Rightio, I’d searched a few forums to see if anyone could point me in the right direction as to which Polish bands are worth checking out at this years Heineken Opener. I was given a few names to check out but I decided that I you want something done you may as well do it yourself.
There’s only one way to do this, there’s a lot to get through. I’ve done 45 bands in all, but no Headliners.
I’ll put a link for each band and their genre and I’ll put a wee note beside it about what I think of them.
I hope this will be useful for you. This’ll be my third Heineken Opener and every year I’ve come away from it delighted to have “discovered” some cool new Polish music, even though the band may have been playing in Poland for years and years.
Ok, enough of me rattling on, let’s get the ball rolling.
Alternative/Electro-Indie/Post-Rock
Really cool sounding band, not afraid to experiment either, should be very good.
Rock/Alt Rock
I’m on the fence here, they wanna sound Sonic Youth, but don’t, maybe live they’ll pull it off, as their Myspace material isn’t all that experimental and sounds a bit soft-rock.
Ska/Reggae/Folk
These will be great so long as the sun is belting down and the beer is flowing.
Folk/Alt Folk/Experimental/Jazz
If you’re into experimental Jazz tempos and drums mixed with traditional instruments then this’ll be the thing for you. Think Gogol Bordello but really really stoned.
Instrumental/Experimental/Ambient
Lots of piano and some sweeping electro. Quite experimental too. But a bit meh and a bit too far up it’s own ass.
Brasil And The Gallow Brothers Band
Alt/Ambient/Psychelilica
With a name that naff they must be great? Yea, they are. They like to experiment with sounds, but you may have to be in a certain mind-frame to fully appreciate their music, if you catch my drift.
Garage/Indie/Grunge
If you liked the old White Stripes you’ll love this band, but they’re far better than that. Gotta go see these.
Indie/Rock/Alt
Good solid UK indie influenced rock band, along the lines of Editors and the like. Should be very good in the Polish sunshine, but will be crap if it’s raining.
Indie/Rock/Shoegaze
Very interesting Polish band and would well be worth checking out if you like your Indie soaked with Shoegaze tones.
Pop/Rock
Nothing you haven’t heard a million times before. Boring.
Electro/Ambient/Chill
Sweeping landscapes of music are the order of the day here, if you’re into music that been inspired by the Icelandic heavyweights of instrumentals you’ll enjoy this
Pop/Classical
She has a wonderful voice but I can’t see this being very good at a festival, small intimate club yes but not a festival. Music is a bit too melodramatic and lacks a punch.
Reggae/Dubstep/Electro
Poland has a strong tradition of quality reggae inspired bands and here’s another one. Grab a beer, smoke a…cigarette and get the grove to the rhythm.
Jazz
She has a really really annoying Flash website, she can sing but, so what, it’s jazz and jazz sucks.
Alt Rock/New wave/Indie
A band that love driving beats and will get a crowd jumping up and down for sure, well worth checking out for any New Wave fans
Electro/Industrial/HipHop
Alternative thinking mans hiphop this one here, very cool and ought to be checked out.
Post Rock/Showgaze/Ambient
Mogwai mixed with God is an Astronaut topped off with a bit of Sigur Ros, fantastic, cannot wait to see this band.
Lo-Fi/Alt-Indie/Experimental
Bit of a melting pot here. One moment sounding very Americana then changing to Post Rock, these could be good but they’re a bit directionless sounding. Might be worth checking out for a half hour.
Rock/New Wave/Pop
Check out their song Ciggies, a wonderful piece of guitar pop. These have a few belters in them so you should get along to whichever tent they’re playing in.
Hip Hop/Trip Hop/Jazz Funk
Tripped out Hip Hop, very chilled out at times and with the odd Jazz instrument now and again. Good if you’re into a more intelligent Hip Hop thank your typical crap about bling and bitches.
Alternative Indie/Indie/Experimental
Interesting band but they sometimes go a bit too “far out” on their tunes and can be a bit over self-indulgent. However if you’re into more experimental sounding music this might be your bag baby.
Americana/Electro Folk/Acoustic
If you like Neil Young then you’ll cream your pants for these guys, the singer even sings a bit like him. Sprinkle it with some Mercury Rev influenced pop hook and you’ve got Let The Boy Decide.
Acoustic/Folk
Unlike the previous band, this band are very much an inward looking band and will probably be pretty boring live.
Electro Rock/Indie/ New Wave
This band will probably put on a pretty good show, the songs are laden with a heavy bass drum which will get everyone moving. Imagine a happier Depeche Mode mixed Joy Division and you’ve got London Type Smog.
Funk/Alt-Electro/Shock Disco (whatever that is!)
These guys cannot simply be described, they’re all over the place, but they are pretty freaking cool, guaranteed to get your ass moving. They’ll probably put on a fantastic live show. Elements of trad, funk, metal and hip hop, check out the link and the video below and make up your own mind.
Pop/R’n'B/Reggae
R’n'B influenced Reggae, and it’s actually worse than it sounds in real life than on paper. Avoid.
Metal/Thrash Metal/Gothic
Actually these are Polish they’re Canadian, but whatever I guess loads of people won’t have heard of them. Riff-tastic metal band with tons of goth influences/imagery, they’re a bit naff but some of their tunes are pretty good especially when the double bass drum gets a pounding.
Chill/New Jazz
This band should’ve soundtracked the first Austin Powers movie, instrumental 60s and 70s influenced chill out music. Imagine if The Shadow munched a load of magic mushrooms then this is what they’d have sounded like.
