Wacław Zimpel

Wacław Zimpel has risen to prominence as one of Poland’s most adventurous multi-instrumentalists, composers and producers following a long love affair with jazz yet equally inspired by electronics, minimalism and global roots – a prolific collaborator, Zimpel blurs extreme boundaries as far as to eradicate them altogether in tirelessly seeking new musical languages.  Based in Warsaw, born and raised in Poznań. His earliest musical memories are of his father playing the piano, taking up the violin at the age of six, then switched to the clarinet as a teenager, learning to play other woodwinds at the same time, graduating from the classical clarinet class at the Music Academy in Poznań. Riffing on his beloved rare alto clarinet, casting aside the classical dogma for a salvation in jazz and the burning desire to improvise led to a world-class mastery of other woodwinds including khaen (proto-harmonica from Laos). Expert manipulation of urban-ritual electronics and loops anchored to a human perspective and folk-trance tradition, Zimpel prioritises of depth and understanding whichever his chosen context. 2016’s critically acclaimed ‘Lines’ described by The Quietus as “a spectacular statement”, proved to be a landmark in his career due to his use of electronic instruments, which became his new fascination. Unsurprisingly, Zimpel has swapped jazz clubs for the world’s most important electronic music festivals and collaborations with artists such as James Holden, Shackleton.