Matylda/Łukasiewicz: On our own, we would probably never reach for a piece of this type…

Where did you meet and how did your musical cooperation come about?

Radek: Eight years ago at the Comedy Club while working on a play entitled “A Fictional Guide to the Third Trimester”. I composed the music and Matylda performed in it. The first song I composed for this performance was a song for Matilda. It was my first creative contact with the Comedy Club and immediately with Matylda.

Matilda: We said “hello” and after the first rehearsals we thought that this cooperation would be pleasant and, above all, good. I wasn’t wrong by much, because it was even better.

In your songs, such as “Matka” or “Boring Year”, you discuss serious and important topics. Do you have a sense of mission?

Radek: I certainly have a sense of mission, a certain kind of social responsibility. I believe that people who have received gifts in life should share them. I got it and I want positive things to come out of it. I can talk to people on stage and present my perspective through my music. I also intend to use it for repair purposes, because the world needs repairs in many aspects. If Matylda and I did not use the opportunity that fate gives us artistically to do positive things, it would be a waste. If this is what the mission boils down to, then yes, I have a sense of mission.

Matilda: I agree with this, with this privileged position. We have many possibilities. We go on stage and someone gives us their attention. We take advantage of the time that people invest in us by listening. If nothing resulted from this artistic event, such as a concert or listening to a YouTube clip, our fate would be miserable and a waste of time. It would be a waste not to take advantage of this privilege. We think carefully about what we convey. Before the text is set to music, it goes back and forth between me and Radek for a long time. We have a great sense of duty towards the listener and recipient, we invite people to consult us, we do not believe that we are infallible.

promotional material

How do you divide the work?

Matilda: It comes naturally to us, the division is quite smooth, although the musical part obviously belongs to Radek, and I handle everything graphic. I’m trying to remember what it was like at the beginning. Radek has an undoubted gift for writing texts, and I often develop them and sometimes the other way around. Songs circulate among us. A big bonus is the empathy we have and we try not to lose it. We interpenetrate each other creatively. When the song is ready, I sit down to make the music video.

Radek: That’s how it is, each of us is highly experienced in different fields. For Matylda this is the first album, and for me it’s probably the twelfth. Additionally, work on the album is unusual because it was spread over several years. It is created from meeting to meeting. What we have shown the world so far and what we have already prepared for the album is the best thing that came out of our meetings. We feel a bit like debutants, we are not afraid of repeating ourselves. We are doing everything in this case for the first time. With the second or third album, discussions may begin such as: “We’ve already done this or let’s go in a new direction now.” We have a lot of freshness. We are exploring areas where we can go together. As a musician who has, for example, the experience of playing in Pustki and creating this band for several years, I remember what a challenge it is to create the fourth or sixth album. We are completely free from this now.

Do you have your favorite music genres?

Matilda: I have the impression that everything happens organically, just like that. I don’t think we’ve even talked about it yet.

Radek: I show Matylda a sound idea or some melody arrangement and Matylda accepts it or not. We don’t think about it like this: let’s do something reggae or hip-hop. We didn’t have to figure it out at all, it just happens.

Matilda: It is in my nature to take apart all the creations that I have released to people so far. First you wonder what you are singing about, what you are playing about. The text pulls in some direction – darker or lighter. This applies to voice interpretation, arrangement and music video.

How did you get into the radio show and who chose the hit “Nie sta³o nic” by Robert Gawliñski?

Matilda: The team from Empik Go contacted us. We talked a lot, it wasn’t like anyone had already decided anything. We had to feel that what we were doing was compatible with us. We were sitting there, everyone had their own types of songs, we were moving in a specific cover space. It was about songs that were played on the proverbial Hel. We were looking for something that carries a lot of sentimental charge. On our own, we would probably never reach for a song of this type, so I’m even more glad that someone gave us an excuse to do so.

