''Graal'' (stylized as ''Gr44l''; , pronounced: ) is the second
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
by Polish rapper
Tau
Tau (; uppercase Τ, lowercase τ or \boldsymbol\tau; ) is the nineteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiceless alveolar plosive, voiceless dental or alveolar plosive . In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 300 ...
and the last released under the
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
Medium. It was released as a
double album
A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording ...
on 20 November 2012 by
Asfalt Records
Asfalt Records is a Polish independent record label specialized in hip-hop music. It was founded in 1998 by Marcin "Tytus" Grabski. In July 1998, Asfalt Records signed a three-year distribution deal with Sony Music Entertainment Poland. The first ...
.
Recording took place during 2012 at Studio Łukasza Kowalskiego in
Kielce
Kielce (; ) is a city in south-central Poland and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the banks of the Silnic ...
with DJ Deszczu Strugi in charge of
mixing the album.
As with his previous album ''
Teoria równoległych wszechświatów'',
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stat ...
and
arrangement
In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...
were overseen by Medium himself.
The album was promoted with two singles: "Hologram" features a guest appearance by American rapper
Gift of Gab, and "Skwer pod słońcem", which was accompanied by a promotional
video clip
Video clip may refer to:
*Short videos, especially short-form content
** Video clip (online media), a short snippet of a video uploaded on the internet
*A music video
A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that ...
featuring Medium's fans. ''Graal'' also features guest appearances by
O.S.T.R.
Adam Andrzej Ostrowski (, born 15 May 1980 in Łódź, Poland), better known as O.S.T.R., is a Polish rapper, musician, audio engineer and record producer, famous for his freestyle rap skills, ambitious lyrics and unique beats. He graduated from ...
, Bisz and Te-Tris. The album peaked at number 18 on the Polish
OLiS
OLiS (Oficjalna Lista Sprzedaży; ) is the official chart of the 100 highest selling music albums in Poland. The chart exists since 23 October 2000 and is provided by ZPAV.
Until January 2023 the chart consisted of 50 albums, based only on physica ...
albums chart.
On the album Medium addresses questions of
patriotism
Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...
, his attachment to
Christian values
Christian values historically refers to values derived from the teachings of Jesus Christ. The term has various applications and meanings, and specific definitions can vary widely between denominations, geographical locations, historical context ...
, and his relationship with
God
In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
. The rapper also criticizes the issues of
globalization
Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...
,
homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
and
political correctness
"Political correctness" (adjectivally "politically correct"; commonly abbreviated to P.C.) is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society. ...
. Although it was well-received, ''Graal'' also met with criticism, mainly for its lyrics which were considered too radical by most reviewers and listeners.
Background and promotion
Having released his first album ''Teoria równoległych wszechświatów'' in 2011 and having received generally positive reviews, Medium announced that he had started working on a new project which would be released in late April, also stating that the news album would completely differ from the previous one. The release date was later postponed to November 2012. In interviews later in 2012, Medium began to talk about his
religious conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliatin ...
to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
and indicated that the album would be dedicated to his personal relationship with
God
In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
and his long-term observations of the world.
The first single was "Hologram" which featured
Gift of Gab, a member of the group
Blackalicious
Blackalicious was an American hip-hop duo from Sacramento, California, made up of rapper Gift of Gab and DJ/producer Chief Xcel. They are noted for Gift of Gab's often tongue-twisting, multisyllabic, complex rhymes and Chief Xcel's soulful pr ...
. The second single "Skwer pod słońcem" was accompanied by a video clip featuring the rapper's fans. Medium appeared on the show ''Poziom 2.0'' where he performed the track "Kim jesteś?". The reaction to the track was so great that his label decided to release it as the third single. Promotional videos were also made for "Nieme kino", "Graal" and "Zza grobu".
On 12 December 2012 Asfalt Records released 300 copies of the single "Hologram" pressed as a
transparent 12" record. The record contained the standard version of "Hologram" and a
drum and bass
Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...
remix.
