BRAND NEW SINGLE OUT TODAY! - "Ramzes Metamorfozis".

Music Review

"Stoned Gypsy Wanderer (2014) – 14 songs on Vinyl LP. This LP captures time. Bard’s Woman in the Cool of the Summer Breeze (2023) – 10 songs on Vinyl LP. It’s fun to see the maturity and development of AJ’s music over nine years. A music review of 14 songs in the year 2014 and 10 songs from 2023. Kaufmann is a folk troubadour, minstrel and a harbinger of new sounds and thought. There is a theme that runs through this body of work, a method to his madness. All of these songs are a journey. So take the trip and give a listen. Nobody knows it but AJ Kaufmann is a national treasure of Poland."

by David Bixby, Harbinger Magazine

10 years after "Stoned Gypsy Wanderer" I have started working on a new album, set for release on The Swamp Records in December 2024.

This is the first single from the new release.

https://ajkaufmann.bandcamp.com/

https://theswamprecords.bandcamp.com/

https://theswamprecords.bandcamp.com/the-swamp-krewe

More sounds considered for the new album over at my YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@ajkaufmannpoland

"Ramzes Metamorfozis"

Words and Music by Adam Majdecki-Janicki, April 2024.

Artwork by TheoEust, 2024.

released April 11, 2024

A.J. Kaufmann - voice, acoustic guitar, FX, recording.

News - NEW ALBUM in the works as of April 2 2024.

The Strange World of A.J. Kaufmann · "Praise The Primitive Flower"

So, here are the 2024 sessions. I'm recording everything I can, as often as I can. Hopefully, the best fragments of these sessions will surface on a brand new A.J. Kaufmann album for The Swamp Records. I think it's gonna be released in December. The "Primitive Flower" jam above is like a punk rock take on raga. It's an "accident at work", meaning more tracks like this probably won't be made. I recorded my Gibson SG '61 through a chorus effect pedal, bass guitar with some 80s flair, and percussion. There are also some tape noises in the background. This is not a "new direction", a "spiritual journey", or "third eye awakening". It's just a fun jam session recorded to clear my mind in the morning.

What else have I been working on? Well, experimenting a lot to be honest. Trying out new synths, new VST, new instruments. New approaches to sound and noise and music.

In my work I have always tried out new ideas, but in the flood of new music widely available, some of it really new and out there, I figured out those new ideas aren't "futurist" or "ground-breaking". This is retrofuturism. A direction that, together with fluxus and krautrock has shaped my art.

Try out this new improvisation below for a taste of brand new, you're retro.

The Strange World of A.J. Kaufmann · "Mello - Mirage"

What's really amazing about music though, is its endless flow and presence. There is music everywhere. I find it in the most crazy places. Who cares about genre, if there's so much beautiful music to feel, find, and record? Even a simple piano/synth improv can carry beauty.

The Strange World of A.J. Kaufmann · "Raumklavier"

As of April 2024 I am not sure of what will be on the new album - which new tracks, how many of them, in which order. Also, not sure about the title and the cover art. But, it's the creative process that matters most. And I am right in the middle of it, figuring out new ways and paths to surprise and awaken the listener.

I hope you're looking forward to my new album.

From "Use Your Brain" - new poem series 2024 (English / Polish) 2

Into the firewater pit, secluded

tired of visions, high on music

still catching up with the hummingbird

there are voices on the highway

drifting with the rising spirit of error

excluded, tortured by the free morning dawn

out of the firewater pit

and into the scarab pan

Egypt must have been a hit

drawn

higher

the pyramid lord, the eye of Ra

such sculptures could not exist in your brain

dancing on LSD cubes, torrent, near the vibration

of pre-eternal sand

there are voices in the chamber

echo one, echo two

we press the record button

and try not to mess up

everything, us, the planet again

we are naked

stirred at dawn of excitement

***

Do studni z wodą ogniową, w odosobnieniu

zmęczony wizjami, naćpany muzyką

wciąż gonię kolibra

na autostradzie słychać głosy

dryfujące wraz z rosnącym duchem błędu

wykluczeni, torturowani wolnym porannym świtem

ze zbiornika wody ogniowej

i na patelnię ze skarabeuszem

Egipt musiał być hitem

pociągnięty

wyższy

władca piramidy, oko Ra

takie rzeźby nie mogłyby istnieć w twoim mózgu

taniec na kostkach LSD, torrent, blisko wibracji

z przedwiecznego piasku

w izbie słychać głosy

powtórz raz, powtórz dwa

wciskamy przycisk nagrywania

i staramy się nie zepsuć

wszystkiego, nas, planety ponownie

jesteśmy nadzy

poruszeni o świcie podniecenia

From "Use Your Brain" - new poem series 2024 (English / Polish)