Radek: We chose “Nothing happened” during a brainstorming session. When it comes to artistic choices, we had a free hand with almost everything. In this respect, it is a great arrangement. But also, as Matylda said, the Empik Go team knew who they were inviting to cooperate and that we had to do things that were consistent with us.

Matilda: We play “Nothing Happened” at concerts and it’s better than we expected. It warms us up and encourages the audience. We put “Nothing Happened” before our private hit “Matka” and it works great as a warm-up. As I predicted, people have huge sentimental needs. They listen to this song and remember how young Krzy¶ or teenage Ania danced at discos during their holidays. The covers are powerful, and Radek made an amazing arrangement.

promotional material

The music video “Nie sta³o³o nic” is dance-like, dark and mystical. Who invented it?

Matilda: As I said, the music goes to Radek, and the entire graphic design goes to me. I’m a graphics junkie and I like doing it. I never leave any music video idea to my and only my decision. I always share with Radek, who has his own thoughts.

Radek: Each of us has our own strengths, but we also know where we should give up for the good of the cause. Of course, I will add something there sometimes, but the entire graphic design is Matylda’s ideas and implementation. I’m glad we have a team with such a person. For me this is the first experience of this type. When it comes to visual and artistic matters, Matylda knows what she wants and even if these are proposals that may seem distant from me at first, I am sure that they are coherent and that is a big thing for me and the value. I know that Matylda trusts me when it comes to the song and its sound, and I trust her artistic sense.

What are the plans of the Matylda/Łukasiewicz team?

Radek: We have a very big tour to play in the fall. There will be over 20 concerts. A huge undertaking, because we are a young team – I like to repeat that. We have played 12 concerts so far, we are perfecting our form. I think that after playing another 20 concerts we will be in a completely different place. I like observing this process. With each concert something is improved, something sounds better. Actually, I can’t wait, I would like to listen to our December concerts. Everything that’s happening is happening even before the premiere of our first album. People come to concerts because they know our songs from the Internet. I have not experienced anything like this before and I know that it is not common in Poland. We are extending this creative, debut period a bit, and our album is only gaining from it, gaining maturity. I’m constantly working on new songs in the studio. Thanks to the fact that we played them at concerts, I look at them differently. I think we both have new thoughts. So we are in such an unusual, extraordinary situation.

Matilda: I am responsible for the setting of the concerts and their visual side. After the summer festival season and a dozen or so concerts, I more or less know what it should look like. I think that by December the concerts will be at least close to the target form we are planning for the tour next year, after the album is released.

We know Radek £ukasiewicz well from the bands Pustki, Bisz/Radex and Polskie Znaki. He also wrote for others, including: for Brodka, Artur Rojek, Piotr Zio³a. Matylda Damiêcka is an actress, singer and illustrator who runs the Instagram profile @thegirlwhofellonearth.

made its debut in Empik Go in August. Zygmunt and Wojtek Mi³oszewski tell the further fate of the heroes of the radio play “Mierzeja” (2022). In the first season, the heroes were looking for a mysterious substance on the Hel Peninsula, cut off from the world by the military. Now it is in the bloodstream of the kidnapped Robert Kąkol, who is heading towards the eastern border in a laboratory on wheels.

At the beginning of September, a unique event was held to celebrate the premiere, attended by, among others, The Mi³oszewski brothers and Radek £ukasiewicz.

photo: Micha³ Walkiewicz, promotional material

The radio show is promoted by a new version of Robert Gawliñski’s great hit titled “Nothing happened.” The duo of Matylda Damięcka and Radek £ukasiewicz, i.e. Matylda/Łukasiewicz, prepared their interpretation of this piece.

The band entered the music scene strongly at the beginning of the year. So far, he has released four singles – “Matka”, “Boring Year”, “Mê¿czy¼ni” and “Close”.

Damięcka and £ukasiewicz are just starting their concert tour. Details about the concerts can be found on the website.

Their first album will be released soon.

Promotional material for the Empik Go brand.