{"id":2201,"date":"2021-09-29T23:29:17","date_gmt":"2021-09-29T22:29:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/?p=2201"},"modified":"2021-09-29T23:59:16","modified_gmt":"2021-09-29T22:59:16","slug":"transcending-the-enlightenment-one-oneiric-performance-at-a-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/transcending-the-enlightenment-one-oneiric-performance-at-a-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Transcending the Enlightenment \u2013 One Oneiric Performance at a Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

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An ambitious attempt to juxtapose instrumental new-age music
\nwith 19<\/b>th<\/b> century art in Krak\u00f3w\u2019s Main Square<\/b><\/h2>\n

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the duo used multiple instruments in a brilliantly layered arrangement that at times put you into a meditative trance and at other times pulled you into another reality.<\/em><\/h4>\n

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Krakow\u2019s Cloth Hall is certainly worth a visit if you\u2019re new in town but given the city\u2019s history of music festivals and concerts as well as its reputation for attracting various artistic types, it\u2019s not the first place to recommend for live music. Not even close. That is until you learn an avant garde act such as Oneiric Dunes is playing. The duo consists of the unmistakable Ethan Smith (alto sax and flute) and local multi-instrumentalist, fellow bandmate (Afronauts) and luthier Grzegorz Kosowski (electric\/acoustic guitar and effects, ocean drum), who together produce an impressive display of mesmerizing ambient dreamscapes that only a proper museum could do justice as far as set and setting are concerned.\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n
I had the privilege of seeing their debut performance ten months prior at Hotel Cracovia where they dazzled the audience with their enchanting, ethereal instrumental set. That show was set against the backdrop of abstract paintings part of the Art Color Ballet exhibit, which was very fitting given the unique, modern instrumentation and musical arrangements by the duo. This time around they had a name for their two-man project, Oneiric Dunes, which turned out to be very appropriate as the set was chock-full of dreamy instrumental pieces that made up the bulk of the performance.<\/span><\/h5>\n

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Much like their debut gig, the duo used multiple instruments in a brilliantly layered arrangement that at times put you into a meditative trance and at other times pulled you into another reality. Smith\u2019s alternating between seductive saxophone melodies and hypnotic flute blended wonderfully with Kosowski\u2019s delay and reverb-heavy noodling with additional instrumentation taking the form of an ocean drum and bells. The songs were also randomly peppered with numerous samples, including Terrence McKenna, who is known for his deep, transcendental, substance-induced psychonautic musings, such as:<\/span><\/h5>\n

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\u201cIf we command the notion of the good, the true and the beautiful, then we empower the artist to go to this vast dimension that surrounds human history on all sides to an infinite depth and return from that world with the transcendental images that can lift us to a new cultural level.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/h5>\n
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Given the depth, space and transcendental soundscapes that Smith and Kosowski take us through, this quote appropriately sums up the overall vibe of their live sets.\u00a0 With numbers such as \u201cWaiting For The Wind\u201d and \u201cThe Kombucha Song\u201d, the duo goes on a journey filled with melancholic beauty, at times sounding slightly jazzy, somewhat even loungey, but most certainly tranquilizing. It seems as though the songs are encouraging you to slow down, take a few deep breaths and let yourself melt into the surroundings. Smith\u2019s alternate use of the sax and flute added to Kosowski\u2019s looped layers of soothing jazzy guitar riffs and spacey delay effects take the listener through time and space. Both band members took the opportunity to show off their skills with extended solos as well. It\u2019s difficult to say whether this was masterful improvisation or meticulously rehearsed, perhaps a bit of both, but both the sax and guitar came together later on in a duet to fill out the song and reinforce it with melodic structure. This section in particular was very reminiscent of Buckethead\u2019s acoustic album <\/span>Colma, <\/span><\/i>with its sadly beautiful yet calming mood.<\/span><\/h5>\n
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Just over halfway through the set, the musical trajectory shifted somewhat to a more acoustic vibe, which also included an ocean drum and flute with a technique that didn\u2019t sound too far off from a South American pan flute. This combination conjures images of a psychedelic ceremony on a remote island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. The gentle waves of the ocean drum, the whale-like call sounds of Kosowski\u2019s guitar and the hypnotizing melodies of Smith\u2019s flute take the listener to a reality very reminiscent of an ayahuasca ceremony. At face value, the museum\u2019s 19<\/span>th<\/span> century paintings and sculptures seemed to clash with the psychedelic sounds reverberating throughout the room, however the acoustics couldn\u2019t have been more suitable, adding a boomy, echoey element to the show that few other venues could provide.<\/span><\/h5>\n
The set did require the listener\u2019s attention however, as it seemed to have a message to convey. At times it felt like more than just a musical performance in a museum. This was some very fine storytelling \u2013 albeit in musical form. Considering the setting was in a museum containing very fine 19<\/span>th<\/span> century Polish works of art, the mood initially seemed rather serious, but the delicateness of Smith\u2019s sax-playing and Kosowski\u2019s jazzy overtones and guitar loops sent the listener on a very relaxing journey through the space-time continuum.<\/span><\/h5>\n
Personally, I would have liked to see some visual accompaniment to the lush and soothing soundscapes in the form of colourful fractals and infinite geometric patterns spiralling out into eternity. One could argue that the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Impressionism-era paintings and sculptures provided a nice artistic setting for the music, however the overall mood and the themes presented during the performance certainly call for something a little more mind-bending and, dare I say, kaleidoscopic, as these two distinctive styles are rarely juxtaposed.<\/span><\/h5>\n

