Folk rock

Smugglers

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polski

Fot. Krzysztof Paul

Smugglers are nowadays classics of maritime folk-rock. However, when they put their drum-kit onstage of the major shanty festival for the first time it brought about extreme emotions. After a long break they are still playing...

The band came into being in 1988/89 in Gdynia after one of the forerunners of sea oriented folk music in Poland, namely Packet, called it a day. At the beginning the sound and the repertoire of the two bands did not differ much, but on Smugglers’ first studio recordings one could trace attempts to follow the route marked out by such groups as Fairport Convention or The Albion Band.

Their second child "Nagroda publiczności" defined the band’s sound once and for all, being through and through a folk-rock material - lock, stock and barrel. The name of the cassette refers strictly to the circumstances that led to its birth.

In 1993, despite being on the rise, they changed their name to Szela and start to explore
Polish folk music giving it rock music élan.

The year 1995 saw Smugglers’ reactivation, whereas the remaining musicians of Szela started a new musical project called Ajagore. For a long time on Dariusz "Stłukla" Ślewa, Grzegorz “GooRoo" Tyszkiewicz, Józef Kaniecki i Krzysztof "Jachu" Janiszewski constituted the stem of the band. In the year 2000 this line-up plus a few session musicians recorded "Still Smuggling!".

The first decade of the new millenium treated the band with little mercy. Two most influential members died: Józef Kaniecki (2006), Dariusz "Stłukla" Ślewa (2009) with Grzegorz “GooRoo" Tyszkiewicz leaving to pursue a solo career.

Smugglers were joined by Beata Bartelik (ex Krewni i Znajomi Królika) and Łukasz Zięba – they became full time members of the band in the following years.

Their latest two CD recording was issued in 2012 and is called "Powroty" – it is a tribute to the two departed and badly missed friends Józek and Darek (who managed to take part in the recording sessions just before his death).