Viper ITB

GENRE:  Songwriter, Mixer, Producer, Jazz-Pop, Funk, Rock, Hard Rock, Electro-Rock, Synthpop

INSTRUMENTS:  Bass Guitar, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, VSTi (Programming)

Lukasz Kowalczyk started playing guitar in 1992 and quickly realized he was not talented and hard-working enough to succeed, so he… switched to bass. He has played in various Polish bands ever since. In 2001, he tracked his first studio album with Nazaret band. He has gigged with Lisc, TAW, Parafraza, Patchwork, Jacek Berg, Sergiusz Fabian, Paulina Stolarczuk and other local acts. Playing other people’s music on bass was not enough, so in 2010, he decided to take his own songs from the shelf and start making original music. This proved to be easier said than done. Not knowing what a compressor was and believing that all EQs work the same, Lukasz had to discover the whole new world of music production and mixing. Luckily, the music production bug bit hard. In 2013, he returned to acoustic guitar and in 2016 to electric guitar. This resulted from mentioned laziness which only got stronger over the years; it was easier to track a guitar part than meticulously and realistically program it in the digital domain. Eventually, the solo project “Viper ITB” was born.

2015 brought the first debut LP, “Viper In The Box,” which includes songs written over the course of 15 years. He released “More Luck Than Sense” LP in 2016, on which Lukasz debuted as a singer and guitar player – due to lack of better people in the vicinity of the bedroom studio. Both are eclectic albums which cover all areas of interest, from funk and tongue-in-cheek musical experiments through jazz-pop to rock and electro, from bass oriented compositions and songs that are purely electronic productions. As Lukasz stopped listening to the radio with the dawn of the XXI century, the inevitable “old school” vibe covers everything with a thick layer of 80s dust. Most songs can and should be perceived as the work of an imaginary classic 4 piece band (drums, bass, guitar, keys) rather than a single man’s doing. The other distinctive feature is an obsession on the “travel” sensation – songs rarely end in the same place they start. They are journeys through a constantly changing sonic landscape and several musical genres can be merged into one composition.

Viper ITB loves to work with and for others. He has recorded, mixed and produced dozens of songs for Paulina Stolarczuk, various local hip-hop artists (including Endriu, Majcher, Ellov, Dudek), and local vocal groups. He collaborated with Bartek Piwowarczyk (produced and tracked a punk EP with him), Robert Rozpedowski (Fantasmagorian), electricpaul and Kyle Keever. Viper ITB is currently working on his third solo LP, playing bass and producing a new album of Parafraza, and supporting Paulina Stolarczuk live on guitar.

“Viper ITB brings fresh and intriguing genre-mashing sounds to Thinkroot Records. His style is an eclectic mix of funk, jazz, synthpop, hard rock, and even disco with his solid bass-lines acting as auditory glue. The result is ear-catching and stimulating. We are extremely pleased to welcome Lukasz Kowalczyk to our team.”

Kara Square, Founder/Artist of Thinkroot Records