Though his discography stretches back to 2002, La Ciutat Ets Tu is the first solo album from Poland-born Torontonian Tomasz Krakowiak, a musician whose work as a percussionist takes place almost in disguise. This is due not to any obscuration of Krakowiak's identity, but instead the extent to which much of this disc disavows most remnants of sound even reminiscent of it's percussive origins. Through liberal processing Krakowiak erases much evidence of his instruments' typical output, and while there are some telltale sonorities to indicate a track's ingredients, even with the knowledge of the album's general instrumentation, identifying particular sound sources can be a challenge.
Each of La Ciutat Ets Tu's tracks tends to showcase a particular sound or method, with little in the way of shifts in dynamics and/or timbre. While the sounds themselves may not be, Karkowiak's style is rather minimalist, and most tracks don't feature much in the way of dramatic shifts in sound or climate. The disc is diverse, however, from the muffled scratch and scrape of "O_Vbrdb" to the incessantly rattling ring of "Drhacze," with touchpoints many places in between. The buzz saw tone of "Aigua Per A" might have a hard-edged veneer, but Krakowiak doesn't force things into the red, and La Ciutat Ets Tu is palpably clinical, a collection of pieces crafted by a musician well in control of his sound, with little room for spontaneity or surprises. This almost scientific approach doesn't birth an album void of appeal, but some tracks aren't up to the challenge of sustained self-support, and, with most topping the five-minute mark, some occasional twists and turns might be a welcome addition.
Both Krakowiak's reimagining of percussion's sonic potential and the variety of sounds that he elicits from his instruments are impressive. In his hands, the simple striking of wood on metal can be recast in numerous ways, but while there may be no telling what sound he'll create from one track to the next, once the listener has settled into a piece, there's never much question where it will lead. Perhaps this is a partial explanation of why Krakowaik's discography is heavy on collaborations, as a dance partner could both lend an accompaniment to and elicit reaction from the percussionist. This isn't to say that Krakowiak needs help to make his music thrive, for La Ciutat Ets Tu has its share of vibrant sounds, yet another voice, whether provided by Krakowiak or another, might have been just what (at least in some places) this album needed.
