Skalpel
Skalpel

Label: Ninja Tune (2009)
Catalogue No: ZENCD87
Format: CD

Tracks:

1 High
2 Not Too Bad
3 1958
4 Together
5 So Far
6 Break In
7 Quiz
8 Asphodel
9 Theme From "Behind The Curtain"
10 Sculpture

Performed by:

Marcin Cichy and Igor Pudlo

Recorded:

2004

Polish duo Marcin Cichy and Igor Pudlo have been making warm, crisp and complex beat-based music for a while now. It’s just that they’ve been making it in Poland. There, they are among the best-known and most respected DJs and producers about, with even a Paszporty Polityki nomination to their name (the most prestigious culture award in the country). Beyond, they are virtually unknown.

Until now, that is, and the release of their debut album by Ninja Tune. The pair came to Ninja’s attention via DJ Vadim who had worked with them on one of his Eastern European tours. But, as the saying goes, it ain’t where ya from… and Skalpel are definitely at some tomorrow places.

Drawing on Poland’s rich jazz heritage (much of it semi-illegal samizdat recordings made when the Communists thought that jazz could bring down the state), Cichy and Pudlo have an unrivalled source of samples to tap and they tap it with consummate aplomb. They combine a kind of broad brush romanticism with the most carefully dissected breaks for a sound which comes on like an East European “In A Silent Way” with heavier drumming. The truth is that they just get it right, again and again and again, making music which is by turns emotive, funny and filmic but always funky as fuck.

The opening “High” combines sharp conga playing with spectral warbling and flute stabs, “Not Too Bad” is held together by a killer double bass riff, single “1958” is kitsch dancefloor business, “Break In” lifts you up out of your seat and has you hanging above the couch, “Quiz” is garage-band jazz, “Behind The Curtain” is sublime road movie music.

But scratch a little deeper and the Polish scene of the 60s and 70s is more than just another crate to dig and also serves as their main inspiration. “We are much more influenced by this music than the present day scene,” explains Cichy. Pudlo points to the richness of a scene which included Michael Urbaniak (the only violinist to play with Miles Davis, like, ever) and Krzysztof Komeda (who composed the music for Polanski’s “Rosemary’s Baby). Which perhaps explains why Skalpel’s music, despite their name, never feels clinical. This is about keeping something living – not a post-mortem.
 

Welcoming Skalpel in its roster with open arms, Ninja Tune celebrates more than the rise of a pair of talented musicians. The arrival of this record days before the European Community opened to ten new countries, if fortuitous, is a perfect illustration that European integration is more a reality today than it ever was, political union or not. Ninja had already given DJ Vadim a place to confront his musical ground with that of musicians from the UK and beyond, and now, it is the turn of Polish duo Skalpel and their exhilarating jazz-infused electronica.
Hailing from Wroclaw, the cultural capital of Lower Silesia in South Poland, a stone-throw away from the German border, Marcin Cichy and Igor Pudlo first got noticed after they interviewed DJ Vadim for a Polish hip-hop magazine and consequently toured the country with him. They then recorded a CDR, simply entitled Polish jazz, which led to the pair being signed to London-based Ninja Tune. Four Solid Steel sessions followed over a two-year period before the band finally got down to record their first album proper. Basing their work almost entirely on samples of Polish jazz records, the band claim to aim at ‘resurrecting the dusty and smoky spirit of 60’s and 70’s Polish Jazz’ by revisiting it and adding a modern touch to it. The result is somewhat reminiscent of Saint Germain’s Tourist in part, yet Skalpel refrain from giving their record too much of a dance floor feel. Instead, Cichy and Pudlo remain close to the original sonorities of their sound sources. Listening to Skalpel, it is hard to make the distinction between what has actually been sampled, and what might have been played especially for the record. And that’s perhaps the main strength of this album: sounding like a genuine jazz record without pretending to be anything special. All the way through, the pair presents a totally classic, yet fresh, soundtrack on which flourish elements of swing, bop and soul, creating an extremely consistent piece of work from beginning to end.
The album opens with the devilishly groovy High, on which the band combines congas, double bass and flute into a whirlwind of sounds and beats. Later on, a voice confirms ‘Let them play their jazz records and dance all night if they want to’ on the equally funky Not Too Bad. Although Cichy and Pudlo alternate between buoyant compositions and more reflective moments, the general mood of this record is definitely upbeat. On tracks such as the stunning 1958, Quiz or the tongue-in-cheek Theme From ‘Behind The Curtain’, Skalpel provide some slices of energy, while at other times, they demonstrates great control over their music. Together, Break In or Sculpture, which closes the album, show Skalpel venturing into more delicate and fragile constructions, yet the band retain the same driving force.
Far from the technology-conscious electronica that we have grown accustomed to, Skalpel draw from the Polish jazz scene that flourished during the Communist era the elements to create a soulful and honest collection of groovy compositions. Marcin Cichy and Igor Pudlo demonstrate all the way through a great understanding of their sound sources and a great control over their music without ever sounding arrogant or pretentious.

What the Critic say:

”An auspicious debut … the equal of anything by Ninja’s other great electronic jazz band the Cinematic Orchestra.”
Independent On Sunday

“Beautifully romantic.”
Q

“Jazz, breaks, scat shuffles and funky riffs… of the highest standard. This release deserves to see them revered far beyond Poland. “
Wire

“May well be the finest piece of jazz, from anywhere, since Mr Davis’ “Miles Ahead”. Let them play their jazz records and dance all night if they want to.
DJ Magazine

“Stylish and mysterious… As refreshing to the jaded palette as mouthful of freshly chilled vodka.”
Hip Hop Connection

“Truly gorgeous… a shimmering, suspended ambience.”
Rock Sound

“This polish duo have emerged with an album that sounds fresh and forward-looking.”
Music Week

“Evocative debut album of breaks and beats.”
IDJ

“A truly atmospheric and technically accomplished album… veering from upbeat dancefloor numbers to murky cinematic instrumentals.”
Flux