Pure Phase Ensemble is an international music collective, created especially for the SpaceFest! festival of shoegaze, space-rock and psychedelia, which is organised by the Nasiono Association, Laznia Centre for Contemporary Art and with the support of the City of Gdansk.
Gdansk plays host to this blossoming music festival each year in the first week of December, at which time numerous select musicians from Poland and abroad gather to take part in a special workshop series. They collectively compose a concert’s worth of music, which they then present live to the festival-goers. Each year, this unique performance is recorded live and subsequently released as an LP.
The programme for each workshop is curated by Karol Schwarz (7faz, KSAS), who also manages Nasiono Records label and in the period of 2011-2014 it was co-curated by Ray Dickaty, a British saxophonist improviser and former member of Spiritualized (1997-2002). Along with these two key figures, every festival involved a new musical director – a legendary, internationally recognised musician, who was invited to co-curate the workshop and to work together with Polish musicians.
In 2016 Anton Newcombe, The Brian Jonestown Massacre ringmaster curated the workshop. During the 2014 edition of SpaceFest!, Mark Gardener, the frontman of celebrated shoegaze pioneers RIDE, occupied this seat of honour and in 2015 – Hugo Race (The Bad Seeds, The True Spirit). Past participants include Laetitia Sadier (Stereolab), Chris Olley (Six By Seven), Steve Hewitt (ex Placebo) and Jaime Harding (Marion).
Each year different musicians (both those on the threshold of their musical breakthrough and artists with more considerable experience) are invited to join the group, depending on the artistic vision of the leader. The main idea behind the 5-day workshop is to create an international instrumental collective that will compose the music material to be presented to the public at SpaceFest! Through workshop improvisation the musicians arrive at a joint artistic vision resulting in a set of unique songs.
The 4th edition of the project – Pure Phase Ensemble 4 feat. Mark Gardener – turned out to be especially successful. The live album received numerous enthusiastic reviews (over 70) and got a lot of airplay worldwide.
Members of the band:
// PURE PHASE ENSEMBLE 6 (2016)
+ Anton Newcombe (The Brian Jonestown Massacre)
+ Emil Nikolaisen (Serena-Maneesh)
+ Karol Schwarz (7faz, Karol Schwarz All Stars)
+ Olga Mysłowska (Polpo Motel)
+ Maciej Karmiński (Jesień)
+ Marcin Lewandowski (Judy’s Funeral, Castlings, SOON)
+ Jakub Żwirełło (Oslo Kill City, Szezlong)
+ Kacper Graczyk (Aiodine, coding)
// PURE PHASE ENSEMBLE 5 (2015)
+ Hugo Race (The True Spirit/ The Bad Seeds)
+ Karol Schwarz (KSAS)
+ Adrian Kondratowicz (Ze Velocipedes)
+ Przemysław Bartoś (The Fruitcakes)
+ Paweł Swiernalis (Lord & The Liar)
+ Mateusz Franczak (Daktari)
+ Marta Tykarska (C4030)
+ Michał Peschke (C4030)
// PURE PHASE ENSEMBLE 4 (2014)
+ Mark Gardener (RIDE)
+ Ray Dickaty (ex-Spiritualized)
+ Jacek Rezner (Wilga)
+ Kamil Hordyniec (Wilga)
+ Michał Pydo (Hatifnats)
+ Michał 'Kostek’ Stolc (Cisza nocna)
+ Karol Schwarz (KSAS)
// PURE PHASE ENSEMBLE 3 (2013)
+ Laetitia Sadier (Stereolab)
+ Ray Dickaty (ex-Spiritualized)
+ Małgorzata Penkalla (Enchanted Hunters)
+ Magdalena Gajdzica (Enchanted Hunters)
+ Joanna Bielawska (Asia i Koty)
+ Jarosław Marciszewski (Popsysze)
+ Jakub Świątek (Popsysze)
+ Sławek Draczyński (Popsysze)
+ Jakub Kozak (The Esthetics)
+ Karol Schwarz (KSAS)
// PURE PHASE ENSEMBLE 2 (2012)
+ Ray Dickaty (ex-Spiritualized)
+ Chris Olley (Six By Seven)
+ Steve Hewitt (ex Placebo)
+ Ola Rzepka (Drekoty)
+ Maciej Wojnicki (Mananasoko)
+ Artur Bieszke (Marla Cinger, KSAS)
+ Maciej Minikowicz (The Sunlit Earth)
+ Rafał Wojczal (Trupa Trupa)
+ Łukasz Piotrowski
// PURE PHASE ENSEMBLE 1 (2011)
+ Ray Dickaty (ex-Spiritualized)
+ Jaime Harding (Marion)
+ Karol Schwarz (KSAS)
+ Piotr Pawlak (Kury, Łoskot)
+ Borys Kossakowski (Towary Zastępcze)
+ Kamil Szuszkiewicz
+ Tomasz Gadecki (Olbrzym i Kurdupel)
+ Antoni Budziński (Klimt)
+ Tomasz Żukowski (Cocodraże)
+ Michał Goran Miegoń (Kiev Office)
+ Joanna Bielawska (Asia i Koty, Folder)
+ Artur Tobolski
DISCOGRAPHY:
2017 – Pure Phase Ensemble 6 (ft. Anton Newcombe) Live at SpaceFest! – Nasiono 91/2017
2016 – Pure Phase Ensemble 5 (ft. Hugo Race) Live at SpaceFest! – Nasiono 87/2016
2015 – Pure Phase Ensemble 1 (ft. Mark Gardener) Live at SpaceFest! – Nasiono 70/2014
2014 – Pure Phase Ensemble 1 (ft. Laetitia Sadier) Live at SpaceFest! – Nasiono 67/2014
2013 – Pure Phase Ensemble 1 (ft. Steve Hewitt & Chris Olley) Live at SpaceFest! – Nasiono 58/2013
2012 – Pure Phase Ensemble 1 (ft. Jaime Harding) Live at SpaceFest! – Nasiono 44/2012
Pure Phase Ensemble 1 feat. Jaime Harding – Darkest Sun
Pure Phase Ensemble 2 feat. Chris Olley & Steve Hewitt – Between Two Evils
Pure Phase Ensemble 3 feat. Laetitia Sadier – Song for Edda
Pure Phase Ensemble 4 feat. Mark Gardener – FULL CONCERT
Pure Phase Ensemble 5 feat. Hugo Race – Fly Through the Fire
www.facebook.com/purephaseensemble
http://spacefest.pl/
manager: Anna Szynwelska love@spacefest.pl
booking: booking@nasiono.net