Zosia Hołubowska is not an anonymous person on the Polish off music stage (Wilcze Jagody I posted about in the fall) nor in the queer community. Last October, this time as Mala Herba, she released an album that is probably my favourite blend of Polish folk and electronic music (next to the legendary Grzegorz z Ciechowa). And it's only a demo.
The folk music is not a coincidence here, for the artist, it is a tribute "to her mom, her grandmothers, and their powerful female ancestors" and made for "witches, sluts, and trouble-makers". It has a lot of this mystical atmosphere so often attributed to the village shaman women who brewed love potions. And not to be forgotten - they were the most emancipated women of their times.
The album juxtaposes not only the powerful women of different times but also traditional folk music and a range of modern, more or less offstream genres. Apart from the with-like vocals, the album offers mesmerizing electronics ("Lament gets a heart from me here) and in some way cold-wave atmosphere as it's quite often that only a bassline accompanies the vocalist in minimalist compositions. And the lyrics? As in the big majority of folk songs, it's mostly about love. Rarely one with happy-ending (just listen closely to "Lament") but there's also a lot about folk myths ("Rusałki") or traditions ("Kupały"). For non Polish speakers, Hołubowska offers some explanations on her Bandcamp account.
Mala Herba's demo can be yours for 5 EUR.
