Center for Contemporary Culture KRAK (Hamze Hume bb, Bihać)
Concert: Saturday, 19 October 2024, at 9 pm

Kosmonauci (Bosnian: kosmonauti) is a quartet of four lively instrumentalists from southern Poland: Miłosz Pieczonka on saxophone, Bartłomiej Lucjan on bass, Tymon Kosma on vibraphone, and Jan Pieniążek on drums and percussion. Although rooted in the compositional logic of jazz, Kosmonauci skillfully navigate styles such as hip-hop and drum & bass. Their musical sensibility is infused with a broad range of artistic improvisation, encompassing genre diversity and variety. Progressive inventiveness as a guiding principle, and conventional instrumentation as an available option, shape an original and unburdened style, woven with an energetic charge of melodic sequences full of emotion. From a broader perspective, Kosmonauci play with polyrhythmic structures, deconstructing, dissecting, and reuniting them into solid, reinforced wholes.

In their compositions, the artists seem to converse through their instruments. Certain songs, imbued with the dominance of vibraphone and drums, depict a dialogue with a theatrical intonation of a childlike character. Elsewhere, the sound of a solitary saxophone in the background suggests an introspective monologue of an entranced poet.

In terms of production and the character that emerges from it, Kosmonauci are a coherent entity that encompasses flexibility and variability. The band's musical influences reach back to the rich tradition of jazz in the second half of the 20th century and contemporary alternative London pop. However, they directly cite the influence of younger Polish performers such as Tonfa and Ziomcy.

Kosmonauci are a relatively young band – both in the average age of its members (around 22 years old) and in the age of the band itself. They have been active on the music scene for about five years and have performed at festivals such as Opener Festival, Męskie Granie, Next Fest Music Showcase & Conference, and Czech Music Crossroads. In March 2024, they released an album titled Sorry, nie tu (U Jazz Me Records), which received positive reviews from both the audience and critics. Besides the band's musical profile in stylistic terms, this album is the result of years of acquaintance among its members, dating back to high school.

The Kosmonauci concert at KRAK is supported by the Robert Bosch Foundation.