, 1982.
Strona A -
Centrala
Radioaktywny Blok
Nie Ma Nic
Przestań Śnić
Strona Z -
The Real One
Travelling Stranger
Except One
Ganja
Fallen, Fallen is Babylon
For Cosmopolis, the band are: Tomek
Lipiński – guitar & vocals; Robert Brylewski – guitar; & Irek Jeżyk
Wereński – bass; along with new musicians: Vivian Quarcoo (Brylewski’s wife) – vocals;
both Włodek Kiniorski & Aleksander Korecki on saxophone; & Piotr Stopa
Żyżelewicz – drums.
Brygada Kryzys – Cosmopolis, Kamiling – CD09, 1992.
(The first twelve tracks
appear on the original cassette release, Kamling 018. There are seven
additional tracks on the cd. I have marked those tracks as non-cassette. The
order is as on the cassette, then bonus tracks last).
Tracklist –
Wojna
Żondzi Xionc
Subway Train
Ty I Tylko Ty
Too Much
Fuck
Naokoło Wieży
To Co Czujesz
What to Do to Be True
Water
Cosmopolis
Take My Hand -original cassette release
Nie Daj Się
I Need U
Age of Iron
Jazz Brigade
Take My Dub
Ten Drugi Dub
Back Train - bonus CD tracks
Enjoy
NØ
Thank you very very very! Even though I knew and had several albums of Armia, I didn't know Brygada Kryzys until a new DJ played them on WFMU. So I looked, and of course you came up. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteHello. Is it possible to re-upload this? It appears neither link is currently functional. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteBoth re-upped & ready to go. Thanks for letting me know the links were down. Enjoy.
DeleteThank you, much appreciated!
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