Wave. 1984 and Polish postpunk Meeting around Rafał Księżyk's book

Rafał Księżyk “Wave. 1984 and Polish postpunk” (Wydawnictwo Czarne, 2025)

Meeting around the book

Conducted by: Andrzej Wojtasik “Crisis”

As Orwellian “1984” continues behind the Iron Curtain, the best way to jump into another reality is to start a rock band.

This is exactly what 1984 takes us on a journey back in time by Rafał Księżyk. It was a landmark year for Polish rock music. It was then that the youth who grew up in the realities of martial law came to the fore. And the one from the smaller cities spoke the most eloquently. Ustrzyki Dolne, Łańcut, Rzeszów, Puławy, Zduńska Wola, Toruń, Bydgoszcz, Piła — they set the rhythm of the story of the Moon and it is from them that the heroes of the new wave set off to conquer Poland. Axe, Variété, 1984 and others: amateurs who balance limited opportunities with extraordinary mobilization. Their uncompromising, painful and at the same time intellectual music is like a liberating giggle that comes from the cracks in the system. And he kidnaps the crowds.

So, as the Axe sings, “It's good, it's good.” The wave has set in.

Rafał Księżyk (born 1970) — journalist, editor and music critic. In the nineties he co-created magazines “Brum”, “Plastik”, “Antena Krzyku”, “City Magazine” and “Aktivist”. From 2012 to 2017, he was the editor-in-chief of “Playboy”. He is the co-author of the autobiographies of Tomasz Stańka, Robert Brylewski, Tymon Tymański, Muńek Staszczyk, Kazik Staszewski, Marcin Święlicki, as well as the author of two collections of essays — “23 Cuts for William S. Burroughs” and “The Wouching of Culture. About dandies, hipsters and mutants”. In 2020, he published “Wild Thing”, a story about Polish music and transformation from 1989 to 1993, for which he was nominated for the Warsaw Literary Award, the Gdynia Literary Award and the Kazimierz Moczarski Historical Prize of Warsaw. For the monograph “The Dream House”, published three years later. Silesian underground” received the Upper Silesian Literary Award “Juliusz”. In 2025, his book “Wave” was published. The year 1984 and Polish postpunk”. She collaborates with the magazine Dwutygodnik.

Andrzej Wojtasik (born 1970) — studied chemical engineering, care and educational pedagogy and cultural studies; he did not graduate from any of these fields. He lived in London, Krakow, Kathmandu and Los Angeles. I think he's still translating from English. His works include: “A People's History of the United States” by H. Zinn, “Please Kill Me. The Punk History of Punk” by L. McNeil and G. McCain, “Gutenberg's Galaxy” by M. McLuhan, “Buddhism Without Dogmas” by S. Batchelor and “Blood and Guts in High School” by K. Acker. Co-creator of the band The Lou Readers and the duo Wielkie Lamb of the Middle Layer.