WARSZAWA 2

Commissioned by Unsound for the opening night of Unsound in the Polish capital, WARSZAWA revisits David Bowie and Brian Eno’s iconic collaboration, which legend has it was inspired by Polish folk song “Helokanie”, which Bowie encountered on a trip through Warsaw 50 years ago. For this special project, Warsaw-based composer Piotr Kurek reworks the original Polish song, reclaiming it through a new interpretation performed with vocalists from the Śląsk Song & Dance Ensemble, who made the original recording. The performance is accompanied by visuals by Wilhelm Sasnal, one of Poland’s most prominent contemporary artists.

Opening the evening is Bendik Giske, alone on stage with his saxophone, presenting a new live show that offers a first glimpse of his forthcoming album on the Norwegian label Smalltown Supersound. Across three albums, Giske has developed a singular sound drawing on gamelan, techno and avant-garde jazz, pushing the saxophone into a deeply physical, intimate and otherworldly space.