Skalpel are Polish

nu jazz Nu jazz (also spelt nü jazz or known as jazztronica, or future jazz) is a genre of jazz and electronic music. The music blends jazz elements with other musical styles, such as funk, electronic music, and free improvisation. Nu jazz typically ve ...

DJs, musicians and record producers, Marcin Cichy and Igor Pudło, from

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

, Poland. Their musical style is a distinctive blend of

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

beats, laced with samples lifted from the rich seam of Polish

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

records of the 1960s and 1970s.

History

In 2000, after interviewing

DJ Vadim Vadim Alexandrovich Peare (), known professionally as DJ Vadim, is a Russian-British DJ and record producer. Born in Saint Petersburg and raised in London, Peare is additionally a promoter, record collector, radio presenter, occasional painter ...

for a Polish hip hop magazine, Skalpel discussed samples, obscure breaks and the Polish music scene with him. That led to a combined tour with Skalpel and Vadim's live band, The Russian Percussion, during which they performed with four turntables. Later that year, Skalpel released a demo CD entitled ''Polish Jazz'', which gained praise from the Polish music press, and they were subsequently picked up by the UK

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

Ninja Tune Ninja Tune is an independent record label based in London, with a satellite office in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1990 by musicians Matt Black and Jonathan More, known collectively as Coldcut. The label was established as an outlet for Col ...

. In 2001, they released the ''Virtual Cuts'' mixtape, which was composed of two live sessions. Between 2002 and 2004, five of their live DJ mix sets were aired on Ninja Tune's

Solid Steel ''Solid Steel'' are a series of DJ mix albums issued on Ninja Tune, an independent record label in the UK. ''Solid Steel'' also has a radio station webcast and related live concerts which further showcase the DJing talents of such artists. In 1 ...

radio show. Skalpel aim to resurrect the spirit of 60s and 70s Polish jazz, using samples to re-work it.

"The Polish music scene is very poor at the moment. Nothing really interesting happens. The majority of music on TV and radio is kind of 'World Idol'. Very little individuality – just copies of American music."

Skalpel's 2003 EP, ''Sculpture'' sold out upon release. It also led to a nomination for the prestigious Polish culture award, the

Paszport Polityki Paszport Polityki (Polityka's Passport) is an annual Polish cultural award presented by the weekly magazine '' Polityka'' since 1993. It is presented in six major categories: literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written wor ...

. Skalpel has released two albums. A self-titled album was released in 2004, followed by the double-album "Konfusion" in 2005. In May 2014, the duo released a new EP, "Simple," and a few months later released "Transit," their first full-length studio album in almost nine years, on their own record label, PlugAudio. In March 2020, Skalpel released their latest album, ''Highlight''.

History

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Remix albums

EPs

References