Arrows of sun pinpoint the car

it drives on thru the desert

in the desert there are cacti

I will feed on them in the morning

sweetness of my favorite nectar

dense like meat

spoon head

military kiddo

Arrows of his gun pinpoint the wanderer
he is now shadows

the arrow, nuclear in essence, leaves

a mess of broken suburbs

behind

dense like meat

knife girl

dancing in the shallows of my brain.

***

Strzały słońca wskazują samochód

jedzie dalej przez pustynię

na pustyni są kaktusy

pożywię się nimi rano

słodycz mojego ulubionego nektaru

gęstego jak mięso

główka łyżki

wojskowy dzieciak

Strzały z jego pistoletu wskazują wędrowca

jest teraz cieniem

strzała, w istocie nuklearna, opuszcza

bałagan zrujnowanych przedmieść

gęsta jak mięso

dziewczyna z nożem

tańczy w płytkich obszarach mojego mózgu.

"Pluto" - song lyrics.

Neon glow paints the Pluto night
Elephantine mama, a cosmic sight
Forget the savannah, the jungle's heat
This mama's birthing on a frozen street

No rumbling calf, no leathery hide
But a symphony trapped trembling inside
A million wings, tucked in her womb
Sparrows dreaming of a different moon

Ice shatters, a feathery peep
Tiny beaks crack the frosty sleep
She snorts jazz, a lullaby cool
As the sparrow army plays hopscotch on her wrinkled tool

No trumpeting fanfare, just the wind's moan
A million heartbeats, a symphony unknown
Cosmos winks, a starry display
For the mama birthing in a cosmic ballet

Forget the herd, the stampede's loud thunder
This mama's got a million chicks to wonder
Pluto nights, bathed in pale blues
Elephants and sparrows, singin' the cosmic news

The Swamp Records - news, and plans for 2024.

On December 3 2021 I joined The Swamp Records from the USA. Fuzzy Cracklins does really a lot to promote heavy underground music and culture, so it is an honor for me to be able to work with his label. I am glad to say that on a nice label like this, there is absolute artistic freedom and good vibes all around which allow an artist to work proficiently and easily with completing and promoting the music. The Swamp Records is mostly home for heavy sounds, like doom and stoner, and psychedelic metal, but the label is not a limited one, and lots of fascinating bands and projects are on it! My favorite band from Fuzzy's label is certainly CIA Hippie Mind Control, which you can check out at http://ciahippiemindcontrol.bandcamp.com/. You can visit The Swamp Records at bandcamp, join The Swamp Krewe for all the subscription benefits, and check out Fuzzy's blog at http://www.fuzzycracklins.com/ 

2024 already started with a bang, with the re-release of "Your Existence is Revolt", and "Niedobitki". "Your Existence is Revolt" has been originally released at the TIBProd. Italy label, and "Niedobitki" on the German Aumega Project netlabel. Those are classic Kaufmann albums, containing everything you love me (or hate me) for. But those are songs of the past - anyway, I figured out they deserve a re-release on The Swamp Records, because they vanished in the netlabel fog when originally released and not many people were aware of the albums' existence.

In March, I'd love to release TRANSFER, the second (or third, if you count the Saure Adler vinyl LP) collaborative album between me and Heike Wunderlicht.

For "Transfer", like for "Tempelhof Gardens" (The Swamp Records, 2023), we shared instrumental duties, exchanged instruments, used "studio as instrument" in the spirit of Can, and decided to melt everything in an electronic krautrock sound that was both foreign and familiar.

In April, following the collaborative spirit, my 2nd collaborative album with Ralf "Gypsy" Bevis will be released. Titled "Krautrock Hacked", I figured out April Fools' Day would be the perfect release date for this one. Ralf Bevis is the founder of Rodent Tapes, a UK cassette label started back in the days of early underground cassette culture. He releases music under Gypsy, Arzathon and other names as well as music in collaboration with others on his other labels.

