Goats’ Ghost, by Mikołaj Trzaska

Goats’ Ghost

by Mikołaj Trzaska

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Solo album by Mikołaj Trzaska - vinyl

There are 15 tracks on the LP, additionally, there is a code (in the box with LP) that allows you to download 3 bonus tracks.

Includes unlimited streaming of Goats’ Ghost via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 5 days

83 PLN or more
Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

30 PLN or more

1.	Roztoch 05:03	buy track
2.	Whispers In The Shade 02:01	buy track
3.	Pulse Of The Meadows 03:42	buy track
4.	Narrowed Eyes 02:21	buy track
5.	Figurines Of Wood 02:06	buy track
6.	Underground Cloud 03:14	buy track
7.	Night Watch Nigun 01:56	buy track
8.	Ant Paths 02:50	buy track
9.	Swaying Linden Trees 02:51	buy track
10.	Children Don't Know 01:13	buy track
11.	Leaving Forever 04:01	buy track
12.	Lullaby For Animals 02:19	buy track
13.	Dark Blue Twilight Song 02:25	buy track
14.	Horse Dreams Of A Frog 02:16	buy track
15.	Sleepy Morning 04:11	buy track
16.	Steps To You 02:02	buy track
17.	Body Earth 03:04	buy track
18.	On The End 07:27	buy track

about

Mikołaj Trzaska is a Polish saxophonist, bass clarinetist, and composer deeply tied to the city of Gdańsk. He is considered an icon of Polish avant-garde jazz. On his musical journeys, Trzaska seeks to find the common elements of Jewish and contemporary music.
The performance entitled "Goat Spirits/Zikaron Lefanay (Memory Before Me)" is a natural continuation of Trzaska's musical exploration of Jewish memory in the context of authentic and contemporary expressions of Polish-Jewish identity.
The title refers to an ancient Szczebrzeszyn tale describing animals grazed by a Jewish shepherd, who are enchanted guides between two worlds and have knowledge about the secret passage (tunnel) connecting Szczebrzeszyn with Jerusalem. The tale was translated and popularized by Tomasz Pańczyk, a researcher of the history of Szczebrzeszyn Jews. From the very beginning Trzaska, who is a frequent visitor to the region dreamt of playing in the building of the 17th-century Szczebrzeszyn synagogue. He managed to secretly perform his first solo concert on a hot August evening with the participation of a small audience. He immediately felt the magic and acoustic possibilities of this place, "that night the sound spread soft and silver, while playing I felt in a dream", recalls the musician. After a few months, he decided to return to this place, and at the turn of October and November 2021, he spent several days in the Synagogue equipped with a digital recorder, recording clarinets and saxophones, overlapping subsequent tracks. Even before his arrival, he had written compositions in order to recreate the secret, summer mood of the first concert. But as usual, the same atmosphere could not be recreated. So he decided to surrender the place and the moment, wait for the music, like a phantom, to appear in his head by itself.
Goats' Ghost is a collection of eighteen short compositions devoted to the memory of the forgotten inhabitants of Szczebrzeszyn. On his solo album, Mikołaj Trzaska refers to traditional, ritual Jewish music, but tries to break away from the klezmer canon and gives it a contemporary framework. It also tells its own intimate story.

credits

released July 26, 2022

All music by Mikołaj Trzaska

Recorded at Synagogue in Szczebrzeszyn on October 29-31th, 2021.

Mixed by Mikołaj Trzaska, „Thank You From The Mountain Studio”, Gdańsk

Mastered by David Zuchowski at One Room Studio, Chicago

Special thanks to Tomasz Pańczyk for the inspiration and help in realizing the idea, and to Sławomir Kalita, the director of the Municipal Cultural Center in Szczebrzeszyn, and its employes.