Point Reyes, „Warszawa” (in English)

         From a Polish point of view it’s definitely not an ordinary album. It was composed by three young Americans, who came to Warsaw last summer, supported by a Fulbright grant. They recorded their full-length debut in The Chopin University of Music; in rather modest conditions, with help from the students who played additional percussion and clarinet parts. They created a fully professional, very thoughtful, beautiful and somehow disturbing record without a perfectly equipped studio. 

        Asa Horvitz, Kyle Farrell and Dan Bindschedler are educated musicians whose very hard work,  engagement and dedication to the music surprised their Polish friends. “Warszawa” is the effect of their great passion. The album is not about the capital, although it was recorded there. This misleading, in a sense, title is exposed by the cover, which is based on Wilhelm Sasnal’s painting called “Culture Center in Tarnów”. In a literal sense, it doesn’t have much to do with Warsaw, but it has some visible connotations with modernism. The minimalist, rough shape of the strange building is mitigated by the vast expanse of  the bright sky. When I try to think about “Warszawa” as a whole, I have similar associations in my mind – roughness integrated with a gentleness devoid of sentimentality. You can feel it in the sound and in the lyrics as well. This sort of game played in the title and the cover is multiplied by the songs , but  in a different way. For example “Białowieża”, behind the pleasant sound and title hides a meaning that doesn’t have much to do with a simple affirmation of nature. The song “Buildings” shows the ideological beauty of socialist blocks by using rather brutal sentences about bulldozers. In the pieces about Poland you can hear the echo of America, and in very personal songs you can find universal messages.
        “Warszawa” is, from my subjective point of view, a musical story of playing with meanings and of  themes, places, times and cultures that are interweaving each other. I wonder how Americans, who listen to it in a different context, will understand this album…

Point Reyes in Poland

        I don’t know if the band will agree with my interpretation. You can check what they have to say about “Warszawa” on their website: pointreyes.info/

Correction of translation: Martyna Trykozko