Gaba Kulka - Live
Gaba Kulka is a singer, songwriter and pianist whose work fits into the broad spectrum of 'alternative' music - combining elements of jazz, rock and pop, with a theatrical and cabaret twist to it. (Gaba, if pressed, will describe it as 'progressive pop')
Her first album, „Between Miss Scylla and a Hard Place” was recorded in 2003, in a completely crackpot DIY process, involving lots of cables and very little recording know-how, in her Warsaw flat. She sang and played all the instruments, burnt the whole thing to CD-Rs, put a black and white sticker on it (with the magic numer '22') and an equally black and white cover. A similar process, although slightly more sophisticated, took place during the recording of „Out”, this time, however, the album was professionally pressed and printed, ruining Gaba's home budget. It paid off. The album received heaps of critical praise, won Gaba a growing audience, and accolades in the media, despite an absolute lack of promotion. It was professionally re-issued in 2007 (with a similar lack of promoction, darn it.) And then in 2009 it finally was re-released very nicely, as a remastered digipack with bonuses. Hurrah.
Many things have happened since then. Gaba bought a better keyboard, started playing with a band of her own, gave up her profession (interior design) and finally dropped that 3/5's of a job at a furniture showroom.
Thus prepared, she delved into a million musical ventures: composing and performing the music for a controversial theater production of "Rafalala show - fun at night" (premiered at Krystyna Janda's Theater Polonia), co-founding Baaba Kulka (a tribute to Iron Maiden and one of the hottest live-acts of 2008), playing with a symphony orchestra (the songs from "Out"), touring, guest-appearing at a Mitch&Mitch show (as Olympia Candy), and writing/singing on Reni Jusis' latest album 'Iluzjon'. To give you an impression of how much is going on - between January and April 2009 Gaba recorded vocals that will feature on no less than 4 albums, two of these, of her original work.
First and formost, though, Gaba has focused on playing live.
„Hat, Rabbit”, her first full-band recording premiered on May 4th 2009. It was recorded by Leszek Kamiński, mixed and co-produced with Marcin Bors (best known perhaps for his work with Hey, Nosowska and Biff), and mastered at New York's Sterling Sound. Aside from her regular band, it features her dad, Konstanty Andrzej Kulka, and singer Czeslaw Mozil (of Czeslaw Spiewa). Gaba has been signed to Mystic Production, who are also the home of Behemoth, Pogodno, Dick4Dick and Czeslaw Spiewa. Mystic Production specialises in heavy metal, so inevitably, this cooperation is bound to be successful. Since the release of Hat Rabbit, she toured with Czeslaw Spiewa and Dick4Dick (Trojka Tour), she recorded another album, this time with Konrad Kucz an electronic/ambient music magician (the result is "Sleepwalk", realeased under the name Kucz/Kulka - which is doing very, very well, thank you!), and she has just finished recording the Iron Maiden tribute with Baaba Kulka and is currently working on an album with Jan Mlynarski which will be a trinute to Jan's father, the amazing Wojciech Mlynarski, and his legendary songs. In the meantime look out for her guest appearances in the upcoming Czeslaw Spiewa ("Pop"), Baaba ("Disco Externo"), Levity (the complete Chopin preludes, as yet unnamed) albums!
Doors open 6pm
tickets presale: £12
on the door: £15