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The final piece was another very organic and comforting jam, this time going back to electronic guitar filled with swills and arpeggiated chords sprinkled with Smith\u2019s smooth saxophone noodling. If there is one bit of criticism to make, it would be that I was hoping for a more captivating, grandiose finale with a loud and\/or intense climax, one that grabs the audience by the collar and blasts it into the depths of the cosmos with the Earth disappearing in the rear-view mirror. Perhaps that\u2019s wishful thinking on my part, but not impossible given the musical abilities displayed by Oneiric Dunes. One can keep dreaming though. Perhaps on the next transcendental voyage.<\/span><\/h5>\n

[\/nk_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/4″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces” equal_height=”yes”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”2210″ img_size=”large”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”2215″ img_size=”large”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” equal_height=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1632955933080{background-color: #dd3333 !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/4″][vc_single_image image=”2224″ alignment=”right” style=”vc_box_circle_2″ onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” css_animation=”bounceInLeft” link=”https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/artfulpl\/photos\/a.2061201444115489\/3047293078839649″][nk_text]<\/p>\n

Facebook post by ArtfulPL
\nabout the Oneiric Dunes concert
\non Thursday 19 August.<\/span><\/h6>\n

[\/nk_text][\/vc_column][vc_column css_animation=”bounceInRight” width=”1\/2″][nk_title like=”” style=””]Hold the Torches!<\/strong><\/span>[\/nk_title][nk_text]<\/p>\n

In times of emperor Nero, people from all walks of life had gathered to watch an execution by fire! Outside Henryk Siemiradzki’s hulking canvas another crowd has come together to enjoy a skilful musical execution.<\/span><\/h6>\n
In between two congregations almost two millenia apart and flanked by a dancing slave and a daring gladiator, ??????? ?????, the duo project of Ethan Smith Creates<\/a> & Grzegorz Kosowski, performed their meditative, thought-provoking, heartfelt, and enlivening music.<\/span><\/span><\/h6>\n
The dreamlike soundscapes sketched by Smith’s saxophone and Kosowski’s guitar proved the perfect atmosphere for a tumult of historical characters to suddenly and seemingly come to life. It was as if the music had brought everyone, both the audience and all those apparently motionless depictions, to a halt to listen to the sound of a new, old era, of a future far gone and still to come.<\/span><\/h6>\n
For a brief moment, inside the Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art in the Sukiennice (Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie<\/a>), the sands of time gave shape and form to a music dream.<\/span><\/h6>\n

[\/nk_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/4″ awb_type=”image” awb_stretch=”1″ awb_image_background_position=”50% 50%” awb_image=”2227″][nk_text]<\/p>\n

Detail of “Nero’s Torches” (1876)
\nSiemiradzki, Henryk (1843-1902)
\n<\/span><\/span><\/h6>\n

[\/nk_text][vc_empty_space height=”250px”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this review of the Oneiric Dunes concert at the Sukiennice, Bogdan Markiewicz tells us about his overall experience at the Gallery of 19th Century Polish Art housed in the Cloth Hall on the Main Market Square in Krak\u00f3w. A fine description of the performance including his general impressions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":2221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Transcending the Enlightenment \u2013 One Oneiric Performance at a Time | Krak\u00f3w Music","_seopress_titles_desc":"In this review of the Oneiric Dunes concert at the Sukiennice, Bogdan Markiewicz tells us about his overall experience at the Gallery of 19th Century Polish Art housed in the Cloth Hall on the Main Market Square in Krak\u00f3w. A fine description of the performance including his general impressions.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music-reviews"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-01 00:14:38","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2201"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2201\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2234,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2201\/revisions\/2234"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}