Alan Rohan
PROJECT A
There are quite a few blues bands in Poland, which also garner acclaim abroad. They are currently experimenting a lot in the positive sense of the word. They are connected with either rock music or reggae and many others. Something similar is connected by the group ProjectA, which reaps considerable success not only in concerts. Let's introduce this group a little and get acquainted with their work.
Alan – Hi ProjectA. Who are you and when did the group start?
Robert Robin Zalesny - ProjectA is a combination of various musical personalities. The band was founded in 2017 on the initiative of Agnieszka Senk - one of the best harmonica players in Poland. Her sensitivity and many years of musical experience brought together a group of unique musicians, creating a band with an ambiguous style.
Alan – You are mainly classified in the blues genre. Well, for my part, after listening to your album, which I received from Jack radioSOK, I can't say that you are just a blues group. What do you connect in your work? Genres.
Robert Robin Zalesny - You're right! Our diverse musical roots create a kind of cocktail of sounds and emotions. we combine jazz with rock, we like psychedelic prog-rock vibes and blues!
Alan – The last album My Lord, how many albums in order? This record, this CD, is for me a connection of many genres. Blues, blues-pop, blues-rock, blues-reggae, swing-blues. The intention of recording such interconnected and complex music?
Robert Robin Zalesny - We create music that we feel, it is the result of our preferences. It arises spontaneously from the need of the heart. Especially since we do not impose any style framework on ourselves. We play what we feel together and although we listen to different music every day, as Projecta we are able to define our sound spontaneously and naturally. Life is good! This is our recording debut. It was created naturally and unhurriedly. Each of us, having many individual albums on our books, wanted to record ProjectA but without the need for time pressure.
Alan – In the beginning you were a group of a few members. Now you are a band that is really multi-member, and you even add other occasional players. So how many of you are in the group? And how many of you were at the show the most? At the concert?
Robert Robin Zalesny - Yes it's true! The basic line-up is a six-person band. The wind instruments that appeared in the studio made us eager to hear them as guests, we invite them to the stage. We play concerts in two different configurations depending on the festival and budget, of course (laughter)
Alan – The My Lord album stayed on the first rank in radioSOK for an exemplary long time. After a few weeks, he dropped to second place (laughs). How long did you stay at other radio stations? Thought not only in blues radios, but maybe in rock oriented radios?
Robert Robin Zalesny - Ou yes.
Alan – My Lord has been out for a while, recorded and released in 2023. Where did you go with the My Lord album everywhere in Poland and abroad?
Robert Robin Zalesny - So far, the album has been released only in Poland, but we hope that this will be the beginning of a wider possibility of presentation in Europe.
Alan – Just to be precise. What province are you from? And the whole group?
Robert Robin Zalesny - We are from Greater Poland (Poznań) and Lubuskie (Zielona Gora). Long distances, but it doesn't bother us! We love playing together
Alan – You have also made it to some pretty big prestigious festivals. Did you have that even before the release of the My Lord album? Or only with the My Lord album, did you start to position yourself and push to the fore?
Robert Robin Zalesny - Of course, we played a lot of shows before the album was released, but after it was released, things accelerated a lot. We are very happy about this because we love playing for people. Of course, every new proposal for a concert presentation is very welcome.
Alan – I'll lighten the questions up a bit. Do you know someone from the Czech Republic or Slovakia from the blues scene? Luboš Andršt, Zva, ......?
Robert Robin Zalesny - We had the opportunity to play together with František Javůrek from the bands: Boogieman, Bluesbadger.
Alan – I hope that at least in the summer we will meet at the festival organized by Jacek. Thanks for the interview, good luck, and may the group grow into a musical ensemble.
Robert Robin Zalesny - We thank you very much! Greetings to all blues fans and others in the Czech Republic and see you at the concerts!
