Kraj za Miastem

You wouldn’t guess it from the name, but WoWaKin are a trio of Polish musicians playing music mostly from the Radom region of Mazowsze in the heart of the country. WoWaKin is an acronym of their surnames: Bartłomiej Wozniak (percussion, vocals), Mateusz Wachowiak (accordion) and Paula Kinaszewska (violin, vocals). They formed in 2016 and first gained attention via Polish Radio's ‘New Tradition’ competition, where they won third prize. Kinaszewska, like many of the new generation of traditional musicians, learned from old masters like singer Maria Siwiec (who features on the album) and fiddler Jan Gaca, before he passed away.

They are joined by guests on trumpet and bass, and sound like they could dep easily for the Janusz Prusinowski Trio. Most of the numbers are instrumental mazurkas and other dances played with exactly the kind of idiomatic swing the music needs. There's a crazy intensity in the percussion and fiddle playing in ‘Continuous Mazurka Sulgostów’, and the closing ‘Mazurka Bumblebee’. I suspect they’re great at a dance party. Of the vocal numbers, there's real charm to ‘Leć Głosie po Rosie’ (Fly My Voice Across the Dew), a cheerfully sad love song from the Kielce region.