Fountain of Youth
Thanks to Kraków Live Festival, the end of the summer holidays brings an encounter with the freshest and most relevant in the world of pop.
On 17 and 18 August, the Polish Aviation Museum welcomes artists who are at the forefront of today’s music: Kendrick Lamar, A$AP Rocky, Die Antwoord and Martin Garrix.
Pulitzer-winning rap
Kendrick Lamar makes a welcome return to Kraków after three years. During his last visit in 2015, he was promoting his critically-acclaimed album To Pimp a Butterfly. This time he focuses on the material from Damn – the first album from beyond jazz and classical circles to have been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for music. Lamar has rapidly become one of the most important players on the American music scene, and he collaborates with such diverse acts as Maroon 5, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.
So what’s Lamar’s secret? Perhaps it’s his insight and ability to turn his personal experiences into an acute reflection on the condition of American society. Even the former president of the US Barack Obama has spoken about his fascination with Lamar’s music!
But the West Coast rapper’s music doesn’t just look at the here-and-now – it also touches on many universal themes. Lamar clearly has an indisputable talent for telling stories. Even if we were to overlook the racial and social commentary, his compositional skill and an instinct for combining lyrics with beats is supreme, making him as relevant to listeners in his hometown of Compton as audiences in Poland and around the globe.
Kendrick is as universally acclaimed by fans as critics. Even though he is now an indelible part of the Hollywood dream, he is just as good at observing the mundane, everyday reality and he has managed to maintain his credibility in spite his corporate links. Aged just 31, he is surely at the peak of his career, so his performance at Kraków Live Festival (17 August) is simply unmissable!
Call of the wild
Some think they’re just plain weird, while others fall under their spell easily. Their image is certainly no accident and its essence lies in the South African counterculture zef. “Zef is, you're poor but you’re fancy. You're poor but you’re sexy, you’ve got style”, explains Yolandi Visser, half of the Die Antwoord duo performing at the festival on 17 August. Her counterpart Ninja adds, “You just don’t care what others think of you.”
So what does this attitude look and sound like in practice? Start by watching some of their videos to find out. The most popular ones have been viewed on YouTube over one hundred million times! The South African duo gives an even better antwoord (Afrikaans for “answer”) with their wild, noisy concerts. The shocking contrast between the petite, waiflike Yolandi and the swagger of the heavily tattooed Ninja, all the more alarming with his angry scowls and bloody smears, is simply irresistible.
During concerts, the artists and audiences alike surround themselves to the raw power of the elements. They have lost none of their original energy over the decade of live performances, and their gigs are as wild and outrageous as ever. If you’re still unconvinced, find out for yourselves in Kraków – hardened fans will be there whatever the weather!
Against the current
He grew up in Harlem in a poor family entangled with drugs. His brother was killed when they were both teenagers, and his father died just a few years later. Despite his difficult beginnings, A$AP Rocky sets himself apart from stereotypes and sets his own path.
How? Well, he doesn’t follow the boundaries of the genre rigidly. His third studio album, titled Testing, was launched in late May. “People are scared to test new sounds, so they go with what’s current, ‘cause it’s the easy thing to do. I don’t just rap – I actually make music. That’s why it takes time. These sonics represent me,” explains Rocky AKA Flacko in an interview accompanying the album launch.
If anything, this attitude has helped him reach wide audiences. His first two albums topped the Billboard bestsellers lists, and he has collaborated with musicians from all genres – just recently he has worked with Moby, Frank Ocean, FKA Twigs and MGMT. His third partnership with the British grime artist Skepta has produced the single Praise the Lord (Da Shine). Rocky freely admits the track was made under the influence of LSD. His latest album is also brutally honest in places – he raps about the deaths in his family and broken relationships.
And Rocky’s (real name Rakim Mayers) influence reaches far beyond the music industry. He is a powerful figure in the world of fashion: he has been featured on magazine covers and worked alongside the Belgian designer Raf Simmons. Add the fact that A$AP Rocky rarely travels to Europe, and his performance on 18 August in Kraków is something of rarity!
Athens – Pyongyang – Kraków express
Martin Garrix is the protagonist of one of the most exciting tales in electronic music in recent years. When he was just eight years old, he heard Tiësto performing during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Athens, and he decided there and then to become a musician. Soon he started learning the basics of production and recording.
2012 turned out to be his breakthrough year: he was discovered by dance music fans thanks to his remix of Christina Aguilera’s Your Body, signed a contract with the Spinnin’ Records label, and topped the British singles chart with his very own track Animals. Since then he has collaborated with stars including Avicii, Tiësto, David Guetta, Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa and Troye Sivan.
Today Garrix is regarded as something of a phenomenon. The DJ’s popularity can be counted in hundreds of millions of YouTube plays, while his live performances are acclaimed for his fantastic rapport with audiences and stunning visual effects. The Dutchman is also climbing the DJ Mag Top 100: he was placed 40th in 2013, and topped the list in 2016, maintaining his position last year.
His headline performance during the closing ceremony of this year’s Winter Olympics in Pyongyang shows he has come full circle. Aged just 22, Garrix has made a rapid rise from an unknown DJ from Amsterdam to a world-famous star. He will be headlining the Kraków Live Festival on 18 August. Is he up to the challenge? Judging by his career so far, there can be no doubt that he is!
Not just headliners
The programme also includes Unknown Mortal Orchestra from New Zealand and a broad selection of Polish artists. Kraków welcomes: Bass Astral x Igo, Daria Zawiałow, Jan – Rapowanie, Kamp!, Mery Spolsky and Sokół. As usual, the organisers are keeping a few performers under wraps. Keep an eye on the festival’s website! (bsu)
