Baiki - "Do It Yourself"

A promising act - check it out if you like folk rock (6/10) The title of the album soon imposed itself : We had no label, so we threw ourselves in self-production We had no distributor, so we went into self-distribution We had no promoter, so we self-promoted We had no website, so self-webmastered Knowing we could only rely on ourselves, we named the album after this self-attitude. And to push the concept further, we declined the imagery of a multinational DIY furniture store to create the cover of our album. It was nothing more than a gimmick, no bad intentions… We must confess that the end result was remarkable thanks to the combined talents of 2 friends : Michel and Chan. So we had a good laugh though that didn’t last long. This multinational got really upset. The end result was that we had to bring their minds at peace and promise to put an end to our misdemeanour and commit to stop annoying them again in the future. This CD was therefore “released” in a fairly confidential way in Belgium at the end of 2003. Nevertheless, there only remains a handful of this “outlaw collector”. And then hope came from the South, from Montpellier to be precise. A modest label, Musiquémo took “Do It Yourself” under their wings and signed a licensing agreement. A new cover was created, the CD repressed and bang “Do It Yourself” now proudly sits in the music shop racks in France since mid-February 2005. This is quite an interesting work, blending rock, pop rock and folk rock, based on heavy use of acoustic instruments, with the singer trying to sing in four different languages. I do not know if it was such a good idea, because I have the impression that because of lack of language skills his performance is much weaker than it could be. This is definitely true with my native Polish, but Spanish also sounds very unconvincing, as if he had much trouble with proper pronunciation. Nevertheless, it is a promising act, with a potential to grow. For the time being some tracks lack good melodies, the others have them too obvious and simple. The ugly cover of the Polish folk standard "Sokoly" shows clearly that they should work much much harder on their arrangements and ability to transmit musical energy through their recordings. Still, I listened to this album with interest and I put them on my watchlist, hoping they will improve. Check them out if you like folk rock.

Royalty Free Music - Stock Music Library | Jamendo PRO [Artist's website]

The Motyw (Wojciech Wszelaki) - "Bal des mannequins" [SP]

Nice melody spoiled by an unnecessary disco beat (6/10) Utwór instrumentalny - klimatem nawiązujący do muzyki francuskiej i klimatu Paryża. Nagrałem go w 1994 roku, a teraz ponownie w nowej wersji. It could be a very nice instrumental piece. Unfortunately, a catchy melody played on accordion is spoiled by adding an unnecessary and ugly disco beat. It really doesn't fit there with the "chanson" melody. Yuck! [Artist's website]

Royalty-free music for professional licensing

The Motyw (Wojciech Wszelaki) - "All For You"

Simple, disco-based synthpop - not my cup of tea (4/10) The album contains songs already released - but they are subject to re-mastered and slightly revised arrangements. In addition, contains an additional track - as an instrumental version - which will soon be in as stand-alone single. The album will also include a special booklet in pdf format with all the songs lyrics as a bonus for fans. Primitive synthpop or - more precisely, electropop, as synthpop is usually based on rock music, use some guitars and rock expression, even if it is executed with electronic means. This album is definitely based on disco, dance, pop - the artist is very far from rock stylistics. And that's what I mean by "primitive": using the most simple, obvious and commercial-driven forms of artistic expression. Even in synthpop music there are works, which are highly original and thought provoking (Depeche Mode, for example). But not this time, ladies and gentlemen. Compared with this album, even Erasure or Pet Shop Boys write experimental music. Still, this is not a total flop. Many people love such "easy" music. That's why I described above what I mean by primitive - this isn't in any way primitive when it comes to production or performance. The artist knows how to write pop melodies, he has an acceptable voice with a nice timbre. And the issue of a chosen stylistics is just a matter of taste. If only such recordings populated charts in Poland, I'd be a happy man. Unfortunately, much worse acts gain a huge popularity. I would definitely prefer to hear this guy on radio instead of the highly successful Polish crap-pop band Feel. So, if you like such simple, "easy-listening" disco-based pop, check it out. By the way, the album is very uneven, with some songs balancing on the verge of the "disco polo" genre (the most primitive style of the Polish disco music), e.g. "10 - Dwa serca". The others are much better, like opening "space-musical" instrumental track, energetic no. 5 with a catchy melody or no. 9 played on accordion - yet again a nice melody, almost killed by an ugly disco beat, though.

Royalty-free music for professional licensing [Artist's website]