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Coming Clean [Porządki]
About the album
The latest album Coming Clean [Porządki], by Maniucha Bikont combines tradition, electronica, and jazz, drifting towards indie music. These are personal stories for polyphony, rich instrumentation and original lyrics.
Based on her field recordings, Bikont re-tells old stories. The title Coming Clean [Porządki] refers to everyday life, clearing dark stories from school hallways, and showing a personal perspective on the war across the eastern border.
The author of the lyrics is Marcin Wicha, a graphic designer and author of books (including Things I Didn’t Throw Out, awarded The Nike Literary Award). The arrangements were created in collaboration with Assaf Talmudi, producer and instrumentalist of the punk, folk, jazz and pop scene. The album was released on October 30, 2024, by Requiem Records.
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→ preview the album booklet
→ download rider
→ About the album and lyrics in Polish 🇵🇱
Maniucha sings as a choir. This is a traditional choir of an unspecified tribe. From the borderland of Ukraine, Belarus, Russia. Or maybe not at all? You can feel the dance rhythms of Mazovia’s triplet (mazurka, Chopin’s kujawiak) here. The music drifts in many directions at once: Paul Simon’s Graceland and southern African polyphony, Meredith Monk, Sister Nancy, Albanian isopolyphony, the trance-like tambourine of the Velvet Underground, Patti Smith’s songs, or into the realms of ambitious electronica and indie pop. Maniucha speaks for not only herself but this tribe specifically.
Days when we don’t want to. Difficult memories. The struggle for freedom in one’s mind. Among other things, these themes are taken up by singer, instrumentalist, songwriter, composer and rural music researcher Maniucha Bikont.
It is a story about excessive demands, uncomfortable thoughts and traumas, liberation, curiosity about the world and dreams. Strength is balanced by fragility, wisdom is accompanied by positively understood naiveté, and acceptance goes hand in hand with complex, sometimes conflicting emotions.
On this album, I hear every woman and girl I know. So, it is all the more wonderful that Coming Clean was created with the participation of sensitive and talented men. It proves empathy, listening skills and consensus-building win over artificial divisions between the “opposite” sexes.
Hanna Szczęśniak, Radiowe Centrum Kultury Ludowej
Adventurous and wonderful as Bikont herself is. Close harmonies, that the Polish do so well and a jazzy interplay with electronica and trippy time signatures…and that soulful trumpet
Lopa Kothari, BBC
Coming Clean is both a continuation of Maniucha’s interests, the traditional ones, and something fresh and contemporary. Here we have some playing from the circle of widely understood ethnic music, but also a lot of – discreetly and tastefully served – electronics, and at many moments the whole thing can be described as an ambitious version of indie music. And, in my opinion, it will also not be an abuse to point a signpost in the direction of an authorial/poetic song. And in the end – paradoxically? It’s all extremely coherent and absolutely engaging. Sometimes delightful, sometimes poignant!
Tomasz Janas, Polskie Radio
It brims with raw talent and vitality.
Once in a while, an album comes along that is filled to the brim with lyrics that take hold of the imagination in a flash. Not just the imagination, anyway. Their impact is strong in such a way that they order reality and influence the judgment of things, as well as one’s thinking. I would like to clearly point out that the texts themselves in black and white would not have such a power if it were not for the sounds and vocals of the artist spreading around.
Jarek Szczęsny, Nowa Muzyka
Another fusion of traditional music, electronics and jazz, but this time combined with the singer’s beautiful voice. One of the best albums of the final selection.
Milan Tesar, Radio Proglas
Tour
About
Maniucha Bikont | b. 1986
vocalist, musician, performer
Practices traditional, improvised, modern and authorial music and plays the tuba. Composes songs and creates and performs music for films and theatrical performances. She has conducted musical field research in Poland, Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. She holds a PhD in the humanities. October 2024 saw the release of her solo album Porządki – her second author album after Oj borom borom (2017).
Maniucha performs her songs, improvises and co-founded the bands Maniucha and Ksawery, Trio Marzenie, Tęgie Chłopy, Dom, Dziczka, and Niewte. She collaborates with such artists and bands as Mats Gustafsson, Marek Pospieszalski, Assaf Talmudi, Jan Duszynski, Tomasz Januchta, Marcin Wicha, Anna Smolar, Seigo Matsunaga & Miwa Yonashiro, Eyal Talmudi & Malox, Bastarda Trio, Bartek Weber, Prusinowski Kompania, Lautari and Radical Polish Ansambl.
