Masala Soundsystem is an intercultural collective from Warsaw, known for their 20 years of activity and over 10 albums and EPs.
One the one hand, Masala is about traditional instruments (such as hurdy-gurdy, duduk, jaw harp, saz, suka) and vocal techniques (throat singing) from Asia, Middle East and Eastern Europe. On the other - there are percussion loops, deep bass and socially engaged street poetry. It is all served with a great deal of punk energy and ‘intelligent rage’. The group is created by virtuosos in their fields, coming from such distant worlds as traditional folk music, hip-hop, reggae, dancehall,or contemporary electronic music. Their joint artistic activities turn out to interact perfectly and create a fascinating whole.
The history of Masala Soundsystem began in 2022, when Max Cegielski - a journalist, writer and traveler - assembled a group of his friends to perform at an event promoting his book "Masala", written as a result of his trip through India. Apart from him, the founders were Que Sabroso (ex-Brygada Kryzys, ex-Tilt), Praczas (Village Kollektiv) and Szaja (Kapela Ze Wsi Warszawa, R.U.T.A.). Their musical assumption was to present music from all over the world, thrilling and full of dancing energy.
Praczas was the only member to have kept involved in Masala’s activity in the course of time. In the same time, however, a new core of the band emerged from the group of their talented ‘regular guests’.
THE CURRENT MEMBERS OF MASALA SOUNDSYSTEM ARE:
Duże Pe -frontman, vocal;
MC | Praczas -electronics, synthesizers, fx;
Bart Pałyga- ethnic strings instruments, throat singing, jaw harp;
Wojciech Lubertowicz - ethnic percussion, ethnic flutes;
For over 20 years of their activity, Masala Soundsystem performed more than a thousand concerts at the greatest and most prestigious festivals in Poland and abroad, such as: Heineken Open'er, Wschód Kultury, Przystanek Woodstock, Reggae Nad Wartą,T-Mobile Nowe Horyzonty, Cracow Reggae Festival, Wrocław Non-Stop, SORI Festival (Jeonju, South Korea), Antitapas Night (Brussels, Belgium), Fusion Festival (Dorf-Mecklenburg, Germany), Yeongdeungpo Culture Centre (Seul, South Korea), Cross Club (Prague, Czech Republic), Olive Club (New Delhi, India), L'ALG Club (Paris, France), Festival (Cluj-Napoca, Romania), Shakespeare Pub(Eskisehir, Turkey), Sound Central Festival (Kabul, Afghanistan).