Marika gave a hot concert at Piwnica Paryska for her fans, who continued having fun with her at the after-party. She was invited to Bolesławiec by Krzysztof Krzemiński (Jegomość), a fan of her music, who would like to thank everyone who helped organize the concert. His friends, Piwnica Paryska owner Bogusław Nowak and Bolesławiecki Ośrodek Kultury supported him.
The concert began with the song “I Believe in Miracles,” but the lyrics of “Beautiful Ladies,” which Marika dedicated during the performance to all the girls, say the most about the concert and its power:
Hey beautiful ladies
take off your warm clothes
because nothing will happen to you!(…)
Jamaica’s embassy is here today.
You can see how the green flag works.
I really like the fire here.
This place will shake to its foundations!
Marika was accompanied in Bolesławiec by Ania “Maluta,” who supports her vocally during tours; Bartosz, percussionist; Piotr, guitar; Konrad, bass; Jurek, drums; Michał, keyboards and trumpet; and sound engineer Tomasz.
Marika, an open, sincere, unpretentious and highly talented vocalist, spoke in an interview with IstotneInformacje.pl about her artistic choices and maturation, which consists in increasingly allowing herself to be who she is and to take the risks that entails.
Grażyna Hanaf: – What are your favorite songs?
Marika: – There are several: “My Heart”—this song touched a large group of people; “You’ve Got It”—a shot of funky energy and also my favorite track. I also recommend “Stop,” the first song I wrote. I feel strongly about it. It breaks with the convention in which I operate; there is a bit of jazz in it, and it is more of a ballad than a club or disco track. I approach it sentimentally. It was the first lyric to appear on the album several years after it was written. I wrote it about five years ago. That time changed me and changed the song; I found several artistic weak spots in it and corrected them. “Stop” is a litmus test of how a person outgrows certain things, changes and matures.
What have you outgrown?
With age, I found the courage to be more sincere and open. At the beginning, when a person is breaking new ground, they use the safe circle of well-worn paths and move within them. They think that if something worked for someone else, it will work reasonably well for them too. I grew up enough to do things my own way, against the grain, sometimes struggling with what is expected of me.
What do fans expect from Marika?
There is a rule that people like what they already know, what they are familiar with. People expected a more dance-oriented album from me. Instead, I wrote several sensible lyrics and decided to sing them. I decided I wanted to test myself in a song-based format, where one sings more than one raps and rhymes. That was already surprising to people for whom certain genres are reserved either for the mainstream and pop audiences or for the musical circles their parents are interested in.
Is growing up, for you, about gaining artistic autonomy?
My maturation, both in life and artistically, consists in increasingly allowing myself to be who I am and to take the risks that entails. If a person fits themselves into a familiar and therefore safe formula, because it was devised by someone else, they are protected. They hide behind that formula like a mask and remain unhurt in someone else’s territory. If they open up and put their heart on a plate, there are two possibilities. Either it will be understood and accepted, or mocked. That always involves risk. I allowed myself to take a chance and risk it. The reactions really are what I expected. Some reject it, others appreciate it. But it turned out well, because nothing ventured, nothing gained. I know I am doing the right thing.
What do fans value? What do they like in the lyrics?
I think mainly the personal message and sincerity. I do not feel I have a social mission; I simply think that expressing myself is valuable in itself. Someone who has greater sensitivity and a greater need for expression than the average person, as well as a God-given spark that enables an appealing message, filters the world through their sensitivity. This gives people something inimitable, personal, unique, one-off, new and authentic. It is something worth showing the world. Listeners do not think exactly like me, but they feel that I am speaking sincerely, and that reaches them.
Have you achieved success? You sang at the Opole festival…
I understand success as doing what I love and being able to show it to people by playing concerts. In the commercial sense, I have not necessarily achieved it. It is difficult to break through with the kind of music I play. I do not know why, but the general public has fallen in love with pop-rock aesthetics. I hope that will pass, like all fashionable trends. As for top radio stations, they are closed circles. When I was invited to Opole, I decided to show that there is other music in Poland—very popular and well-liked music. I was aware that a large part of the alternative-scene community would criticize me for it. But I am apolitical, as is my work. To me, television is a means of communication: I can show my songs there and demonstrate that more is happening in music. Reggae, funky, hip-hop—I try to combine several genres into a musical cocktail of my own, one that suits me.
(information by Grażyna Hanaf)