Doomed Confessionary: Maja, Krzysiek, Albert & Robert (Datûra)
Photos by Beata Wiśniowska
Polish post-metal/dark folk outfit Datûra is gearing up to release their debut album »Obsidian«, which will see the light on June 12th, 2024.
Datûra is a blend of post-metal, progression, and dark folk. Hypnotic melodies and tales from the borders of dreams and reality intertwine with wild rhythms and cries of despair enveloped in soothing chants and atmospheric guitars. The band was formed in Warsaw, Poland in 2020. The mini-album titled »Datûra« released in December 2022, attracted the interest of local media and listeners. The band has a series of well-received concerts across the country, including a performance at the Summer Dying Loud festival.
Datûra are Michalina Maja Rutkowska (vocals), Albert Stąpór (lead guitar), Krzysztof Kolaj (rhythm guitar), Robert Gancarczyk (bass, synthesisers) and Marcin Bystrzycki (drums).
Can you say a few words about your band?
Maja: We are a bunch of 5 guys who met in Warsaw, we play music which combines sensitivity with heaviness and aggression, nostalgia and sadness with rebellion. Amongst our inspirations are artists such as Emma Ruth Rundle, Anna von Hausswolff, Oranssi Pazuzu, Amenra, Alcest, Siouxsie and the Banshees or Leprous.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Krzysiek: We struggle with things not related to music. We found ourselves heavily overburdened with such work on our album »Obsidian«. All work in the studio seems easy when compared to promotion, album graphic design and stuff like that. We never saw this coming.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Maja: Our performance at Summer Dying Loud Festival last year and also our upcoming album, not yet released. And we are proud of our fans, people who support us and who get absolutely crazy about us!
Krzysiek: I am really proud of the musical progress of the entire band during the last 2-3 years. The effort put into composition, practice and studio recording. We really gave it our best and combined with guidance, mixing and mastering by Arkadiusz Malczewski we feel like we got the album we wanted and hoped for.
Albert: First of all, I am proud that we managed to finish the full album. EP was a great opportunity to get used to the whole recording process, but LP was the real test for us and I think we passed it. Second thing that makes me proud is the recognition that we gained on the Polish music scene. Getting invited to more and more shows is a great feeling. It means that people want to play with us and we’re doing a good job.
What was your biggest regret?
Krzysiek: I have a few regarding our EP. I will just say that not all went how we wanted it to.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Krzysiek: Summer Dying Loud – it was the show that placed us on the map. We received a warm welcome. I think that was the moment when we all started to believe and think “We can make this work”.
We can definitely name a few other shows we felt really good about: Scena Zgrzyt in Olsztyn with our friends from Defying (PL) and Gorycz (PL), Warsztat in Kraków with Deûle (FR) and Morvigor (NL).
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Krzysiek: Not sure if this is a surprise or some romantic, perfect dream of mine but I found it surprising to find how hostile the music show business is towards new bands. There are multiple cases where some star was asking a promising band to pay to be selected as support for a gig. You can pay to have your interview printed. You can pay to have your band featured in some media. I just seem surprised that music is not number 1 in the music industry. Or maybe I had known this already but did not want to believe? Hard to say. One way or another our key focus is not to cooperate with people who do not consider musical value as their top priority.
Albert: For me it’s how much time and effort it takes to run a band, especially if you want to do it properly, not just as a light hobby. It’s fun, but really tiring and sometimes frustrating.
Maja: Yeah, I didn’t expect that all the work connected with Datûra would be so absorbing! Juggling your work and the band-related things is not that easy. You need to work hard in order to invest a lot in your dreams, let’s say.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Maja: Haunted Plasma – Reverse Engineer« is on a loop.
Krzysiek: Poppy and stuff she makes in general. This stuff is really weird 🙂
Robert: Knocked Loose new upcoming record (also featuring Poppy), Loathe (all the love to low tuned baritones)
Albert: Some older Gojira stuff like »From Mars to Sirius« and »Deathconsciousness« by Have a Nice Life.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Krzysiek: Chromatic guitar exercises are not music.
Robert: Make your own rules when writing music.
Albert: The best advice I received personally was from Einar Solberg (Leprous). I asked him how to approach the fatigue that comes with writing a song after some time. I often listen to the stuff I wrote some weeks ago and I just don’t feel anything and it’s impossible to tell whether it’s good. I just don’t feel this initial thrill. He advised me to make use of that. Emotions can often lie to you during the writing process, usually they put pink glasses on your eyes when you look at your song at the first stage of writing. When they pass, it’s actually easier to see whether the things that you wrote make sense, whether transitions between parts are consequential and that these parts just belong together to form a whole.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Krzysiek: Early Slipknot recordings, metalcore stuff and recordings with high doses of guitar solos. 🙂
Albert: I’m not a fan of the term “guilty pleasure”. If I like something I don’t feel guilty about it. I have some favorite pop albums that would probably be “questionable” for some people in the underground scene, but I honestly don’t care.
Can you say something more about the music scene in Warsaw / Poland?
Krzysiek: There is a lot of great talent in the underground, that is for sure. Sadly there are less and less places where such people can start their music adventure. The music show business is focused mostly on big bands that bring big money. Small bands rarely get a shot.
Albert: It’s very alive, there are lots of bands that emerged from the depths of the pandemic. Venues got open again and some of them are booked for the whole year. In Warsaw, where I live, there are times when I go to concerts multiple times a week. Unfortunately the venues that book underground bands are dying one by one, as Krzysiek said. The city doesn’t do anything to prevent that. I hope this trend stops, we need these places. Big bands have to start somewhere.
Maja: I would say that the music scene in some bigger Polish cities, especially in Warsaw is rich and there are a lot of gigs organised every weekend and even during the week. I used to go to a lot of stoner and doom metal gigs a few years ago and I saw how this scene was expanding. After the pandemic the costs of renting venues got higher and hence the tickets also cost a lot, it may discourage people from attending concerts and other cultural events and it also means for the bookers that organising gigs for smaller bands doesn’t pay off.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
Maja: This year we are planning only two gigs in Warsaw, on the 10th of May (with Sunnata and Moriah Woods) and 25th of May which is a charity gig for homeless cats. We wish we had a booker who would organise gigs for us. We are open to any offers. 😉
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Maja: We would love to perform at some big festivals that promote really cool music, such as Roadburn, Amplifest, Desertfest or ArcTanGent. After releasing our album »Obsidian« on the 12th of June, we are planning to sit down and compose new songs!
Krzysiek: First of all, we want to survive this hard time till the album is released. This was a task that we have greatly underestimated. If we do that, our goal will be to take this album to a wider audience. Appear on festivals and take our music to the next level one step at a time.
How can people best support your band?
Maja: Well, I guess by buying our CDs and T-shirts and spreading the info about our existence.
Albert: …and book us for your shows and festivals!
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Krzysiek: I do not think we have a clear message as such, but we do talk about the human race making terribly bad decisions while the apocalypse clock is ticking. Somehow, it seems that we chose not to act and that we hope for some sort of a miracle instead. Some of my friends call this “Eco Metal” and they probably do have a point.
Maja: Go vegan and worship the old gods. 😉
Albert: I hope you’ll enjoy our album.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well