Anna Nacher, Marek Styczyński

First vinyl edition of eco-acoustic psych ritual from Poland’s Magic Carpathians Project, conjuring a spectral symbiosis of birdcall, field recording, zither, and reed instrumentation. Lush and eerily meditative; a biophonic document of a vanishing soundscape.

Infinite Expanse turns its ear to the Polish underground, plucking out Barycz – a mesmerising, immersive suite from Anna Nacher & Marek Styczyński (Magic Carpathians Project), captured in the wetlands and fishponds of Poland’s Barycz Valley – a biodiversity hotspot shaped by centuries of human-nature symbiosis. Originally released on CD in 2004, it now re-emerges in its most embodied form, shaped around the valley’s own rhythms and voices.

Splicing raw field recordings of around 35 animal species with acoustic drones, reeds, and distant modular flickers, Barycz occupies a deeply uncategorisable zone between fourth world ritual, eco-acoustic composition, and post-human ambient. Birdsong, amphibian croak and insect chatter are left untouched, arranged with uncanny sensitivity into a sound world where non-human voices lead and human elements follow.

Sitting somewhere between the ecological mysticism of Félicia Atkinson, the submerged intimacy of Grouper, and the acoustic ecology of Hildegard Westerkamp, Barycz also resonates with the Eastern European folk mysticism of acts like Księżyc and Osjan – where voice, landscape, and lore dissolve into dream.

Quiet, glowing, and subtly haunted by recent ecological distress in the region, this is a sonic refuge as much as an album – and one that asks you to meet it on its own shimmering, feathered terms.
crédits
paru le 20 juin 2025

Performers:

- Birds, mammals, amphibians, fish and insects from the Barycz Valley and its surroundings
- Anna Nacher: voice, 12-string guitar, kalimba
- Marek Styczyński: pastoral meditation recorders, saxophone, clarinet, lu-sheng bamboo organ, cymbals, wooden gongs, thunder tube

Other participants on the recording:

- Tomasz Radziuk - fretless acoustic bass guitar
- Maciej Maciejewski - prepared electric guitar
- Field recordings of wild animal species: Zdzisław Pałczyński

Artwork by Joanna Żyłowska
Design & layout by Lily Stroud
Vinyl mastering by Mikey Young
Produced by Anna Nacher & Tom Gibbs

Album recorded in 2003 as a benefit for the Lower Silesian Eco-development Foundation and released originally on CD in 2004.