Florek, Zbyszek and Emila Derkowska (Quidam) (July 2002)

Spending Time Beneath The Sky With Poland's Quidam

Beautiful and artistic cover, great songs, impeccable musicianship ... the third album of Polish phenomenon Quidam had it all, so it was almost automatic to contact this young and promising band and ask them something more about their music. We reached Zbyszek Florek and nice-looking singer Emila Derkowska amidst holidays and hot weather to know more...

Igor Italiani: Hi Zbyszek and Emila ... first of all let me tell you that I've found your latest album Pod Niebem Czas (The Time Beneath The Sky) extremely well done ... are you satisfied yourself with the final results?

Zbyszek Florek: Yes, I'm very satisfied with the work we have done. I really think that this is our best album so far, and we hope that it can help gather a lot more interest around our band.

Emila Derkowska: Me, too. I think that this is the really first time I showed everyone what I can do. We had a lot of time to record, so this gave me the possibility to do everything right, without any rush...

II: OK, so let's make a step back to the beginning of the band ... can you tell the audience from where derives the name Quidam?

ZF: The word Quidam derives from the Latin language, and it means "some human being." However, this is also the title of a poem by Polish poet C.K. Norwid. Quidam, according to Norwid himself, was just a person who was searching for goodness and truth, and he tried to find its place on Earth.

II: Now we return to the present ... with The Time Beneath The Sky you chose to sing the songs almost completely in Polish. I really applaud your choice of staying somewhat true to your roots, but why did you decide to not play more of the songs in English, or release a double version of the album like you did with Sny Aniolow (out also as Angel's Dreams)?

ZF: You know, we chose to sing in Polish because 90% of our foreign fans want to listen Quidam in our own language. Well, this could sound very strange at first, but we found out that it was a reality just after the release of our second album, which was released in both English and Polish. A lot of people preferred to buy the Polish version anyway, so we decided to put only the translation in the booklet for The Time Beneath The Sky.

II: I've read that you are fixing up a tour of Western Europe to support the new album. Is there something already set up or not?

ZF: Mmh, not yet. I think that we will play in Holland, Belgium and France. Maybe in Germany and Spain, too, but I don't know dates and places yet. Our manager is still working on them.

II: Another thing I've read is that you were invited to perform at the Rio Art Rock Festival in Brazil, which will take place in November. What's your feeling about this guest appearance, considering that you already played in Mexico?

ZF: We're very happy that we will play in Brazil. There will be three concerts, and one of them will be the Rio festival. It's clearly a great experience for a band like ours to play in front of such a new and unknown audience. Nonetheless, I hope that they will like our music like the European fans do. :-)

II: Talking about the Mexico show (BajaProg 1999), you recorded it for your first live album ... do you view it as the end of the first chapter of your career, or is it something else for you?

ZF: Well, I can say something like that: "Everything has its own time beneath the sky" ... yes, I think that the live album was like a sort of recap of the first few years of our musical activity. Our music is constantly ours, it's always Quidam, even if maybe now it's a little different from the past albums. The music comes from our souls, always!

II: Talking about The Time Beneath The Sky, one of the album's strengths is the clear and evocative sound that comes out of the speakers. What secrets did you employ in the studio to be able to obtain such a high level recording?

ZF: Wow, it took so much time to have these satisfying results. This was the first time that we recorded the album on our own, in our studio. We certainly didn't want to rush the thing. We could make all things, like recording, mixing, production, mastering, so long as it was necessary to have it down like we wanted. But it was also very important to have grown from an experience standpoint, as we picked up some secrets from the first recording sessions of our first album until now.

II: The songs mix a lot of different elements together. Can you tell me if they were written in the same period or if they reflect various aspects of the band (or of the single musicians)?

ZF: The material comprised on The Time Beneath The Sky was written [over a period of] three years. During this period, it is obvious that something may have changed in our heads, so this is the reason why some pieces look a bit different from others. Another thing is that we met with Colin Bass, and his music really touched our hearts, probably influencing also the music.

II: I'm a bit curious to know what is the situation of prog rock (but also of music in general) in Poland, as your country doesn't make a lot of headlines in Italy. Can you tell me something more about the sonic universe you live in?

ZF: Truly said, it's very commercial and sometimes ugly universe ... And there is lot of strange, "dark music holes" on it. But I think that this situation is not only in our country. Actually now, we are the only one progressive band in Poland. There are a few young bands, who are just starting, but they don't have any records yet.... [There is Satellite, however; a band formed by members and ex-members of Collage -ed.]

II: Quidam is a young ensemble, but you've already played a lot around the world. So is there a place where you would like to return to more than others, and some place you want to visit badly for the first time?

ZF: The place we always want to go back to, with great pleasure, is Holland.

ED: For me the greatest place to play is Poland! I love our public! But of course we play with pleasure in other countries, too. Yes, Holland is very good too, and Belgium, France ... I didn't like too much our concert in Bonn. There was some kind of "standing" and stiff public, so it wasn't the best gig for me.

II: Can you name three bands that inspired you in the beginning?

ZF: I can say that only for myself. They were (and still are) Camel, Pink Floyd, King Crimson.

II: Before the end I would like to ask to Emila if she ever took vocal lessons, because she possesses a very beautiful voice...

ED: I try to sing as often as possible ... I think this is the best lesson. I try to listen to others vocalists as well (for example, Paula Cole!).

II: Well, I think I've asked you enough. There's something else you would like to add before saying goodbye?

ZF: I want to invite everybody that's out there to listen to our album and welcome them to our concerts.

ED: I wish you good luck and to have a beautiful life.

II: Wow, cool. Thank you very much. The only thing that's left for me to say is that I really hope to see you here in Italy soon enough. Bye and keep up the great work.

ZF: Bye Igor, thank you very much for the interview.

ED: Thank you, too, and good bye.

Discography:
Quidam (1996)
Moje Anioly (1998)
Sny Aniolow (1998)
Live In Mexico '99 (1999)
The Time Beneath The Sky (2002)
SurREvival (2005)
Halfplugged (2006)
Alone Together (2007)
Saiko (2012)

The Fifth Season (DVD) (2006)
Strong Together Live (2010)