KLAN

While the band has had different lineups with future reunions, the earliest members were Marek Alaszewski (guitar, vocals), Maciej Gluszkiewicz (acoustic piano, organ), Roman Pawelski (guitar, bass) and Andrzej Poniatowski (drums, vocals). The band played in Warsaw's club 'Medyk' and found a small following with its unusual mix of progressive rock music and jazz-sensibilities all wrapped up psychedelia and surreal antics much in the vein of fellow Polish artist Niemen. The band's only true album MROWISKO released in 1971 on Muza Polish Recordings contains material from the ballet of the same name that the band wrote in 1970. The performance itself lasted around 80 minutes but the music was cut in half in order to fit on an album. Very much inspired by the psychedelic rock of the 60s, the main influences seem to be Vanilla Fudge and early Jethro Tull however the sporadic inclusion of frenetic percussive ensembles clearly displays a strong connection with Santana. Ominous organ runs also evoke the Mark II era of Deep Purple.

MROWISKO is an interesting mix of styles and moods that implements some serious psychedelic organ freakery while creating interesting knotty compositional shifts that tackle various tones, timbres and textures that result in the album flowing into myriad directions. It starts off with bird sounds that starkly contrast with the heavy jazz-rock sounds of 'Kuszenie' which sounds a bit like The Nice meets Vanilla Fudge only somewhere in that time continuum where the 60s meets the 70s along with some Woodstock samplings of Santana's percussive explosiveness. 'Nerwy Miast' takes on a funkier vibe with a groovy bass line but drifts into what sounds like the symphonic prog that was being generated from Italy at the time. The band seemed to have access to the music of the outside world despite the fact that it was extremely difficult for the Eastern block to find Western artists. Also presented is a touch of blues and jazz.

Throughout the album's typical playing time of 42 minutes for 70's vinyl, the band steers the rock opera into different progressive arenas but mostly sticks to the heavy psych organ runs and sensual guitar sweeps that are accompanied by the lyrics performed in the Polish language which means the story will be lost on those who don't speak the lingo but the music is so excellent that it matters not. Graced with interesting time signature changes, hairpin turns in continuity and extra sounds like classical guitars and frightening organ terror, it's easy to fall for KLAN's only album MROWISKO which sounds often like some sort of mutant Slavic version of Deep Purple that got a bit more crazy with the prog influences. It's excellent how well this flows together and it would even be interesting to hear a future re-issue where they release the entire 80 minutes of music.

While artists like SBB and Czesław Niemen managed to stick around for a long time on the Polish scene, KLAN on the other hand folded fairly quickly when Głuszkiewicz and Poniatowski left the band in 1971, the same year of this album's release. The band would reform periodically over the years and the members remained busy in other projects but MROWISKO remains the highlight of the early progressive rock scene that was woefully small in comparison but by listening to this album, one has to admit that had Poland and the other communist nations been allowed to develop and nurture their artistic visions more openly that those same nations would have been just as much on par with the rest of Europe. But that was not in the history books so we can only leave the possibilities to our imaginations, however this album is quite real and well worth the effort of tracking down. A unique small miracle from the most unlikely of times and places.

The title track is by far the best track, being a somewhat progressive blues number. Dramatic and quite groovy. Nice one. The second track is sort of wild west-ish rock/pop song. The third song is a more heavy affair in the vein of late 60's hard rock. A so and so track. Automaty, which is the final track, is the second best one. A dreamy, tune with a harsh introduction.

All in all this EP is OK. Two tracks are alright and two are really nothing to shout about. Go for their album Mrowisko instead.

The album starts off really nice, with birds singing, before a gentle guitar comes in, paving the way for pleasant organ. I find that to be so charming and a wonderful way to start off this progressive journey. The next track, Kuszenie, is filled with heavy rhythm, storming organ and screaming guitar. And it continues in that way, blending softness with harshness. Melody with complexity and sometimes even free-form, though not overbearingly so. Just enough free-form to add some spice to this wonderful stew.

The tracks segues into each other, making this a sort of symphonic experience. The tracks are short but since they cling together that is hardly a problem, if you think that proggers absolutely must represent themselves thorugh lengthy epics.

All in all, Mrowisko is a little gem of organ-driven prog with an East European flavor. It is a pleasure to listen to and an album that needs to be discovered by more people.

Now on to KLAN, I am a huge collector of Polish Prog, Psych, and Freak Beat--- KLAN was one of the best in their field. They were formed in 1969 after the splintered break-ups of assorted groups they were in. They were fans of Vanilla Fudge and Brian Auger and The Trinity, so you see that the outcome was a bit twisted. They were signed to tour with other like-minded Polish experimentalists, BREAKOUT which got them a record deal with Pronit/Muza.

They released the impossible to track down 4 song 7" ep "Gdzie jest Czlowiek" (Pronit EP N-0586) 1970 Translated: "Where is the sparrow?"

"Mrowisko" (Muza LP SXL 0756) 1971* Tranlated: "Ant colony"

*This was reissued in the 80's on vinyl and in 1991 on cd (Digiton 103).

The group broke up in '73. Members went on to work for Warsaw Operahouse musicals, etc. In 1992 vocalist/guitarist Marek Alaszewski release a new cd with 6 new members. The magic of course was gone...

"Po co mi ten raj" (Digiton 129) CD Translated: "What will I do with all this celebration?"

---fillapillowg