Secrets, Whispers and Promises

Premiere – 10 September 2023
Publisher: SOLOTON
Distribution: SOLITON

Seven years after the release of his last album, Peter is back with a new album. It is another musical journey through the world of the author’s imagination, full of surprises and surprising twists. This time, Piotr arranged all the material and, together with Piotr Łukaszewski, took care of the music production.

About the album they said:

“When, at the beginning of the past decade, I lived in the belief that Piotr Wójcicki was the tenor from Krakow’s Piwnica pod Baranami, I abandoned my quest for vetting, because this controversial-satirical current so strongly present in our modern history under the leadership of Piotr Skrzynecki was not my sphere of adoration, and I am by no means writing this with reproach, but only justifying the existing fact of the coincidence of names. Fortunately, I didn’t wander for long before discovering the right one, Piotr, helped by the brilliant album Moon City (2015) wrapped in a lunar fairy tale theme by the masterful Sętowski, which surrealistically lured my buying attention. All the lunar sounds of the song I heard were tailor-made for at least the SBB group’s ‘Memento with a Banal Triptych’ album so, stimulated by my curiosity as an explorer, I reached for Piotr’s previous albums, namely ‘The Secret World of Numbers’ (2011) and ‘Magnetic Proton Moment’ (2011).
Once completed, I placed this entire compact triptych on my shelf in good company placing it next to King Crimson and Miles Davis.

When I finally met Piotr for the first time, which happened in Nowy Targ at the wedding of pianist Michał Wierba (a member of Piotr’s band), after a short conversation this gentleman charmed me with his gentlemanly demeanour, impeccable manners and the erudition of a professor, and although from the outside he looked more like an Indian chief than a distinguished scientist, I knew immediately that I trusted such “men” the most (an expression borrowed from the animation “There Were Some Men”).

Then, as a natural consequence, there was a radio concert in Tadeusz Nalepa’s studio in Polish Radio Rzeszów and a few meetings on a national tour +, of course, long telephone conversations between Poles, as long as Fidel Castro’s speeches. All this reinforced my conviction that, contrary to my own thinking, I am not the last Mohican of Fusionblues in this tic-tac-toe-manicured world. In particular, the consistency with which Peter treats the notes strengthened my conviction that there is still something to be salvaged for the flower-power generation, and maybe even imported into an uncertain future since we still have such guys in use. I figured that if such beautiful records with the composer’s sensibility were still being made, it was not yet time for a biblical Armageddon.

This potential has made me eagerly await Piotr’s next album with the impatience of a kindergarten pupil, including his creativity among the obligatory artists, i.e. those who enrich every existence with their music and give motivation to be happy, because if he wants to create with disdain for “clickability”, it is my duty as a listener to appreciate this fact and make it known to the four corners of the world. Therefore, I declare to all and sundry that the new album of Piotr Wójcicki entitled “Secret, Whispers and Promises” (2023) is a tangible fact and, like a bullet considered a perfect form, has no flaws! What is more, the said originator and perpetrator decided to produce it himself, controlling every component from conceptualisation to arrangement and studio work. The basic line-up includes, apart from the leader’s guitar or keyboards, such personalities as Przemysław Mazur – violin, Dominik Kisiel – piano, Leszek HEFI Wiśniowski – flute, Krzysztof Ropicki – bass guitars, Józef Rusinowski – drums, Hammond organ, Karol Pyka – keyboard instruments (3,5), Dominik Bieńczycki – keyboard instruments (2,6), Mariusz Lemański – keys sound replacer. The recordings were made in March 2021 in Custom 34 Studio – Piotr Łukaszewski and partially in “Radio Katowice Recording Studio”, and the tasteful artwork was created by Joanna Skibińska. Such a Dream Team is a very solid base to set off on a conquest of the world without looking at orders, bans and political correctness as understood.

