Borys Dejnarowicz We’d like you to meet Borys Dejnarowicz; ex-indie-rocker of note, but now composing and arranging, and leaving the performance to classically trained musicians. Read on... Leicester Bangs: Tell us a little about yourself. Borys: Well, I come from Warsaw (Poland) and previously co-founded one of the first truly indie rock / post-punk bands here in late 2001. We had released two albums that were critically acclaimed by the local press; I then left the band and released a solo record called "Divertimento", which was the total opposite of what I did before - no loud guitars, no shouty vocals, no actual songs, but just instrumental repetitions orchestrated with an acoustic "wall of sound", and, conversely, a peaceful, meditative feel. LB: How did you start out making music? Borys: I've always had a passion for music. My parents introduced me to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones when I was, like, 2 weeks old or something (laughs). I started writing my own tunes at the age of 7, what at first was mostly a sort of kid's play. But as years went by, I discovered more and more great music and, around 2001, the time had come for me to decide to take it more seriously and try to launch a professional career. LB: Who did you grow up listening to and how do they influence what you’re doing now? Borys: The Beatles were definitely my first and foremost music love. However, I never limited myself to one genre; I get bored too quickly. So there was a prog phase (think Yes), a grunge phase (Smashing Pumpkins), a new wave phase (Talking Heads), a trip-hop phase (Massive Attack), an indie-rock phase (Pavement), a hip-hop hop phase (Nas), a commercial pop / r&b phase (Kylie Minogue), an ambient phase (Brian Eno), a jazz phase (Miles Davis), a classical phase (Debussy)... And my favorite band ever are probably the Beach Boys. The way I see it, the essence of music is the holy trinity of harmony, melody and rhythm. No matter what style you choose to present them in. I mostly get influenced by certain chord changes and hooks - much more often than by the particular "sounds" they're made of. Unfortunately, I find this approach quite uncommon these days; today, people usually get obsessed with social / cultural / image aspects of popular music, what in 2009 seems pretty 80s / Simon Reynolds to me. LB: Tell us about your latest release. Borys: "Divertimento" is my personal "pop" take on minimalism, where I concentrate on such aspects of composition as polyphony and polyrhythm, and thus explore the possibilities of human perception, but in a quiet, moderate, delicate and hypnotic way. To random listeners though, I guess the record sounds like a Steve Reich tribute album. And I don't mind it at all, either, since I consider the guy a true genius. LB: Do you get out and play your music live, and if so, what can an audience expect at one of your shows? Borys: It would be somewhat difficult to put the five movements of "Divertimento" live. The number of musicians needed for that would be over 30; I still hope I'll manage to pull that off someday, though. And when I do so, I guarantee you it's going to be mind-blowing. I promise. LB: What aspects of playing and recording music do you most enjoy? Borys: After having constantly played rock gigs for a period of six years, I don't think it's the greatest thing in the world, to be honest. It's kinda cool, but I definitely find the process of writing and arranging music - as well as working in the studio - much more exciting. LB: Where can people find (and buy) your music? Borys: For the time being, "Divertimento" is only available in Poland. If you're desperate to get it though, please try the try my website: www.dejnarowicz.com/discography.html www.dejnarowicz.com www.myspace.com/dejnarowicz