Ireneusz Socha

Kirkut–Koncept was a music group I established in 1985. The band was part of Dębica’s independent art scene of the time. In the six years of its existence, the band released 9 tapes and despite the limited number of concerts, it was considered by critics to be one of the most innovative Polish indie rock groups of the 1980s. The band’s name is a reference to the Polish name for Jewish cemetery (kirkut), one of which was located near my apartment block. The site of the cemetery was a starting point for my reflections on work, identity, faith, culture, memory and Polish-Jewish relations. I formulated my band’s philosophy through conceptual means, referencing a particular kind of a palimpsest: the interpenetrating layers of culture, periods, styles, languages and fashions. I started composing in the last years of existence of Communist Poland, at a time of geographical and cultural isolation, general apathy, greyness and disintegration of old social structures.

I studied music by listening to radio-broadcast compositions as well as records and tapes. Everything fascinated me: radio dramas, rock, jazz, classical, folk, experimental and avant-garde music. Kirkut-Koncept’s music was diverse both in form and style: rock-like expression and motorics met Dada-style cabaret, singer-songwriter ballads with noise, experiment with clichés and musical jokes with rituals – we would move from songlike compositions and naïve melodies through multi-movement instrumental compositions all the way to group improvisations. 

The group’s most important concert tours were “Piknik na kirkucie” (Picnic at the Jewish cemetery, 1987–1988) and “Kamień na kamieniu” (Stone on Stone, 1988–1989). Kirkut-Koncept’s last concert was held in Lublin on May 16, 1989.