Band line-up:
Latarnik – piano, synthesizer, percussion instruments
Wuja HZG – bass guitar, janissary
Cancer G - percussion
OlafSaxx – saxophones, synthesizers, percussion instruments
Błoto is a band that was born by accident like a puddle after rain. In the summer of 2018, there was a day off between the concerts on the tour of the Wrocław EABS sextet between Brzeg Dolny, Łódź and Sopot. On the way to the Tri-City, the band line-up decreased more and more. In the car stayed: Marek Pędziwiatr aka Latarnik (keyboards / synthesizers), Paweł Stachowiak aka Wuja HZG (bass), Marcin Rak aka Cancer G (percussion), Olaf Węgier aka OlafSaxx (tenor saxophone / percussion instruments).
It was Friday afternoon when the band was passing by Gdańsk. Between the words on the way to Wejherowo, one man said that there was a nice studio nearby ... A free evening, a harmonious rhythm section on the road and a great potential for creativity hidden in the rising Błoto band caused a lot of enthusiasm in everyone. Unfortunately, the studio that the band was passing by was not ready to use within the time limit “in three hours”. Fortunately, the eagerness to record something new did not stop the group. Grzegorz Skawiński (the legendary Kombi) showed great hospitality by making the well-equipped Maska studio available on Friday evening. This is where Błoto was born. Two years after these events, the band continued cooperation, releasing new albums.
After the surprising success of the debut album of the Błoto quartet, the dust has not settled yet ... Pandemic interferred with all promotional plans, so the band did not even manage to play the album well during concerts, and despite the immediate sale of the entire circulation, the band did not decide to repress again. Following the blow, Błoto, known for improvising in difficult conditions, released their second album in 2020, entitled "Kwiatostan" in cooperation with Astigmatic Records with the Warsaw club called Jassmine.
At the beginning of 2021, the reality around us continued to provide inspiration for the band to create. That is why, the Błoto quartet, having another starting point, only needed a small impulse to enter the studio. The reason for the next musical meeting turned out to be Program Drugi Polskiego Radia, which initiated the invitation of the band to "Domówki z Dwójką". This was the starting point for "Kwasy and zasady". The third full-fledged Błoto album. The band has always functioned in the sphere of metaphors close to nature. It is similar this time, but Błoto has gone deeper into "chemical compounds" called acids and bases. In the end, the theme of the album cleverly omits the direct meaning of these words, playing with the convention again. A set of improvised beats refers to interpersonal relationships, which nowadays often have an extreme, corrosive and explosive nature, so we need a framework that will allow us to counteract them.
The music of the Wrocław quartet is firmly rooted in brutal hip-hop foundations, which freely refer to the sound of the 90s. It is dirty and uncompromising music, the strength of which lies in the drums and bass. In some way, it is also radical. It reflects the atmosphere of the times in which it was created. Times of unfavourable climate changes, clear social divisions, hate speech, growing nationalism, police brutality, nepotism, political systems and dismantling of the rule of law structures. It all happens in front of us. Our soil and social systems are being eroded.