Kapela Diabubu performs a wide repertoire of traditional melodies, including mazurkas, obereks, kujawiaks, kujony, kujawiony, polkas, tangos, foxtrots, and Jewish tunes. They play this music in a way that feels alive and immediate, effortlessly filling bodies with dance energy. The band see themselves more as advocates than performers: “We really like this music – it is rich in content, yet economical in form, one might say, elegant.”
At first, the group explored music from various regions, but soon turned to the traditions closest to them: Łowicz-Łęczyca – the home of their grandmothers, and Łódź.
In 2018, while on an artistic scholarship from the Mayor of Łódź, Bartosz Puliński created the project Melodie Miasta Łodzi (Melodies of Łódź city), reaching out to the last bearers of the city’s traditional urban folklore.
Both musicians soon tested their skills on the streets of Łódź, playing dance music, especially at Pograjka Łódzka events. At one of these parties, they were joined by Jakub Korona – and thus Kapela Diabubu was born. Since then, they have been playing together and winning the hearts of mazurka, oberek, and kujawiak enthusiasts at events such as Song of Our Roots Festival in Jarosław, All the Mazurkas of the world Festival in Warsaw, Embassy of Traditional Music. (initiated by Warsaw House of Music), Skamba Skamba Kankliai in Vilnius, and even at the legendary Piwnica pod Baranami in Kraków.
To this day, their most important source of inspiration remains the direct teachings of rural masters, such as accordionistd Sławomir Czekalski and fiddler Jan Szymański.
They also build their repertoire on a wealth of archival sources: home recordings from Łowicz and Rawa (1985–2000) made by Andrzej Bąk, collections of the Łódź Museum of Ethnography, Polish Radio publications, the archives of the Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and various materials available online.
Line-up
- Bartosz Puliński – three-row diatonic button accordion
- Jakub Stefanowicz – fiddle
- Jakub Korona – baraban (drum)
Photo: Katarzyna Korona
