Paula & Karol

If you don't know much about the band, Paula & Karol may seem like a
Canadian girl and a Polish guy who got together to write a few happy
folk pop songs on a few folky instruments.

But the real Paula & Karol are not just a duo but a large family of
Warsaw-based musicians who, for the past two years, have been
capturing the hearts of young and old alike, across Poland and abroad.
The Guardian listed them in their "sound of 2011 around the world",
stating that "They are Poland's new superheroes. Not the tight pants,
fluttering cape kind. More like, come to our concert - we'll break
your heart, and then we'll fix it up kind."

After the release of their EP Goodnight Warsaw in December of 2009,
and their first studio album Overshare on Poland's top alternative
label LADO ABC in December of 2010, the band gained rave reviews by
local media, bloggers, and Polish fans, gaining accalades as
"discovery of the year," and the "the most interesting and important
debut bands in alternative Polish music." One blogger, commenting on
their live act, stated: "I've just seen one of the most enjoyable
concerts in my life, and perhaps the new torchbearers of the Polish
music scene."

By singing in English, and writing songs filled with catchy melodies
and lyrics that prioritize honesty, community, and love over hype and
postmodern blase, the band has been touching listeners that cross a
range of generations and nationalities. In the past year, Polish
cultural organizations picked up on their gift for reaching wide
audiences and sent them to represent modern Polish alternative culture
at festivals in Iceland, Germany, Holland, the Ukraine, France, the
UK, and the United States.

Today, Paula Bialski and Karol Strzemieczny play and create music with
Christoph Thun and Staszek Wróbel on percussion, Krzysiek Pożarowski
on bass, and Szymon Najder on electric guitar. The band is currently
planning their second album and touring Poland and Germany. All of
them would agree that an honest discussion over dinner is as important
as making music together.