She has given concerts in Europe, Asia and America. She represented Poland twice at the WOMEX, world music fair. She has performed at international festivals both in Poland (Sacrum Profanum, Avant Art, Jewish Culture Festival, KODY, Ethnoport and others) and abroad (including Int’l Sori Festival Jeonju / South Korea, Jazztopad / New York, SZIGET Festival / Budapest, and Jazzdor / Strasbourg).
Winner of Polish Radio awards in the competitions New Tradition and Folk Phonogram of the Year.
Music
Maniucha Bikont, Assaf Talmudi
Lyrics
Marcin Wicha
Musicians
Maniucha Bikont (1-14) – vocals, drums, tuba, triangle
Assaf Talmudi (1-8, 10-14) – accordion, synth, computer, backing vocals
Szczepan Pospieszalski (1-3, 10, 14) – trumpet, synth, backing vocals
Ksawery Wójciński (1, 2, 6, 8, 10, 12) – violin, backing vocals
Featuring
Róża Martyna Grabowska (1-3, 10, 14) – violin, vocal
Kazimierz Nitkiewicz (6-8) – trumpet
Jan Kubek (2, 6, 10) – tabla, frame drum
Jan Duszyński (9) – synth
Piotr Gwadera (14) – drums, frame drum
Grzegorz Paluch (10) – vocal
Recorded 2022-2024 at:
Attyka Żoliborz
Ashtray Studios, Tel Aviv
Psychosound Studio Szymon Piotrowski, Kraków
Polskie Radio, Warszawa
Tonn Studio, Łódź
Studio Rafała Smolińskiego, Warszawa
Mix and master: Jacek Gładkowski
Graphic design: Pilar Rojo
Photos: Bartek Buk, Agata Maziarz, Damian Dragański, Wojtek Rudzki
Korekta: Michał Maziarz
Production: Agata Maziarz
From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank all those who supported the release of this album through crowdfunding and those who accompanied me in working on the album Coming Clean [Porządki]:
Michał Maziarz, Zofia Winawer i Seweryn Blumsztajn, Ola Bikont, Anna Bikont, Helena Łuczywo, Piotr Kędziorek, Hanna Szczęśniak, Grzegorz Paluch, Ula Dubiniec, Rafał Kucharczuk, Urszula Sławiec, Edward Topiński, Agata Bluj, Monika Proba, Marta Tymowska-Wicha, Lucyna Gebert, Danuta Maziarz, Karolina Cicha, Jola Wiszowata, Paweł Szamburski, Janek Duszyński, Maciej Filipczuk, Miguel Czartoryski, Gaba Kulka, Julia Umeda, Renata Kamola, Katarzyna Kucharska-Hornung, Adam Hornung, Hanna Sokolnicka, Piotr Zalewski, Joanna Filarska, Maria Kruczkowska, Ania Majhofer, Marta Urban-Burdalska, Kuba Czupryński, Julia Libera, Małgorzata Yamazaki, Gosia Kozera, Dominika Prejdová, Jakub Duszyński, Agnieszka Szpila, Oskar Skuteli, Dorota Murzynowska, Michał Leśniowski, Bartek Weber, Olga Mysłowska, Miłosz Pękala, Raphael Rogiński, Antoni Grzymała, Bartek Persich, Albert Stensen, Staszka Skubator, Hanna Linkowska, Magdalena Tejchma, Mateusz Dobrowolski, Karolina Majewska, Dorota Mazur, Wojtek Ornat, Adam Strug, Kajetan Prochyra, Karol Strzemieczny, Mateusz Kowalski, Michał Żak, Gienek Lipszyc, Aleksander Janicki, bp Michał Janocha, Ilona Laskowska, Ewa Grochowska, Ewa Winiarska, Jola Sikorska, Ewa Timingeriu, Magda Winiarska, Witali Michalczuk, Taras Szumejko, Aleksandra Korzonek, Ilya Saytanov, Witek Gottesman, Justyna Dąbrowska, Agnieszka Dąbrowska, Jakub Kryński, Shany Harary, Yaki Dunietz, Enav Ravitz, Uri Kutner.
Lyrics
1. On today (1)
On today, we have a course,
A very basic course
In sorting, in choosing
The small stuff goes here,
The big stuff goes here.
