Izzy and The Black Trees are a force to be recon with. Ferocious in sound, socially conscious in their message and absolutely spellbinding on stage, the group is the best rock and roll band to come out of Poland since Myslovitz and Behemoth. The quartet just released their newest single “F-16” and are on their way to rock ESNS like a hurricane. We sat down with vocalist Izabela “Izzy” Rekowska to speak about new music, going to Eurosonic and their plans for 2024. It’s gonna be loud kids!
Izzy and The Black Trees photo by Łukasz Łukasiewicz
Last time we saw you, it was during your UK tour in April last year. How have you been?
Iza Rekowska: Yes! We were playing at Liverpool Sound City and in London at The Shacklewell Arms which was really cool! Since then, we have had a very busy summer playing big festivals in Poland such as Mystic Festival, Jarocin and OFF Festival in Katowice, which definitely was one to tick off from our bucket list. Playing the very same main stage which hosted so many great bands and artists such as Iggy Pop or PJ Harvey was quite a thrill. Then, we had a more chilled autumn to gather forces to kick off again in 2024!
Your new single „F-16” came out on 11th of January 2024. Please tell us more about it. We have a feeling you have not recorded this track to praise the aerodynamic shape of this supersonic multirole fighter aircraft.
Iza Rekowska: Haha! I guess you got it right, none of us is a licensed pilot or a fan of aircraft as far as I know. “F-16” was written and recorded a while back, I think still during the pandemic so it has this kinda anxious feel to it. Back then, I was watching many movies and Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” really got stuck in my head. Plus, there was a constant hum of jet planes flying over our apartment. So, you get the story. The song was recorded with our producer Marcin Bors at his home studio in the mountains. Marcin also produced our second album “Revolution Comes In Waves”. We really loved working on that album as well as on “F-16” and our previous single, “Shutdown City”.
F-16 single cover by Sylwia Markieta
The song also debuted on American airwaves at the legendary KEXP, presented by their most famous DJ’s – Kevin Cole himself. Why did you decide to let the American audience hear it first, even before Polish listeners?
Iza Rekowska: Actually, this wasn’t planned and came out rather spontaneously. We sent an invitation e-mail to Kevin to come to see us play in Groningen at ESNS in January. He wrote back just in time before the release of “F-16”. He loved our music and was happy to spin our tunes at KEXP including the new track and so it happened that “F-16” got first airplay in Seattle. Which is really great!
Next week, you are travelling to Groningen for ESNS (Eurosonic) as part of the Focus on Poland initiative. How do you feel being included in such an esteemed ensemble?
Iza Rekowska: Yeah, we feel really great. We are honoured to be a part of the Focus on Poland initiative happening for the very first time. There are 12 artists performing from Poland and I can tell you that musically, it is a very strong, eclectic group. We have DJ Natalia Zamilska whose industrial techno live sets are something to look forward to. There is a jazzy ensemble Klawo, improv dark noise Ciśnienie, art pop Artificialice, psychedelic doom from Moonstone. You can see that Poland has lots to offer and Polish artists are covering a wide range of music genres.
If somebody would like to catch you playing live at ESNS, what venue and what time are you on?
Iza Rekowska: We play at the legendary venue VERA Thursday the 18th at 9:30pm. You can also catch us playing a short set at Plato record store on Friday at 1:40pm.
One swallow doesn’t make a spring just like one „F-16” doesn’t make an album, but do you have any plans for a long new play? Please say you do.
Iza Rekowska: We indeed have new release plans but it won’t be a full album. It will be an EP with 4 new songs. You already heard “Shutdown City” and “F-16 so two more swallows to go! The EP is planned to come out in spring 2024…no pun intended!
In the last a year and a half, Izzy and The Black Trees accomplished more than other bands playing for decades. Your album “Revolution Comes in Waves” was named an album of the year by Polish press, you played some of the biggest festivals in Poland and abroad, you were chosen for Key Change program, received airplay from BBC 6 Music, Radio X and you were also featured in NME! Have you ever expected such a fantastic response for your music?
Iza Rekowska: It is indeed something to be very proud of and be grateful for! The album got great reviews and airplay which helped to reach new fans. I still feel that there is a lot in front of us, especially when it comes to reaching international audiences, playing more festivals and gigs outside our home country. Let’s see what the future brings!
What’s next for 2024? Share some of your (secret) plans with us.
Iza Rekowska: The release of our EP is definitely in plans for 2024 and we should get into the studio to record new stuff for our third album. Gigwise, we start to plan some shows around the EP release – we already have a date for the Warsaw show which is 23.03. There should be more concerts announced as we go along so keep your eyes open wide!
Our 5 star review for “Revolution Comes in Waves”:
https://vanadianavenue.co.uk/2022/11/25/izzy-and-the-black-trees-revolution-comes-in-waves-album-review/
Please follow the band online:
https://www.instagram.com/izzyandtheblacktrees/
https://www.facebook.com/IzzyandtheBlackTrees
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4ovgRYo5Ud9pCee7LoD2B3
https://izzyandtheblacktrees.bandcamp.com/
https://soundcloud.com/izzyandtheblacktrees
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNWta_37hGIGSdLo-zimgww
More information:
https://esns.nl/en/festival/artists/izzy-and-the-black-trees/
https://www.clashmusic.com/live/esns-2024-76-new-names-added/
https://readdork.com/news/esns-first-acts-24/
Rita & Malicia Dabrowicz
Indieterria 
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