I will begin the glorious part of the ‘Secret, Whispers and Promises’ album with the packaging, which in the case of Piotr Wójcicki always has a conscious aesthetic adequate to the musical content and, in line with the reincarnation of the black disc, deserves a vinyl format, which I hope will happen soon. It is very important that in the intellectually unstable times in which we currently reside, where even chips lose their appeal after an hour, authorial music is a beacon for us. So, taking the self-perception of these 8 instrumental compositions under the microscope, as well as the composer/guitarist’s overall performance to date, I can conclude that Peter’s album definitely has export potential, as I would recommend it with national pride to any unformed music lover. It is not only superbly played and produced, with detailed attention to every detail with which it bears testimony to a composer who is aware of the needs of the non-chart audience.

This album is not only a primer on guitar narrative, aesthetics and technique, but sprinkled with salon manners, it works like a headache pill. From the very first bar we play, we become convinced that this citizen (not from Krakow, by the way) is capable of administering our emotions with baroque splendour in a way as effective as Scott Henderson or Derek Trucks. Piotr creates a musical space characterised by an adult awareness of the world, but also introduces his own rules of sound in the form of important counterpoints (the dominance of the violin or flute) in reference to the maintsream. I like these instrumental interactions a lot, because they make me save on expensive therapy with a psychiatrist (). There is no point in discussing each piece individually and dissecting its qualities, because, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is enough to believe that this music adds value to our reality, so anyone who buys this album will have the satisfaction of well-placed cash. Often foreign musicians coming to Poland express their curiosity in two ways, i.e. they want to taste regional beer and get to know our music scene, about which they do not know much, because, apart from “Wyborowa”, our export goods are still Silesia or Mazovia. So far, I have offered them the best I had, i.e. albums by Leszek Możdżer, Krystian Zimmerman, Grzegorz Kapołka, SBB, so thanks to the new album by Piotr Wójcicki, the export catalogue has been expanded with the album in question, because, in my opinion, such beautiful music will quickly find a loyal ally in every latitude”.

                                                                                                                                   Victor Czura

“Coming into contact for the first time with the material signed ‘Secrets, whispers and promises’, I knew that I was in for an experience from a collection of the ‘special’ ones…. This is what Piotrk Wojcicki’s previous productions had taught me. This kind of confidence, however, is laid down in the traces of the creator’s very personal approach to his work, because also, from the beginning to the last note, an meeting with this music is like a conversation in which common themes appear, sounds that provoke thoughts about places and periods in life when similar places were visited for the first time…. It is at the same time a walk through a gallery of memories, where one smiles with sentimentality frozen a moment before the images. It’s what gives you that peace and opportunity to soak in the sound more deeply…. Peter doesn’t rely on high-speed technique, but rather enabling the right shades and temperatures of guitar colours. Of course, there is no lack of expression in the moods, but this finds its place in the character of the artist’s expression. Because Piotrek, as usual, talks… about the worlds in which music can accompany the images of the wonders of nature, listen in concentration to the audience filling the spaces of large halls, as well as small clubs, where sounds sound not only the trembling of loudspeaker membranes, but also our lungs… Do you like the atmosphere of sunsets over California or Florida? You will also find their reflections here… Do you like the music of weeping willows in stories translated into guitar? You are invited closer… or maybe you can be invited to a small club space in Amsterdam, where the natural expression is a symbiosis of rock and jazz? Piotrek will be happy to take you there…. just find the time. The album finale ‘Secrets, whispers and promises’ will leave you feeling celebratory…. no matter what time of year it is, although it would be good to wake up the family at Christmas with these sounds Of course, everyone can find a different experience here. All you have to do is let yourself be invited… Will it be easy to return? It is worth finding out “

Adam Droździk, Radio PIK

Track list:

Muzycy biorący udział w nagraniach:

Piotr Wójcicki – electric and acoustic guitar, keyboard instruments
Przemysław Mazur – violin
Dominik Kisiel – piano
Leszek HeFi Wiśniowski – flute
Krzysztof Ropicki – bass guitar
Józef Rusinowski – drums, Hammond organ
Karol Pyka – keyboard instruments
Mariusz Lemanski – keys sound substitute
Dominik Bieńczycki – keyboard instruments

Composition and arrangement: Piotr Wójcicki
Music production: Piotr Wójcicki and Piotr Łukaszewski