Krzywdy — Czary

Krzywdy is the solo project of Mateusz Szymanski, an independent Polish musician with his roots in the development of music for the demoscene and video game soundtracks. The music of Krzywdy mixes ambient/drone with folkloric aspects by combining traditional ethnic instrumentation with synthesizers to create soundscapes that journey through the darker recesses of human experience. The album title Czary is the Polish word for ‘spells’, and the album tells the story of time cycles, starting with creation and working through birth and life to death, final confrontation and finally destruction.

Album opener "Ginnungagap", named after the primordial void, mentioned in the Gylfaginning, the Eddaic text that explains Norse cosmogeny gets things underway. Beginning with the sound of a thunderstorm, the track soon settles into a repeated primal drumbeat with chanted vocals. It’s very evocative of the beginning of the world and subsequently the beginning of our sonic journey. "Mêdrca S³owa I" follows in a similar vein, although taking things down a notch into slightly more ethereal territory, however, there remains a primal quality to the sparsely used drums. One does get the sense that this represents the early development of the world, a slow moving, tranquil piece of primal ambient drone. Third track "Wichry Skalne" adds some guitar into the mix and picks the beat up a little, taking us through the middle section of the album and one assumes the constantly evolving nature of the world in the period after its birth. "Mêdrca S³owa II", represents the next phase in the world development and whilst the tribal drums remain, the whole thing is a lot more epic in nature. Bombastic vocal mantras accompany a darker sounding ambient drone that is signified by a coldness or an aloofness. The album closer is "Ragnarok", obviously representative of the end of the world in Norse mythology, Ragnarok is representative of the end of the world and specifically the final conflict between the Aesir and the forces of Hel, led by Loki. The track is the album’s apotheosis, the final death throes of the world, signified by military sounding drumbeats and half heard voices it brings the journey to a satisfying close.

Overall, Czary is a wonderful attempt to evoke ideas about Norse mythology through music. In this it is successful whilst also creating a very enjoyable musical experience. The album’s digipak packaging feels most appropriate to the subject matter, adorned as it is with various runes and primal daubings that add to the overall feel of the project. Primal, ritualistic, and representative of the Norse myth cycle, Czary is a pleasing and triumphant sonic experience.