Całe Szczęście

Mosaik are a very accomplished Polish folk band who combine Polish traditions with world sounds. On this album we hear Arabic oud, Jew's harp, duduk and various strident pipes along with old-style Polish fiddles and cimbalom. The five-strong group have won awards at the Nowa Tradycja festival and also played at Cross Cultures and Ethnoport festivals. One of Poland's best folk bands, they have yet to break through internationally. This is their third CD; its title, which looks scary to us non-Polish speakers, means ‘By Good Fortune’ or ‘As Luck Would Have It’.

The band is led by the powerful singer and medieval fiddle player Jolanta Kossakowska. The music is full of energy, intriguing colours and textures. Standout tracks include the trance-like ‘Lubię Chłopców’, featuring some great oud playing from Mateusz Szemraj, and the lyrical duduk track ‘Leci Konisio’, with what I suspect is the sound of Andrzej Król's sculptural wspak (cello), played by Bart Pałyga, forming the bass. The album was recorded in a hut on a mountain and the final track sounds as if it were created during a storm, while also managing to sound like a wild party.