The Gothic Castle Party is a one-of-a-kind event. It is a wonderful musical feast for lovers of unconventional sounds—sounds that are practically absent from the media. It is an event that has attracted fans from all over Europe and beyond for many years. Finally, it is a festival with a unique atmosphere, the largest festival of dark music in Central Europe. Its reputation may be evidenced by the fact that such stars as Clan Of Xymox, Diary Of Dreams, Hocico, Closterkeller, Artrosis and XIII. Stoleti have performed here.
The Beginnings
It all began in 1994 at Grodziec Castle. Members of the T.R.H., Pornografia and Fading Colours groups organized a concert featuring five Polish bands, attended by approximately 300 people. “We wanted to play for our audience in the right place,” recalls Bolesławiec resident Krzysztof Rakowski, the festival’s main organizer and formerly also a member of Fading Colours. “We did it for ourselves, so there would be somewhere to play,” he adds. That is how Castle Party was born.
In 1995, the festival already lasted two days. For the first time, it featured a foreign star—the Canadian duo Psyche. The event began attracting increasingly larger audiences. During the third edition, it became clear that Grodziec Castle could not accommodate all the fans of dark music, so in 1997 Castle Party was moved to the courtyard of Bolków Castle. “Wonderful people live and work there. The castle and the surrounding area are beautiful,” the organizer points out. “It is a great location and reasonably easy to reach,” he adds.
Do The Evolution
Year by year, the event became better known and—as a result—increasingly popular. The organizers, however, did not rest on their laurels. Far from it. Over the years, the festival underwent a distinctive evolution. Artists were invited who were not necessarily associated with broadly understood Gothic music. It is enough to mention such diverse performers as Ataraxia, Sweet Noise, Behemoth, Christblood, Cool Kids Of Death, Lech Janerka, Renata Przemyk and even Armia. “I choose the festival lineup intuitively, but from the beginning I wanted different kinds of music to be played at the festival,” says Rakowski. “The audience is the most important thing, and it is important for a band to have a distinctive character,” the organizer emphasizes.
In 1999, other Bolesławiec residents became involved in the organizational side of the project: Marzena and Artur Falkowscy and Krzysztof Maczkowiak. Subsequent editions of the event increasingly drifted toward electronic music. “I am changing, the world is changing, the audience is changing. Electronics has dominated our reality,” Krzysztof Rakowski explains the festival’s evolution. “Many excellent bands use electronic instruments.” The Bolesławiec resident admits, however, that he tries to ensure a balanced proportion between electro and guitar bands.
Castle Party Today
The lineup for this year’s edition of Castle Party fully confirms these words. Alongside electro-industrial stars such as Front Line Assembly and Suicide Commando, and major bands from today’s Gothic scene, such as Diary Of Dreams, we have metal band Cemetery Of Scream, the fantastic Miguel And The Living Dead, who play punk/gothic/psychobilly, synth-pop band IAMX and the great Mortiis. Concerts will take place from July 28 to 29. Earlier, on July 26 and 27, Bolków will host DJ sets by DJs from across Europe. Among others, DJ Leszek Rakowski, the main organizer’s brother, will perform.
Detailed information can be found on the festival’s official website. “Above all, we invite people with imagination who feel like embarking on a wonderful adventure. You have to take a deep breath and enter Bolków with a smile for three days of great fun,” says Krzysztof Rakowski.
(GA information)