Tank full of Oil: The Kurws

The Kurws

(the) Kurws formed in May 2008 as an unexpected result of a ping pong session. Since then they have pursued their own search, not so much in defined genres, but within the very foundations of rock, expression, and sound. It is a workshop where improvisation penetrates through composed material, a congealed form of the creation process. Armed with repetitions, recombinations, variations and contrasts, they frolic with memory and expectations. Post punk, krautrock, rock in opposition, funk, no wave - they present modes of playing, motives, and riffs we have heard time and time again in a totally different context, dissected from their original environment, placed side by side, used in a brand new manner, deconstructed and distilled. They draw from a range of influences that sound like they may include Blurt, Magma, This Heat, The Contortions, NOMEANSNO, Massacre, Gang of Four, and Shellac, with some tape splicing experiments thrown in for good measure.

Their debut album “Dziura w Getcie" (Hole in the ghetto) was released in 2011 in Europe in a joint venture by Qulturap (CD), Oficyna Biedota, Trująca Fala, Blinded (LP and MC) and in the US by Bat Shit Records. In 2014 a new album, entitled “Wszystko co stałe rozpływa się w powietrzu / All that is solid melts into air”, was released on CD by Gusstaff Records (CD/Digital) and in spring 2015 on vinyl (Gaffer Records / Red Wig).

The band has played numerous gigs throughout Europe and are faithful henchmen of DIY principles.

Depending on the circumstances, the band performs as a trio:
- Dawid Bargenda (drums)
- Hubert Kostkiewicz (guitar)
- Jakub Majchrzak (bass)

… or as a quartet, enriched by:
Oskar Carls (Saigon, Vulkano) - saxophone (2012 -)

Ex members:
Krzysztof Tokarski - saxophone (2009 - 2012),
Wojciech Bajda - bass clarinet, clarinet B (2011-2012),
Piotrek Zabrodzki (LXMP, Baaba, Efekt Moozgu) - synthesizer (2012 - 2015),
PiotrŁyszkiewicz - saxophone (2013).