Interview with The BLACK WATER PANIC Project

TheBWPP started as a one man army project and during the last seven years evolved through some changes into a firm line up that is recording and practicing together now. It’s really not easy to find the right people that you can work with when you are a pro tattoo artist as well, some of them want to just use me to get free big tattoo designs or some other favors.

When it comes to experience, I started to gain it pretty fast in the private studio of a pretty famous Polish Gothic Metal band’s keyboard player. He taught me almost all I know about electronic music, recording, plying keyboards or singing. I also had a large number of private singing teachers, people after schools, correcting my bel canto and giving me good tips on how to improve my voice emission. I also had private courses of sound engineering at the Sound Academy in Warsaw; now, after this album obviously, I would like to attend Abbey Road Institute in Berlin. I also learned to play guitar with a private female tutor. My mind is always hungry for knowledge, I am always looking for ways to improve myself as a person and as a musician.

I didn’t pick the band’s name, I was overwhelmed by it. It was a very dark time for me, I was in hospital at that moment, at the Surgery Ward, the doctors had to fix some stuff after a bad tattooing-based infection I was surprised by at one of the finest Polish Tattoo Shops. I was shortly after OP, tripping on some hard core painkillers, when suddenly all this thickening darkness collapsed on me, followed by distorted hospital typical nightmare like sounds. Panic black as night’s water I was only able to think and I sank into it, struggling to breathe.

The first album was entitled “Fight for Oxygen”, so as you can see it was a deeply traumatic experience for me.

I recorded it almost alone, knowing that this kind of trippy toxic beats are not so popular in Poland. Ended up asking few colleagues of mine to do some session recording for me, struggled like this for some time ’till now. Last year I finally teamed up with a few other musicians to come out of the recording studio and play some live shows with new songs.

I don’t have any general genre on my mind while writing songs, I don’t have to. I leave the luxury of naming music to people who listen to it. I say luxury, because playing music is a pretty hard, but enjoyable duty and I don’t really care about names while doing it. I like to leave it open and take from many genres while writing all these things I feel drawn to.

I was fascinated by the work of too many musicians to point out my favourite one and say: he/she got me into it, I value her/his score the most. I just simply can’t, it’s not possible, there are too many great artists out there right now, in present time, not to mention all those dead legends…

The latest record is still under construction, we are currently working on videos and live performances of singles, KVLT of IRON, songs as well as preparing tracks from previous albums.

“CHURCH ov IRON” started as a few jingles for advertisements of a fitness place I am attending since I quit drugs and alcohol. To stay fit and clean, I had to replace bad habits with new, healthy ones. My friend, Bartłomiej Bolechowski, who happened to be a kettlebell Coach, helped me out with tips and support on my way out of drug and alcohol addiction. This record evolved from jingles to a more expanded form of full tracks and it is a clear statement that you don’t need expensive rehab in famous clinics for celebs to change your shameful ways. You just need some strong will and a wider perspective, I was lucky enough to learn it while I could. The single and the whole record are chronicles of my mind changes during the sobering up process and some kind of prayer I invented for personal usage during those hard times I fought with addiction.

I learned not to expect anything, always sticking to the worst case scenario. If it’s gonna be better than that, it’s still gonna be beyond my expectations. It’s better this way, than to expect impossible things and still be disappointed by miserable results. I just hope that the words and music recorded on this album will be helpful for someone with similar problems, fighting his/her way out of hell.

A World Tour would be great, but at this point it’s only a dream (hahahahahaha). First we need to hit the stage in Poland and Germany, play some live shows and festivals and meet some people that could help us organize that kind of dark holiday. I think it’s not happening for anybody until they reach some level of fame and recognition. Plus, in my humble opinion, it must be pretty tiresome and complicated, so I am not into it as much as I should be. I am a studio creature who feels better in the organized environment of a tattoo shop and recording studio, I am not a big fan of hanging out with people, but I also like to perform live. It’s a lil’ bit complicated with me.

I don’t belive in any kind of scene without money. Sadly, it’s part of every aspect of our life.

Nothing’s free.

You always need to pay some bills, you need to buy some stuff, so why lie about it, that you are playing for free, when it’s your only talent? I am playing music because I love it and I can afford it, my day job as a tattoo artist allows this awesome possibility. There are many artists that can’t go on without taking money for it. Who am I to judge it? Why should I judge it? Why should I judge people that build their position wisely enough to participate in scene income?

The question should be: “Do you want to sell yourself to be on the scene? Will you kill yourself for TV?”

