Fans of sung poetry and song theatre need no introduction to him. But let us say this: Marek Dyjak is an outstanding vocalist, a dyed-in-the-wool drunk and a would-be suicide. But that is not the whole truth about him. He is also an extremely sensitive man hiding beneath a straightforward exterior, a cheerful guy disguised as a depressed grumbler, and a radical commentator on reality whose metaphors cannot be surpassed by even the greatest poets!
Marek Dyjak was born on April 18, 1975. He graduated from vocational school and qualified as a plumber. And only a few things were needed for his life to be full and happy – a working-class life, a working-class wife, a working-class flat in a tower block. An ordinary, simple life, without probing the nuances of the soul and heart. He wanted more.
He calls himself a barroom musician. To his fans, he is the Polish Tom Waits. Elżbieta Zapendowska assesses him as “the most genuine voice on the Polish music scene.” Dyjak is Dyjak, his friends say. A man who lived on the edge and drank on the edge until he reached the end of the road. He felt that way too.
In 2008, at Easter, he fastened a tow rope to a tree. The emergency medical team pronounced him dead. He awoke after several days in a coma, remembering nothing.
Not everyone is comfortable with Dyjak’s way of being. Although he has not been drinking for several years and is battling his addiction, he remains himself. And that is the source of his extraordinary phenomenon, which attracts connoisseurs of good music.
There were moments in his career when the musician could have capitalized on his momentum and risen to the so-called artistic limelight. Instead, he preferred to follow his own path—not always an easy one, but directed by himself. He did not place his career in other people’s hands. Some see this as an artistic pose: Dyjak the outcast, loner and individualist. With his powerful voice, he sings equally powerful songs in which—as the fans themselves say—there is blood, bile and tears.
Janusz Pawul/ii