Some things I will give you,
Some things I will keep.
A crash course
In letting go
2. Dashing away
I’m sitting at home
Like in a rabbit burrow
I will dig myself out
Once I rear my litter
I’ll dash away
Another day
I’ll dash away
‘Cause I’m so mad
I’ll fry you some cutlets,
I’ll cook you some dumplings,
And once I hightail it,
you will never find me
I’ll form chickpea patties
I’ll make you a soy steak
I’ll fly to the city
And no one will catch me
I’ll dash away
One of these days
I’ll dash away
Tralalala…
I’ll leave you the mailings,
I’ll leave you the board games
I’ll go where my feet would
And my head will falter
I’ll dash away
One of these days
I’ll dash away
Tralalala…
3. Closed for business
Closed for business. Closed for maintenance
Today I’ll be of no use
Good for nothing. Good for no one.
Taking time off, all at once now.
Free justice, free love
free elections, free electrons
Free on Friday, free-range chickens
Free the people and free spirits,
Free Tibet and free the freeways,
Freebies, free time all at once
4. On for today (2)
On for today, we have me.
A little bit of me.
Just a tiny bit,
Not too much of me.
Today, for a moment, I shall speak
It is I who speaks
Right now, right here, me.
Now I think it is high time
I know that it’s time
This is now
The time has come.
5. In the ocean
There’s a stone in the ocean.
An old castle on the stone.
In the castle, a white tower
In the tower, a grand ballroom.
In the ballroom, a small coffer.
And what’s in it? I’ve forgotten.
Had a chance, but didn’t ask then.
6. Dark in junior high
When they ask me nicely
‘Rediscover that day’
‘Live through it again’
I go “No, thanks”
I shall speak in the first person
I shall speak for the first time
Still not sure how I will do it
But it seems it is the time
I suppose it should be in order
Perhaps two thousand words typed
But nothing ever fitted better
“Me too” sounds right
A time of toxic initiations
It was the year 2000 full
Moments of tests and omissions
Dark in high school
Me and a teacher, in more details,
John Zorn and bridge, and city train
I felt so sick with every moment,
The more I had.
Whom I was then just didn’t get it
She felt so guilty thinking that
She was so smart and so mature
A girl her age, her age.
Everyone knew, but no one noticed
I’ve kept it for a dozen years
Hear out my song, now that I’m finally
Catching my breath.
Me too.
7. My heart’s grown old
My heart’s grown old by the dozen.
A thousand times it has been broken.
A thousand times it has been fastened.
Ripped apart and sewn together.
It has known a lot of sadness.
My heart’s grown a lot of grey hairs.
It escaped a lot of fish bait,
Never got to see the island.
There’s a stone in the ocean.
An old castle on the stone.
In the castle, a white tower
In the tower, a grand ballroom.
In the ballroom, a small coffer.
And what’s in it? I’ve forgotten.
Had a chance, but didn’t ask then.
8. Hey, how are you?
Hey, how are you?
How are you?
I’m not feeling anyway
I can’t find myself today
Today I was, later I’ll be
Once a leaf and now a tree
Now a tree and then the woods,
How are you, hey, how are you?
To be timeless,
Be on time
Time is right on time.
9. The Sad Maniuszka*
Today, our world was taken away
As if some bills were left unpaid
So sad: so quick, and all is gone
Sad that Maniushka’s world went away
And now she knows both anger and fear
Sorrow now visits daily down here
So sad: so quick, and all is gone
There’s now all this woe, anger and fear
Good things have come Maniushka’s way
She found a handful of seeds today
So sad: so quick, and all is gone
But there are the seeds she found today
So today Maniushka is off to sow
To give those seeds to spring to grow
Let that cress grow, go on and sow
And give those seeds to spring to grow
Today, no fields or woods, I guess
Maniushka has to settle for less
Let that cress grow, go on and sow
A bit of cress to ease the stress
*tłumaczenie 2020 Anna Micińska, Krzysztof Rowiński
10. The happy times
Timmonya, Timonyushka,
Our little curly brave head
Stop the time!
Oh play louder, harmonica,
Let me sing about our Timoni.
Stop the time!
He’s got this heroic power,
The one Russia boasts in the world.
Stop the time!
He’s so esteemed in the region,
Even elders are bowing to him.
Stop the time!
