A big thanks to the Polish Cultural Institute in London for supporting and funding my album launch concert at Club Ognisko on 11th Nov 2015 🙂
link to page here http://www.polishculture.org.uk/katycarr-polonia
Katy Carr releases her brand new album Polonia
Fifth album of the British/Polish performer, singer, songwriter, aviator and multi-instrumentalist.
Katy Carr Polonia
Deluce Recordings
Release date: 6 November 2015
Buy online
Concept album of the Year (Katy Carr’s Paszport 2012), – The Guardian
Carr is a fine example of that much-maligned beast we call Authenticity…never less than immaculate. – Sunday Times Culture Magazine
Polonia, the title of the inspirational new album from Katy Carr, is the Latin name for Poland and this is the realm the artist is celebrating in her music and song. As Katy Carr explains, ‘A strong brave, sovereignty proud of her freedom fighters and warriors who march to bring justice and peace to troubled times. Part of Katy Carr’s intention in making Polonia is to promote the longstanding, deep friendship between Britain and Poland, one threatened by present political and social prejudices. In a broader sense Polonia is a response to hate crimes endured by so many immigrants.
The record’s subject-matter employs a large cast. This includes: Charlie Chaplin and the actress Pola Negri; the legendary Polish female spy Krystyna Skarbek, who inspired Ian Fleming’s Bond girl Vesper Lynd; the British composer Sir Edward Elgar; the first mathema-ticians (Polish) who deciphered Enigma in 1938 and Polish 1st Armoured Division General Maczek who was reduced to ‘Barman Stan’ in Edinburgh post WWII.
Polonia takes its title from Sir Edward Elgar’s gesture of devotion and loyalty to his close friend the fellow composer, and later president of Poland, Ignacy Paderewski GBE. Elgar wrote his Polonia piece in 1915, precisely 100 years ago this year, to benefit the Polish Vic-tims Relief Fund: in 1915 Poland had been erased from the map of Europe, a conse-quence of having been partitioned 120 years previously between her neighbours Russia, Germany and Austria. At the end of World War I Poles were granted their country back.
The stories used to inspire Katy’s songs come from notable moments in Polish history and life – aspects of culture, military and intelligence exploits and incidents, intellectual invention, and science, as well as the loyalty and bravery that were the character traits required to carry them out.