Each edition of the OFF Festival Katowice features a strong Polish lineup, showcasing the most interesting artists and the best alternative sounds, from punk and metal to trap. Come check them out August 1–3 at Three Pond Valley! Tickets are now on sale.
Kombajn Do Zbierania Kur Po Wioskach
An excellent guitar band that writes excellent guitar songs. That’s how reviewers described Kombajn Do Zbierania Kur Po Wioskach following the release of their first album. Their debut LP Ósme piętro, followed by Lewa strona literki M and Karmelki i gruz, earned them a top spot among Poland’s most noteworthy alternative acts. Hailing from the small town of Nowy Dworek in western Poland, the band amassed a following with their catchy, poetic lyrics and experimental guitar sound – until 2014, when they announced a hiatus. A decade later, the “Combine for Harvesting Chickens in the Villages” made an unexpected comeback, setting out on tour with many sold-out shows, proving to themselves that they remain important to many listeners. Whether you’re an old fan or have yet to be harvested by the combine, don’t miss this show at the OFF Festival.
Ciśnienie
What’s their sound? As loud as possible. That’s why some have called them “Poland’s Swans.” But Katowice’s Ciśnienie are much too expansive to be pigeonholed into a genre or compared to a single band. They formed shortly after the Wrekmeister Harmonies show at the OFF Festival in 2017, when founders Maciej Klich and Michał Paduch resolved to make noise on their own terms. Critics have since hailed them as a world-class act that performs with flair worthy of the most radical jazz artists. Indeed, their instruments are those of a jazz band, but they sound as if the members of Swans, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and Neurosis teamed up one one stage. To hear it for yourself, check out any one of Ciśnienie’s numerous releases, but you have to experience it first-hand, live, at the OFF Festival in August.
Willa Kosmos
They took their name from a bed and breakfast, but Willa Kosmos’s music isn’t exactly conducive to relaxation. They grew up listening to artists like Eminem, INXS and Nirvana, while their songs are combination of punk, rap, and noise rock. YouTube commenters describe their sound as “the vibe of early tracks by Cool Kids of Death” – a comparison welcomed by the Poznań-based musicians, who nevertheless add that they’d “rather just be called Willa Kosmos.” They’ve earned every word of that praise with their debut album, Wszystko będzie dobrze (2020), and their victory at the 2024 Jarocińskie Rytym Młodych competition for new bands. They’re now working on a new noisily melodic album with a bigger lineup. We can’t wait for them test it out live at the OFF Festival.
Metro
Interpol, Dinosaur Jr., post-punk, shoegaze: these sounds have propelled Metro since they embarked on their musical journey. But changes are afoot in this Warsaw’s band’s sound, which has augmented its alternative style with some relaxed catchiness, 80s vibes, and more choruses. Judging by the response from Polish Radio 3 audiences and fans who’ve witnessed the band’s new incarnation live at the broadcaster’s Agnieszka Osiecka Studio, Metro have set a good course. Following the singles “Na balkonie” and “Hej, Aloszka,” they’ve got their sights set on a new album and a show at the OFF Festival.
The Cassino
They’ve tried their hand at the TV talent show Must Be the Music and Polish Radio 3’s Start NaGranie contest, making it to the semifinals. But it was their very well-received performance at the Great September showcase that won them a spot in this year’s OFF Festival lineup. Since then, The Cassino, a band that was previously described as experimenting with rock, blues, and indie, has tried to find a new direction. The wound up finding Prześwit, their new album, which features a more psychedelic, electronic sound. They’ve changed and enriched their style, but one thing remains constant: their trademark love for playing live. They’ll give us a taste of that at the OFF Festival.
Hesoyam
“I’ve got that swag, rain or shine, sleet or snow,” raps Energizer, one half – along with Uglyassocho – of the duo Hesoyam. In the U.S., you’ll hear this from the likes of Playboi Carti, Yeat, and Lil Uzi Vert – the shining stars of the trap-subgenre rage rap, which Hesoyam transplanted onto Polish soil. Their debut LP Hesoine Hrazy garnered rave reviews online, with critics hailing them as one of the country’s best underground acts and proof that experiment with trap beats and distortion can happen in Poland, too. The duo has one more release under their belts: a deluxe version of their first album mixed by Młody Klakson, featuring guest appearances by Kacha (of Coals), Młody West, and Ozzy Baby. The reviews are in: “The vibes on Hesoine Hrazy are sick!” We’ll find out if they’re right at the OFF Festival!
Męty
Some bands just don’t make it easy for you to look them up online. Męty is one of those bands. So to make sure you don’t miss this one, we’ve invited them to play at the OFF Festival. This is new act that you’ll want to keep an eye on – and an ear, if you can handle it. The loud, raucous sound of this Wrocław act – a mix of noise rock, sludge metal, and emoviolence – gets even more intense when performed live. Their debut album Salon okulistyczny made it onto many fan-compiled 2024 year-end lists, which praised Męty for their raw energy and songs full of ***. Feel free to replace those asterisks with the fiercest comment you can come up with at their OFF Festival set.