A river flows from a foreign country,
Birds singing by the water
Stop the time
Birds singing by the water
Girls waiting for their beloved
What a guy!
Our Timosha is fighting far away,
Have you seen him, oh river and birds?
What a guy!
And the river cried
It saw Timosha all right
Molodec!
In his tank, he ran people over,
He raped and tore things to the ground
Molodec!
The water runs dark and cloudy,
Only the river keeps the memory
Molodec!
Now the happy times are here again
With the crescent moon, the grass and morning dew
Shoe heels clanking in the common room,
And Timosha is the best dancer
They always play upbeat music
A boy is born every spring
Tvilotay!*
They always give him a gun
‘Cause he shares the name with his father
Tvilotay!
They’ll play upbeat tunes on the squeezebox,
Time will fly by with a song
Tvilotay!
The father will buy the boy a rifle
So he knows how to kill his enemies
Tvilotay!
* hebr. תפילותי – my prayers
11. The dark one
Oh, my dark-browed,
My dearest friend
My dearest, you’ve forgotten
Your love, oyoyoy
You were my dear friend
But we won’t meet again, oyoyoy
We won’t kiss, or hold each other
All there will be is living separation,
The longing, oyoyoy
We’re torn apart by sorrow and away for so long
You should have stayed where I am,
Not go there, my beloved.
Live in our house,
Quiet and forgotten.
You should’ve lied in the grave
I would have shed tears for you
So you’d sleep in your ground,
Remembered fondly.
You shouldn’t have gone there as an enemy,
As an unwanted guest,
To stomp on the black ground,
Thirsty for someone else’s tears.
You best not have been born,
And perish, my unknown soldier,
Disappear in the darkness
Than be damned.
12. Mars
In the sky beneath the stars,
In the sky beneath the stars,
Listen to me when I say,
Mars is glowing in the sky.
There’s a tiny glowing Mars.
There’s a teeny glowing Mars.
All alone there every night,
There’s a tiny glowing Mars.
Sputniks dashing, flying by
Stars fall screaming from the sky
Lil’ red Mars among the stars
Lil’ round Mars among the stars
Now I know my way around
All the way where there is Mars.
There will be a hellish flight
There will be a hellish flight
But we’ll finally end up there
Though there’ll be a hellish flight
Sputniks dashing, flying by
Stars fall screaming from the sky
Stars are flying back and forth
All the time
All the time
It will be a dozen years,
It will be a dozen years,
Until we can live on Mars
It will be a dozen years.
Sputniks dashing, flying by
Stars fall screaming from the sky
Stars are flying back and forth
All the time
All the time
As told by
The King of stars.
Elon Musk
Mars is going to be so huge,
Mars is going to be so huge,
Full of forests, lakes and greens
Mars is going to be so huge.
Oh, the fertile, fruitful Mars
Oh, the fertile, fruitful Mars.
It is going to welcome us
We will live like kings and queens
By the time that Mars is ours.
Oh, the fertile, fruitful Mars
Oh, the fertile, fruitful Mars.
It is going to welcome us
We will live like kings and queens
By the time that Mars is ours.
13. Sleep
Sleep, my darling, owl is flying.
The lullaby
Lost the words that matter.
Night is darkly,
Honey’s sticky
The lullaby
Lost the verse that matters.
Sleep, my darling
Someone’s watching,
Someone’s waiting,
Someone’s crying,
Somebody loved someone.
Sleep, my darling,
Someone somewhere
Listened out there,
Cried their eyes out
And then they stopped.
Sleep, my darling.
She knows this much.
The lullaby
Has forgotten
One day you will get that.
Sleep, my darling.
La-la owl.
She lost.
La-la-la words.
14. Love Will Tear Us Apart (bonus track)
When routine bites hard and ambitions are low
And resentment rides high, but emotions won’t grow
And we’re changing our ways, taking different roads
Then love, love will tear us apart again
Love, love will tear us apart again
Why is the bedroom so cold? You’ve turned away on your side
Is my timing that flawed? Our respect runs so dry
Yet there’s still this appeal that we’ve kept through our lives
But love, love will tear us apart again
Love, love will tear us apart again
You cry out in your sleep, all my failings exposed
There’s a taste in my mouth as desperation takes hold
Just that something so good, just can’t function no more
Then love, love will tear us apart again
Love, love will tear us apart again
Then love, love will tear it apart again
Love, love will tear it apart again