In May and June, the remaining volumes of "Pink Elephant Music" series of albums will be released (Vol.12 and Vol.13). As of February eleven volumes are already released. PINK ELEPHANT MUSIC is a mix of improvised music, psychedelic music, krautrock, and Polish punk. I had this kind of music playing inside me at least since 1998 and it first materialized in 2002 in the Górczyn high rise when I started jamming the summers away with Mateusz. PINK ELEPHANT MUSIC was a fun little project and I'm really happy this concept found a home in such a great label. More on PINK ELEPHANT MUSIC (and with a sense of humor) can be read here. I originally wanted to stop at 13 volumes, but there will be probably more. We'll see!

In December I'd like to release something special. A brand new A.J. Kaufmann album for 2024. No archive material, no re-recordings, no old ideas. Just fresh new Kaufmann music. I will also change my artist name to THE STRANGE WORLD OF A.J. KAUFMANN to accentuate the ideas I have running in my head this year.

Thank you for what is now almost 3 years of support on The Swamp Records. The sound vibrates on.

10 Years of "Stoned Gypsy Wanderer"

A re-release of my classic 2014 album is coming to THE SWAMP RECORDS soon (digital only).
Why another re-release?

The album was re-released on vinyl by the Australian label Ramble Records in 2021. This is the ultimate edition of the album - so why re-release it again?

Because this time what you're getting is the original 2014 Kendra Steiner Editions mix and master.
I remember Bill Shute telling me to "make it as loud as possible".

Bill Shute was the driving force behind KSE and he has published many books of my poetry 2008-2013, and "Stoned Gypsy Wanderer" on CD-R on October 17 2014.

So, mark your calendars - the album is coming to THE SWAMP RECORDS on October 17 2024 - exactly 10 years after the original release! Hooray!

"Several of the album’s 14 songs have a vocals and acoustic guitar driven acid-minstrel quality that reminds me of the Bevis Frond, though like Nik Saloman, A.J. has his own sound. Representative tunes include Amaranth Blues and the title track, plus the majestic C.O.K.E., with its screaming guitar, and I love the trippy, mind-bending effects that augment This is Not New York and Slavia Nova. There’s lot of variety too. I love the jangly yet endearingly dissonant Folk-Psych of Berger. Crown Of Things is a darkly Gothic, droning Acid-Pop song with lysergic guitar lines that weave a snake-like trail amongst the catchy melody. Wine Of Rape is a hauntingly seductive slab of Psychedelic Prog-Pop, with organ, piano and orchestration. There are also songs with a high energy rocking feel, and even some that are whimsically fun. Still Within gushes with spirited Psych infused Folk Rock and ripping electric guitar fills. A.J. goes totally trippy on the equally energetic Whispering Egypt, with its wildly wah’d freak guitar, haunting organ and spaced out mesmerizing vibe. I like the lively, Celtic tinged Veil Of Isis and the bouncy In a Blue and Violet Morning. Iceberg has a stoned, trippy, carnival-like rhythmic pulse, horn section, and jabbing keyboard notes. And Operation is the most different track of the set, having a quirky New Wav-ish rocking feel that reminded me of an early 80s Bill Nelson song. Stoned Gypsy Wanderer is a captivating set of songs which mine the Psychedelic, Folk and Prog realms and are then stamped with A.J.’s own personal touch."

Jerry Kranitz, Aural Innovations.

"When I first listened to this album, the thing that stood out the most is the wonderfully classic aesthetic to the recording of each track. Yes, there are a variety of influences at play here including psychedelic folk and garage rock. But the constant thread between all of them is an encapsulation of the era to which it calls back. Listening to it is like jumping into a well-crafted time capsule taking you back to the era of bands like Jefferson Airplane and The Doors with a raw sound that lets the elements of each composition shine through whether they combine into the complexity of tracks such as "Wine of Rape" and "Whispering Egypt" or the simplicity of a guitar and voice in tracks like "Amaranth Blues" or "Stoned Gypsy Wanderer." This is the album where you can make yourself a cup of coffee, light up something special, and let yourself zone out to the reverberated guitars and psychedelic aesthetic."

Lars Haur, On The Fringes of Sounds.

