Renata Przemyk was born on February the 10th 1966 in Bielsko-Biala, where she lived with her parents, grandmother and brothers. She attended there primary and secondary school. When she finished school she moved to Katowice, where she studied Czech philology at Slaski University. In 1994 she moved to Krakow, and at the end of 1999 she chose to live in a village near Krakow, where leading quiet life, distant from a fuss of a big city, what allowed her to compose, make arrangements of her own songs and bring up her daughter.
Her career as a singer started when she was a teenager, by singing with local rock bands, but the real calling for music she (has) found and developed during her studies, inspired by Tom Waits, Talking Heads and Frank Zappa. As a result of those inspirations she started in 1989 a band named "Ya Hozna". Although the activity of the group lasted only one year, after which the artist has begun her solo career, it has concluded with an album etitled "Ya Hozna", an album that has revealed a unique and original musical style of Renata Przemyk. As an independent artist Renata has recorded and edited the following albums: "Malo zdolna szansonistka" (1992), "Tylko kobieta" (1994), "Andergrant" (1996), "Hormon" (1999), "Blizna" (2001), "Balladyna" (2002) - a soundtrack from a play directed by Jan Machulski. In 2003 on the market appears a compilation of her most interesting songs called "The best of". From the beginning of the artistic path of Renata, the singer is accompanied by her dearest friend and manager - Anna Saraniecka, who at the same time is the author of all lyrics. Mature and wise lyrics have the same importance for Renata's songs as the music, and are integral part of creating the unusual nature of her work.
Most of Renata's albums were awarded with a status of "golden album" for selling over 50.000 copies, they were nominated and awarded many times - mostly for artistic individuality. The singer has also won many awards in various festivals in which she took part at the beginning of her career. She has taken first prize in the festival in Cracow, "Karolinka" in Opole and "Bursztynowy Slowik" in Sopot. As an artist that connects rock sounds with poetry and theatrical performance she could both perform - on the stage of a rock festival in Jarocin, and on prestigious festivals of stage song that took place in Wroclaw and Kln. She has given concerts in France (Normandy, Britany, Paris) and in the USA (New York) but because of lyrics written in Polish, she prefers to meet Polish publicity which is able not only to appreciate fully the words but sing the songs with her as well.
Although she has got many interests within art (cinema, the 19th and 20th century literature, modern theater and drawing her own graphics), the most important for her is always music. She has cooperated with many artists but if it's for her art - she's always the only one who produces her ventures and decides about their character.
It is hard to classify her music - neither rock, nor alternative, nor poetry can describe what's deep inside it. She calls her music "a searching for tones, sounds, emotions and climates not similar to anything made before". That's why each album is different from the previous one. Nevertheless there is always one motif in common - on every album we can hear the sound of accordion, an instrument the artist likes, despite all trends and fashions.
Starting from post-punk tones, constantly varied instruments, adding new ones. In 1999 she used for the first time electronic sounds - on album "Hormon", which at the same time was the first album composed by Renata. Since then she and the author of her lyrics Anna Saraniecka are the only "parents" of Renata's successes.
In plebiscites of two most important Polish weeklies - Polityka and Wprost, Renata Przemyk has been chosen one of the most important artists of the last century. (renataprzemyk.art.pl)
Discography:
Ya hozna (1990)
Malo zdolna szansonistka (1992)
Tylko kobieta (1994)
Andergrant (1996)
Hormon (1999)
Blizna (2001)
Balladyna (2002)
The best of (2003)
Unikat (2006)
