Ścianka

Formed in 1994 in Sopot, Ścianka was unprecedented in Polish rock music as a band which, despite its commercial success, retained its artistic integrity and experimental paradigm. Hailing from the Tricity countercultural yass scene, the band, led by guitarist and sole constant member Maciej Cieślak, combined his exquisite songwriting with 60s psych rock influences, the non-idiomaticity of post-rock and Amphetamine Reptile-style dissonance. Their first album, 1998's Statek kosmiczny Ścianka, cemented Scianka's position as a leading act of the first wave of Polish indie – subsequent releases saw Ścianka move between accessible, sunny indie rock (Białe wakacje) and experimental, surreal nocturnes (Dni wiatru, Pan Planeta). Ścianka's most recent release is 2015's Niewyciężony, consisting of music created for a radio play based on Stanislaw Lem's novel of the same name. Cieślak currently performs solo under the name Ścianka, playing electric guitar and singing a cross-section of the group's songs.