RENATA LEWANDOWSKA - DOTYK (1 per person)

THE VERY POLISH CUT OUTS / ASTIGMATIC

£40

Format: Super Limited Import Vinyl LP
Catalogue No.: TVPCRE001
Release Date: 31 Oct 21
Genre: Funk, Soul

A1. MAGIA SZOS
A2. KOCHAJ TE DZIEWCZYNE
A3. LATO TEGO ROKU
A4. DOTYKIEM CHCE DZIS POZNAC WSZYSTKO
B1. CZAS POZEGNAN
B2. NAWET NIE WIEMY CZY BYTA TO MILOSC
B3. OKNO
B4. KROPELKA EGOISZMU
B5. OLBRZYMI TWOJ CIEN

A twisted chain of events that led to the release of this album could make up the script of a good film. Its main character is Renata Lewandowska - a singer who marked her presence in the seventies but who unfortunately never got to see her album released...until now.
After over 40 years, two independent labels, Astigmatic Records and The Very Polish Cut Outs, join forces to present the singer's debut album titled "Dotyk".

Throughout her career Renata has worked with such artists as Andrzej Trzaskowski, Novi Singers, Bemibem, Alibabki and many more. However, despite such a noble group of collaborators, she did not manage to break through to the mainstream. The music of Renata Lewandowska seems to escape the Polish standards of her time.
The singer's rich, multi-octave vocal was and still is impressive. Although pigeonholed - like many other artists of that time - under the 'Big Beat' label, the artist may be considered one of the few soul singers in Poland.

Regrettably, Renata Lewandowska's work did not find a wider audience in 1970s. Towards the end of the decade she decided to give up her career as she didn't see a future for herself in the music industry of that time, leaving behind only one seven-inch single record 'Dotykiem chcÄ™ dzis poznac wszystko" ("I want to know everything by touch today"). Four decades later, this record turns out to be a rare, precious treat for every Polish vinyl record collector.

This lingering soul ballad became the impulse to track down the singer.
Two independent Polish labels, Astigmatic Records and The Very Polish Cut Outs, were searching for the artist at the same time. Eventually, they decided to jointly release a previously unpublished material found in the Polish Radio archives and arranged into a concept album together with Renata Lewandowska; the story of the singer and the music from this album was written down in the booklet accompanying the LP.

It is summer romance with its beauty, innocence, naivety and fleetingness that remains the leitmotif of "Dotyk" ("Touch").
The beaches, the seaside and forests constitute an integral part of the compositions, while the hot summer days of the 70's seem to be no different than those of the present.
Despite the softness of the main theme, there are also more pressing issues such as feminism ('Kropelka egoizmu') or the degradation of the planet ('Olbrzymi Twoj Cien') present on the album, issues that seem to be more relevant than ever.

"Dotyk" by Renata Lewandowska comprises 9 pieces recorded between 1974 and 1978 in the studios of the Polish Radio. The album came into being as a result of cooperation between The Very Polish Cut Outs and Astigmatic Records. The album will only be available on vinyl.