1998-2023 - 25 Years of Poetry, Music, and Noise.

In 1998 I started recording first cassettes. It was just teenage improvised noise. I used a classical guitar, Casio MA-120 organ, and Luna 2 bass guitar. I was also writing some poetry in Polish, but not very good, and all the notebooks I kept got trashed in 2002 or so. I searched for the tapes recently though, as I figured out listening to them after 25 years might be quite an experience, but it turned out I lost the tapes too. Oh well, probably just teenage improvised noise with no other value than sentimental whatsoever.

In 2000, my Mother took me to Berlin. I stayed at Johann Gottlob von Wrochem’s house. Mr. Wrochem was a German pianist and composer and he had a huge library. And so, inspired by all of his books, I started writing my first song lyrics. The first song I ever wrote, back in August 2000, was “Child of God” inspired by Soundgarden and Black Sabbath.

In 2002 I met Mateusz Nowicki, who played bass guitar, organ, and sang a bit. We started a band in the Górczyn high rise, and that's when my adventure with conscious music creation began - writing lyrics, guitar riffs, vocal melodies, solos. I was 17. We also played covers of Hawkwind, Black Sabbath, UFO, Amon Duul II, Pink Floyd. We wanted to be a psychedelic-heavy-metal creation from Górczyn.

In 2004 I started my noise/ambient/drone project Die Rote Erde, which was a continuation of my original 1998 path, not a progress from the songwriting rock'n'roll days with Mateusz. You can listen to Die Rote Erde at http://dieroteerde.bandcamp.com. I still have the first 2004 CD-R, but as of now, it's unavailable on the www.

In 2005 I started writing songs again, inspired by Lou Reed, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, and Syd Barrett. Syd and Lou were my favorites ever since I started recording cassettes in 1998, having heard "Live MCMXCIII" by the Velvet Underground and the first Pink Floyd LP in that year. I recorded some of my songs on CD-Rs and distributed them among my friends, but in 2007 the adventure was more or less over, after I discovered arranger keyboards, and started drifting dangerously in a Wesley Willis-oriented direction.

In 2008, I have published my first poetry chapbook under the pen name A.J. Kaufmann. It was called "Siva in Rags", and this is what the publisher had to say about it back then: "Like a poetic love child of Gregory Corso and Patti Smith, a child who was left to grow up in Western Poland and is only now checking out the larger world looking to reconnect with his parents, Polish beat-poet A. J. KAUFMANN has broken onto the international poetry scene in the last year, appearing in many of the best online literary journals and also starting his own kick-ass online journal, EVISCERATOR HEAVEN. An experimentalist in the best sense of that word (someone who experiments with form, looking for a new form for each work, not someone who is incoherent for incoherence’s sake), Kaufmann has taken the inspiration of Burroughs, Corso, Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Richard Hell, etc. and used these authors as a springboard to blast him into his own poetic stratosphere, one that’s fresh and original and alive on the page. What a refreshing change of pace to find someone who is pursuing new paths in the visionary tradition of the Beats."

In 2009-2011, I've been busy recording my debut studio album, "Second Hand Man", released under the A.J. Kaufmann pseudonym. 2009-2010 were demo times, and 2010-2011 the proper album recordings in Andrzej Mikołajczak's (RIP my Friend) home studio A.Mix. The album was released on October 1 2011 on vinyl and CD. It is still available on Discogs.

In 2012-2014, I've been busy recording my second album, "Stoned Gypsy Wanderer", also released under the A.J. Kaufmann pseudonym. The album was released on October 17 2014 on CD-R, and reissued on vinyl with Ramble Records on August 2 2021. It is available worldwide on vinyl as I write this.

In 2015-2019, I've been busy home-recording. There were not many official releases during these years. I remember releasing "Escape from Hekate" (as Adam Jan) for Gerpfast Kolektif Indonesia (on limited cassette) in 2017, playing live with Sweter Band on Statek Kultury (a boat of culture in the middle of the Oder river)... recording lots of home demos and writing new songs. in 2019, my third physical album, "Hippie", was released with the Italian label TIBProd. Italy. The CD is currently unavailable, but you can easily grab the album in digital/streaming formats, and it has also been posted to YouTube by Psychedelic Angel. Also in 2019, I undertook the ambitious "Astrea" sessions project, and 2 albums from the sessions have been released in later years.

In 2020-2022, I've been focusing on experimental, improvised, electronic, and electroacoustic music. But, I did not forget about psychedelic music, punk, and noise rock. I've been releasing both experimental electroacoustic albums (see http://adammajdeckijanicki.bandcamp.com), and psych rock and folk and poetry and punk (see http://ajkaufmann.bandcamp.com). In 2021 I got signed by The Swamp Records (USA), delivering the best in heavy underground, ran by the amazing Fuzzy Cracklins. I also released "Eimi", praised by Maurizio Bianchi himself. 2020-2022 were definitely the best years of my life so far.

So, looking forward to 2023 - I already have a new album confirmed with Muteant Sounds Netlabel for April 21 2023, and am also discussing an album with my old friend ("Eimi") Nicolas Tourney. I am also looking forward to working with another new (for me) label. Happy New Year 2023, and thank you for flying with me.