On the weekend of June 14-15, the Co Jest Grane Festival, one of the most popular among participants for its picnic and family atmosphere, takes place in the courtyard of the CSW Ujazdowski Castle. In 2024, Polish stars such as Vito Bambino, Krzysztof Zalewski, Margaret, Natalia Przybysz, The Dumplings, Błażej Król, Daria ze Śląska, Smolik//Kev Fox, Ørganek with the MTV Unplugged project, Kasia Lins, the band will appear on the stage in Warsaw Waglewski brothers, Kim Nowak and many others. On the occasion of this event, we managed to talk to Krzysztof Zalewski, who in May released two singles promoting his upcoming album “Z Głos”. We talk to the artist, among others: about giving concerts, about the fact that the Warsaw audience, contrary to malicious rumors, is not at all numb. And also about how he writes albums, which of his music videos he considers the best and about an unfortunate accident with a horse on the set of the film “Historia Roja”. During the conversation, the musician also greets Edyta Górniak several times. The entire conversation is in the recording below:
Zalewski had a plan to promote the new album? “This guy’s gone crazy, what’s he going to rap now?”
– I have developed a need to share new songs and emotions – tells us Krzysztof Zalewski, who also emphasizes that he cannot play the same musical material for too long and needs changes in the repertoire. – Some emotions are too personal to share them so directly. Even though I went off without a hitch in “Z dobre”, I leave fragments of my life that I wouldn’t like to share so exhibitionistically – he talks about the title single from the album “Z dobre”, in which he raps about his life. Why was he the first to present this song to listeners?
– We wanted to use the element of surprise, which is extremely important in the fight for the listener, as well as in every fight. However, it was intended that we release “Out of My Head” and people say “This guy is crazy, what is he going to rap now?” and three days later another song comes out, a real ballad à la the 70s, very beautifully performed (…) It turned out that the song “From Your Head” did a better job than “Kochaj”, which I think is also a very successful song – the artist explains to us.
The effect even exceeded his expectations. – I received an enormous number of text messages from various people. People I hadn’t had contact with for 15 years suddenly wrote to me. Or people who had never written to me before – people from culture, the music industry and beyond – started writing to me on Instagram. So this song caused some reaction because it is so radically honest. Rappers have accustomed us to some kind of honesty bordering on exhibitionism, and that doesn’t surprise anyone. However, I guess I work in pop – sometimes my songs are on the charts of popular radio stations. So I’m rather in the mainstream, maybe somewhere on the side, on the periphery, but still. I don’t think there has been music like this here for a long time. As we talked about the 90s, Kazik’s hits were normally at the top of the charts back then. At this point, it’s completely inconceivable that anyone would be shouting or playing the guitar there. And in “From My Head” I share very personal stories, so I guess it’s also a matter of the fact that there is a deficit of truth in music and we addressed it with this piece. We fill this lack, this gap – explains Zalewski.
Why can’t Krzysztof Zalewski become a rapper?
When the musician hears that his new song has been compared to Staszewski’s work, he decided to clarify: I wanted to imitate Eminem, not Kazik.
– I don’t like insulting people in songs, that’s why I can’t be a real rapper. Besides, Eminem was a very angry man: a difficult childhood, excessive consumption of psychoactive substances, he also had songs about mushrooms and other various substances, so I think he abused them sometimes. Which made me more angry at the world. When he calmed down, he started writing worse songs. I’m glad because his life is definitely easier, but in rap you have to be pissed off all the time, and I don’t want to. One rap number for the entire album, cool – he says after singing one of Eminem’s songs to us in the studio.
Zalewski: I like the music video to be specific
In the clip for the song “Z dobre”, the artist shaves his head, and in the video for the ballad “Kochaj” we see him riding a horse around one of Warsaw’s housing estates. – I like the music video to be specific. We live in an age of pictures that need to be summarized in two words. Which clip is this? The guy who shaves his head. Oh, this one! Which music video is this? The one with the horse in the estate. Oh, OK. Besides, the series “Yellowstone” is triumphing, this equestrian and cowboy theme is very popular, so I came up with the idea that since there is a bald guy, a bit of a blocker – I also come from the blocks, so we’re not pretending anything here – let’s make it so that a somewhat romantic rascal plays the guitar, then finishes, unties his horse from the beater and rides off towards the setting sun or a broken street lamp in the housing estate. Later, the wise heads from the studio and the director came up with the rest – he introduced us to the creative process behind the production of music videos.
– I came up with it myself, that I wanted a horse for a music video, so they brought me a horse. We had to get in and drive. The horse, Edek, is very loyal, calm and willing to help, so it was OK – he adds. This is important because the musician’s previous experiences with these animals were not the best. – I was riding a horse on the set of the film “Historia Roja” and the horse knocked me down twice and once carried me very far. I had a rifle with a wheeled magazine, a PPE machine: if I had fallen on my back then, I think I would be gone. And the horse galloped me for about three kilometers. At first I got carried away a bit, and then the car pulled out and started honking. The horse was scared, I just held on to the saddle. I didn’t fall, but that doesn’t mean I’m a great rider. I have rather average experience with horses and I’m afraid of them because they are big – he confessed.
Zalewski chose his best music video
– “Love, love” is clearly my best music video, there is no doubt about it. Piotr Onopa had a great idea to be inspired by Marina Abramovic’s happening. He asked what the song was about, so I told him it was a mandala, we were arranging something and destroying something. He made up the whole story based on that. At Marina Abramovic’s place, people looked into each other’s eyes for five minutes, the queue was a kilometer long – answered Krzysztof Zalewski when asked about his most important video.
– Natalia Przybysz and I looked into each other’s eyes for nine hours with two small breaks. Covered with these tables and cups. I knew Natalia before, we were friends, but after this music video we became really close friends. Something happened that after that one day on set, it was as if we had spent five years together, going to the same class and sitting in the same desk. The emotions that are recorded there on camera are not any kind of acting, it’s not fake, it really happened. I think that’s why this music video is still so powerful today. Because it shows real emotions, he explains.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
