ALBUM PREMIERE | Paszka, 'Gluon'

Introducing Paszka, aka Szymon Sapalski; photographed by Jakub Owczarek.

The prestigious pop imprint Noumenal Loom brings illuminations of great joy to us this fall with the advent of the new album from Paszka, Szymon Sapalski of MUKA, with Gluon. Offering a collection of curiosities to cater to the surfaces and sub-spaces of the consciousness; Sapalski subscribes to the maximalist vernacular with a stunning talent for editing and arranging stem sound captures into orders that initiate responses from the mind and connective nervous system. In the same way that we respond to stimuli in the ASMR sense of schools; Szymon introduces anachronistic elements of holistic IDM into ways that introduce a kind of tingling euphoria with organic rhythms, sounds and effects that you can feel spiking the hairs in the back of your neck.

Step into the illustrious wonder world of Paszka with the Gluon opener "Szkelet" that gets the listener acclimated to the bouquet of whirlwind instrumental samples that speed with the winds of the world. The intricacies of Szymon's production can be witnessed on "Ugrząźć" that deconstructs the notions of how a pop track can progress where a hook is chopped up and addled like eggs and veggies in a blender. “Pantofelek” recalls the emerald tonal cadences and percussive crackle of Giant Claw, to re-constructing imagined dance step manifestations on the kinetic fusions of “Zastawka”, as the gravity and genre defying "Terakota" expounds upon the realms of possibilities that electronic music can exist within.

Gluon continues to explore the expanded universes of pop possibilities, often charging at breakneck speeds like the schizoid stew found on "Szczupak". Szymon experiments with the conventions of note progressions and experiences with "Bambrowato" that wildly plays off very principle and bright key combinations that are met with an assembly of fluttering effects. The collaborative tracks prove to be a further fascination of the Paszka approach to audio aesthetics, as "Cauliflower" features vocal contributions from Kacha Kowalczyk that illustrate an even greater universal appeal — similar to the closing cut of "Komórczak" with Ania Grr that solidify Paszka's talents as a producer who can take choral constructs to the next level. Gluon stands as an example of bridging the meticulous elements of the esoteric into the fold of a greater accessible and universal codification of styles. The full-length further establishes Szymon Sapalski as an artist/producer/provocateur to keep a close ear on.

Szymon Sapalski, aka Paszka, penned the following exclusive reflections on the synthesis of sounds and styles that went into the creation of Gluon:

"I find it really helpful to think about my previous works when working on a new album. I suppose this is because I always want to try new things and move in new directions with my material, so my previous work functions as a good reference point for that. It might not always work out that way, but it's always my goal to compose things that feel new to me and for each album to pull me out of my comfort zone. For now I think that's easy, because I am still learning the basics. I learn a lot between albums and working on new albums — it's not as if I will eventually arrive at an ultimate understanding of it all, but this constant displacement or upheaval of my tool set and approach keeps things interesting. I (with the help of Kacha and Ania) managed to make some of the tracks sound more like traditional songwriting — they have melodies and one can hear a more defined structure.

Though it wasn't my aim at the beginning, the whole album is a kind of a route from chaotic initial tracks to more song-like final tracks. So, I like to think of this album as sounds structuring themselves. It also feels like a turning point in my approach to composition going forward — I'm interested in exploring more accessible music, as that approach is becoming more natural for me. Even though I'm beginning to use a more traditional song structure at times, I tried to make the album sound artificially organic and not static or predictable — stopping sounds abruptly and constantly introducing change. I like to keep things baroque and overstimulate the listener. After listening to and working on the album for so long, I don't really know what I'm hearing at times and it's hard to get the distance I need to see if I achieved that over-stimulation, but it will be interesting to see how that acclimation on my side is received with fresh ears.

As far as my inspirations, I try to pull a lot of sound design inspiration from small, underground artists because I think they have a more interesting approach. The lack of formal music education or experience can create really different results. Fortunately my music always comes out a bit different from my inspirations, because I don't approach things technically or systematically. You can see more specific musical inspirations of mine on my Facebook page Rużaw, though I don't always try to copy these. Lastly, almost all of the track titles that I used are in Polish but they aren't significant to the album's reception — they are chosen somewhat randomly, though they are often words from Biology and I pick them because I like their sound.

Paszka’s album Gluon is available October 13 via Noumenal Loom.

Cover art for Gluon.