PRESS RELEASEALEKSANDRA KWASNIEWSKA AND THE BELGIAN SWEETS “Island Girl†– Her own story. Not to be missed! London 2008“It’s a dream which has been with me all my life, despite the hard times and long journey to make it come trueâ€, says Aleksandra Kwasniewska about her first album, to be released in London this spring. Without meeting the producer Pedro De Bruyckere and the Band who influenced the artist with their talents for music and arrangement, maybe this intimate project would never have come into existence. Blessed with a rare, clear and true voice and an intimacy to her compositions, the Polish singer had searched long and hard for her musical identity and her own sound before releasing this collection of ballads that travel through folk and pop, with a fragility and multi-layered delicacy. The journey to create this record was lengthy and painful, but it is for that reason that the album is so personal, so emotional and so intimate.“I started my musical education pretty late,†smiles Aleksandra. “I sang jazz standards for a few years, as many young singers do, but at certain point I just wanted to write my own songs. Pedro De Bruyckere was the first person to convince me to sing in Polish and he and the band also convinced me to be more open to other sounds; somehow they showed me a musical world beyond jazz. And I just loved it! That was how our project was created.â€Initially, this album was meant to focus solely on vocals, piano and double bass. But, during the recordings, Pedro and Aleksandra put together a never-to-be-forgotten team, with Peter Ryckeboer (Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Hammond, keyboards), Neils Delvaux (drums and percussion) and Koen Kimpe (double bass), Frederick Caelen (accordion), Pedro De Bruyckere (guitars), H.T. Roberts (mandolin), Bart Maris (trumpet) and John Snauwaert (saxophone). There is no programming here and the music is really quite minimalist, yet incredibly colourful, with the participation of the brass section, the accordion and Niels’s original percussion set. Recorded in an old-fashioned studio in the beautiful Belgian village – of Zwalm, the 10 songs are a mixture of joy and melancholy. The music created in this acoustic environment gives a strong sense of honesty, naturalness and freshness. Together, the band creates an intimate atmosphere of exceptional and magical sounds. A subtle voice expresses the emotions and feelings of our lives, from longing, melancholy and sadness to love, joy and happiness. Some of the songs, such as ÅšpiÄ…cy Jednorożec or The Moon’s a Harsh Mistress dive into dreams, others like Home or Manha De Carnaval are sung through tears, Coney Island Girl and BÄ…dź przy mnie blisko present the group’s pop face, Bear It All and Åšnij are those optimistic, happy, dance songs which speak of the faith in your soul, Zachodźże SÅ‚oneczko and Cichy Zapada Zmrok are Polish traditional folk songs, given the band’s own, individual arrangement. Listening to these pearls, we might be reminded of the warm vocals of Stacey Kent or Katie Melua. The album will certainly leave your spine tingling with shivers and have you begging for more of this beautiful music.