Artwork and imagery

The cover of ''Graal'' was created by an artist under the pseudonym SewerX who had also been responsible for the artwork for Medium's previous album. It was revealed on 7 October 2012 on Asfalt Records'
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
channel. The cover shows the
Omega Nebula
The Omega Nebula is an H II region in the constellation Sagittarius. It was discovered by Philippe Loys de Chéseaux in 1745. Charles Messier catalogued it in 1764. It is by some of the richest starfields of the Milky Way, figuring in the north ...
and the white triangle inscribed in its center, with a net outstretched over the image. Medium stated:
The title ''Graal'' is stylized as ''Gr44l''. The two fours are a reference to the famous Polish
poetic drama ''
Dziady
Dziady ( "grandfathers, eldfathers", sometimes translated as Forefathers' Eve) is a term in Slavic folklore for the spirits of the ancestors and a collection of pre-Christian rites, rituals and customs that were dedicated to them. The essence o ...
'' (''Forefathers'') by
Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...
where the number 44 was used in scene 5 of act 3, in which Mickiewicz wrote about a "reviver of the nation" who was supposed to bring back freedom for Poland and its people. He described him with words:
In the artwork inside the CD case several crosses are also visible which represent Medium's conversion. The artwork was well received by both fans and music critics. It was placed on Barock.pl website's list of the best covers of 2012.
Reception
The album received mixed reviews from music critics. Most of the reviewers praised its combination of modern
electronic music
Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...
and classic
sampling, but the album was criticized for its radical and
far-right
Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
lyrics. Journalist Marek Fall of
Onet.pl wrote that "Graal is one of the most courageous and ambitious projects in the history of Polish hip-hop. Medium's vision combines
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
, the legacy of
Polish romanticism
Romanticism in Poland, a literary, artistic and intellectual period in the evolution of Polish culture, began around 1820, coinciding with the publication of Adam Mickiewicz's first poems in 1822. It ended with the suppression of the January 1863 ...
, psycho-rap and ultra-conservative journalism. The impetus of this production arouses admiration, but ''Graal'' is often just the opposite page of ''
Jezus Maria Peszek'', where fanaticism is equal to grandiosity."
On the other hand, Marcin Flint from
T-Mobile Music compared Medium to
Fisz
Fisz (born Bartosz Waglewski 19 March 1978) is a Polish rap artist.
The musical style of Fisz is unconventional. At the very beginning of his career he started out as a hip hop artist, but went experimental soon after releasing Tworzywo Sztuczne ...
and
Magik
Magik (Illyana Nikolaievna Rasputina) (Russian language, Russian: Ильяна Николаевна Распутина) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cock ...
, but he also criticized the lyrical content of ''Graal''.
Track listing
Personnel
Credits adapted from liner notes.
;Musicians
*
Medium
Medium may refer to:
Aircraft
*Medium bomber, a class of warplane
* Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''The Medium'' (1921 film), a German silent film
* ''The Medium'' (1951 film), a film vers ...
– lyrics, production, rap, arrangements
*
Gift of Gab – lyrics, rap
* Bisz – lyrics, rap
* Te-Tris – lyrics, rap
*
O.S.T.R.
Adam Andrzej Ostrowski (, born 15 May 1980 in Łódź, Poland), better known as O.S.T.R., is a Polish rapper, musician, audio engineer and record producer, famous for his freestyle rap skills, ambitious lyrics and unique beats. He graduated from ...
– lyrics, rap
* DJ Funktion – scratching
* DJ Kebs – scratching
* Justyna Dżbik – narration
* Lila Kowalska – vocals
* Miss Ashberry – vocals
* Izabela Kowalewska – vocals
* Paweł Piotrowsk – piano
* Rolf "Hangklang" Mönnighoff – hang, didgeridoo, shruti box, bansuri, glockenspiel
* Rafał "Rafcox" Gęborek – trumpet
* Jarosław Kulik – congos
; Technical personnel
* DJ Deszczu Strugi – mix
* Tytuz – executive producer
* SewerX – artwork
; Recording
* Recorded at Studio Łukasza Kowalskiego in Kielce
* Mixed at Otrabarwa Studio in Warsaw
* Mastered at Air Mastering in London
References
{{Authority control
2012 albums
Polish-language albums
Tau albums
Albums produced by Tau