My answer is “no”, couldn’t care less, I am here to make music and ink some skin, doing this since I remember and will continue it just for fun.

I think it’s great that you can share your music worldwide online, it’s pretty neat that we got access to all those wonderful tools that allow us to reach a large number of people without involving third parties. It’s your choice if you want to make your stuff free or make people pay for it. It’s all about personal choices. People are inviting you straight to their comfort zones through touchscreens. Me personally, I allowed downloading of my older albums for free, because I think it’s cool, only the newest single is content you have to pay for, but you can listen to it for free anyway at www.youtube.com/TheBWPP or thebwpp.bandcamp.com. I want people to enjoy it for free on their devices, perhaps they will like our sound and come to our shows.

Who are your musical influences? Have you ever thought your band could be as famous as your favorites?

Oh man, tough one…There are many arists I admire… I’d start with Nick Cave, Nine Inch Nails, Machines of Loving Grace, Ministry, Stabbing Westward, Marylin Manson, Rob Zombie, Slayer, Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth, Khold, Darkthrone, Burzum, Marduk, Mayhem, Satyricon, Gorgoroth, Type o Negative, Danzig, Cannibal Corpse, Body Count, Tiamat, Motorhead, Black Sabbath, Electric Wizard, Sleep, Kyuss,The Cure, Bauhaus as well as more rock and roll/grunge stuff like Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Three Fish, Godsmack, Nirvana, Him, Placebo, 30 Seconds to Mars, Mars Volta, Radiohead, Queen, David Bowie, Guns and Roses, Velvet Revolver, Stone Temple Pilots, Prodigy… I have a weak spot for 80s’ and 90s’ music I grew up with as well as being a listener of trip hop/ trap beats… I listen to many Polish Metal bands like: Acid Drinkers, Mgła, Furia, Behemoth, Batushka, Profanum, Witchmaster, Decaptated, Vader. I really enjoy The Doors, Led Zeppelin or Jimi Hendrix as well as Depeche Mode… It’s hard to say who the main musical influence was, when you listen to a spectrum of music as wide as mine.
So famous as my favourites? Why? Their mortality is no different than mine, all this ends up at some point, there is no bigger sense in it. Musicians don’t perform open heart surgery, it’s just show. It’s nothing special. Does it saves anybody’s life? No, I don’t think so. it’s only entertainment, killing the time that’s left.

Do you have a formal music education? Do you think it’s kind of an important thing?

No, I do not have a formal music education, I’ve just been doing it since I was a teenager, almost as long as I’ve been drawing and painting. I have a university master’s degree in painting, done countless hours in recording and tattoo studios, got their weird, black and twisted sense of humour and now I am spending time on rehearsals with my new line up to hit the stage in Warsaw, in Voodoo Club, April 13th, 2019.

How do you balance your music with other obligations – mate, children, job?

Well… I do it very poorly, must admit, I am in the middle of a divorce right now. Once I thought it was important, then I got married and changed my mind very fast when faced living with an alcoholic drama queen that tried to stab me with a knife, hahahahahahah. Don’t have luck in that area, it didn’t work out well for me, so I stopped trying. All my relationships are doomed because at some point all girls want almost religious devotion and I am devoted to guitars, ink and keyboards.
As ridiculous as it may seem, work has never been better, hahahahahahah. I am a workoholic and I live mostly in studios and my car. Last month, I spent an entire three days at my place. It’s pretty hard to find time to be with somebody.
All the income from my job is sunk into in my band, so that’s a big advantage when it comes to relationships… I don’t have to listen to “WE should buy all this instead of financing your band, this is OUR decision” sermons, hahahahahahah. No, thanks, that’s not for me.

How do you handle mistakes during a performance? Or can you guarantee there are no any mistakes during your gigs? Do you get nervous before a performance or a competition?

We practice to avoid mistakes, but when it happens, it happens… You are just there and you try to play it cool.

Sometimes I just laugh out loud and rip myself off brutally… I try to stay objective while performing to be aware of what I am doing, there is no self admiration available in my dictionary to spoil my judgement, I don’t like myself that much, hahahahahaha.

No, we don’t take a part in competitions, in my humble opinion music is not something you can compete in, that’s one, part two of the question: I don’t get nervous before performances, I was born into it, I live for it. Why should I get nervous? We also play it without DAW’s help, only with a metronome, so I can assure you: I am not afraid of hitting the stage.

Next we see us at TheBWPP live shows, check us out:) Thanks a lot for this lovely chatю