Alternative/Electro
Get Múm and Ladytron into a cat fight and hey presto Ms. No One. Probably Bjork influenced too, I’ll be heading a long to see this band for sure.
Ambient/Nu-Jazz
This kind of music can be cool in the right setting, like a hip and trendy cocktail bar, but in my experience at a festival it just gets a bit monotonous. Maybe they’ll pull off a good show, but it all sounds a bit boring to me.
Indie/Rock
Another British indie influenced band, will probably put on a good show and pull a good crowd as they’ve had a couple of radio hits in Poland. For fans of the likes of Doves, Editors, The Drums.
Electro/Post Rock/Electro Orchestra
Electronic music mashed with traditional orchestra sounds, they could well be epic on stage. Completely different than any other of the bands so far, you should at least check them out for being truly original . Some of their songs build to epic proportions.
Chill/Down Tempo/Lounge
Really well executed music along the lines of RJD2 and early Flying Lotus. Niwa’s soulful set will be the perfect complement to a sunny afternoon.
Dance/Electro
Roisin Murphy and Moloko were, and still are huge in Poland and Novika is likely to be a product of such influence. With some really excellent tunes, Novika may well provide a very memorable set.
Hip Hop/Alternative/Electro
It’s hip hop but not like you’ve heard before, this is a proper cross over between alternative electro and hip hop. This will sound awesome when blasted out through massive speakers and may likely scare the be-jaysus out of some festival revellers. Fantastic stuff.
Avant-Garde/Pop/Alternative
This band’s take on pop music won’t be to everyone liking but for those of you into more experimental music then this might be up your alley. Go with an open mind and you may be surprised.
Hip Hop/Reggae/Electro
Alternative hip hop, some great beats and melodies for you hip hop fans. The vocalist of also a member of the awesome Vavamuffin a dub influenced hip hop group.
New Jazz/Electro/Rock
It’s hard to pull of the new jazz thing and not sound completely self-indulgent but this Katowice band somehow manage it. By using pop influenced hooks they keep everything sounding fresh and engaging…most of the time, when it gets too jazzy that’s when it borders on bollox.
Folk/Pop/Acoustic
Acoustic music that’ll bore you to within an inch of your life. Unoriginal in every aspect, they sound stop playing music an become accountants.
Down-Tempo/Electro/Experimental
Stoner music right here for all you leaf smokers. Again setting will play a large part in how this goes down, this isn’t music for a 3pm chill out, it’s music for about 4am as the buzz of the day’s festivities begins to fade and you want something to relax to. How and ever the tunes and melodies are quite good and Pleq certainly know their craft.
Rock
Straight out, no frills rock and roll. For fans of bands like Bruce Springsteen, Stereophonics. Not bad, just not very original.
Folk/Electro Folk
If this band doesn’t have you dancing and enjoying the sunshine then you have no soul and you need to kill yourself. Mixing elements of Slavic trad. music with modern pop you’ll be hooked after the first few beats. Great drinking music!
Pop/Electro
Pop music can be good when it’s in the right hands and handled properly, this is all a bit meh though. Uninspiring and a bit lacklustre, falls flat on its face at the first hurdle. Boring.
Indie/Surf/Rock
A little bit of originality goes a long way and The Lollipops bring that, their sound is influenced by early surf but it’s also got an element of filth about it. They’ll probably turn it up s a live band and get the crowd going too.
Drum ‘n’ Bass/ Breakbeat/ Hip Hop
Not Polish either but maybe not so well-known as the headliners. This will be fantastic at 2am, get on your dancing shoes and get into the groove. Will be brilliant live and will doubtlessly get the crowd pumping.
Pop/Electro
Pretty good electro band not afraid to be both experimental and pop sounding at the same time. A little bit too down-tempo for a festival maybe but, again it depends on the setting and where they play. Well worth checking out though, their tunes are very good.
Well, that’s it.
Enjoy the festival, hope to see you there.
Hey man!
Good job! Mitch & Mitch and Indigo Tree seems interesting.
Lot’s of folk there by the way this year. Paula & Karol – cheerful
Letters From Silence – well, have you seen this?
Cheers!
Ian
Hi Ian
Thanks for that, I’ve had a look and I could’ve been wrong eh?
I can’t wait for the festival, so many great bands playing.
i found a mistake… not “niwa” is playing, but “niwea”. so, this would be the correct link: http://www.myspace.com/niwea …
Actually the merkabah you were talking about is not the one that came to Open’er.
the real one is really polish: http://myspace.com/merkabah
Hey there,
Just wanted to correct You on the Merkabah bit. We’re actually a polish band, and it was us, who performed at the Opener Festival, not the canadian goth metal band. You can check out bits of our performance on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKHMiul6iUM and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-AIQZDWzRE&feature=related
Cheers,
Jacob
Thanks for the corrections guys.
I hope you all had a great time, I know I did, the festival just keeps getting better and better. Everything form the organisers to the music, only thing I don’t like are the security, they’re way too heavy-handed and need a lesson in how tyo chill out.
[...] course, I had said that I was attending Heineken Opener, which I did but after the fest I was taking to a secret location, well, kinda secret, actually it [...]
[...] course, I had said that I was attending Heineken Opener, which I did but after the fest I was taken to a secret location, well, kinda secret, actually it [...]
damn… you need to correct the info about NIWEA also. The group is alled NIWEA and not, NIWA…
http://www.myspace.com/niwea