"Hailing from Poznań, Poland, A.J. Kaufmann puts his wide array of influences on his sleeve on the multifaceted Stoned Gypsy Wanderer. Featuring a wide array of sounds with everything from 80s-flavored garage rock to rustic psychedelic folk, Kaufmann is in full flight on this record. At times Kaufmann conjures up the weird acid folk stylings of the likes of Perry Leopold, especially on the opening track “Berger,” while at others, Kaufmann rocks out with a surreal and macabre atmosphere, like Robyn Hitchcock or The Dukes of Stratosphear. The best moments on the album are when Kaufmann leans further into the astral folk side of his aural spectrum. Just take a listen to the Pearls Before Swine-like “This is Not New York,” and just try to not get caught up in its spell. Dreamlike and fascinatingly versatile, this is an album that you won’t soon forget."

Ketih Hadad, Record Crates United.

"A. J. Kaufmann is well-known to followers of Kendra Steiner Editions as a poet….he and Doug Draime have issued the largest number of poetry chapbooks of any KSE authors, and I have worked on three collaborative chapbooks with him as well as a joint chapbook, so I not only know his work well, I have worked alongside him and know HIM well. He never fails to surprise me with new angles to his work and his unique and exciting insights. A. J. has also always been a musician and songwriter, and his earlier album SECOND HAND MAN was widely praised for its fine songwriting and eclectic mix of styles. That album was a professional studio production and even had session musicians beefing up the sound. For his second studio album, however, AJK decided to go to the other extreme…..essentially do an album of DIY home recordings featuring the songs front and center and go for a blurred lo-fi mindfry of a listening experience. AJ sent me a link to his bandcamp page, where he was going to release the album, STONED GYPSY WANDERER, digitally, knowing I’d enjoyed his previous album and wanting me to hear this one. Before the first song was half over, I’d hit the ceiling in ecstasy, and when the last track ended, I sent him an e-mail asking if the CD rights to this album had been given to any label yet because if not, IT NEEDED TO BE A KSE RELEASE….and now it is. From the first multi-layered seconds of the opener (which sounds like Robyn Hitchcock on steroids sitting in with Country Joe and the Fish if they’d been doing DIY recordings in 2014), we’ve got a first-rate collection of 14 new and diverse psychedelic anthems…..all with interesting chord progressions and the kind of lyrics worthy of a poet….some have a trippy singer-songwriter vibe a la Dino Valenti or John Wonderling….others offer kaleidoscopic swirling ships of sound in the “Scream Thy Last Scream” vein…and post-60s influences such as Scary Monsters-era Bowie or the Psychedelic Furs are swirled into the mix…along with the DIY genius of someone like Bobb Trimble. Yet knowing AJ as I do, I know that the album is not an assemblage of influences (he hadn’t even heard of John Wonderling when I mentioned the comparison)….it’s a songwriter and creative tour-de-force standing in the musical soil once walked on by the 13th Floor Elevators (they may have even gotten high there) and heading full tilt toward the sun. As AJ is a serious fan of Krautrock and obscure European bands of the early 70’s, I’m sure there’s some heavy Space Rock influences too, but unlike those bands, the tracks on STONED GYPSY WANDERER are relatively short and like a good 40’s B-movie that wastes no time in getting to the meat of the story and the conflict, AJ’s music starts in high gear….all killer, no filler. After getting a copy of this sent to him, Brad Kohler left a message on my voice mail saying, “This new album by AJ Kaufmann is stunning….it’s got many different styles, all equally well handled… it compares to the best things Julian Cope has done.” STONED GYPSY WANDERER, unlike much of what labels itself “psychedelic” today, is NOT a revival work…. it SOUNDS like a 2014 recording and is forward-thinking and forward-sounding, but it has all the independent spirit and originality and everything-but-the-kitchen-sink low-budget raw production and fully-formed-style-from-seemingly-out-of-nowhere that one finds in the best and the biggest-ticket private press psych masterpieces. Had this been recorded in rural Maryland in the early 70’s and been a private pressing, it would have been pirated on a label like Psycho or Breeder and would have become “legendary.” But it’s not….it’s BRAND NEW songs that are timeless from a man who’s a major creative force….perhaps best known so far outside of his native Poland for his poetry, but soon to be equally well known for his music. And I’m told by those who partake, that the album passes with flying colors the ULTIMATE test of any psychedelic album…. And the cover features a stunning original painting from Austin’s JUSTIN JACKLEY….what’s NOT to love!"

Bill Shute, Kendra Steiner Editions.

2 new poems (2023/10/01). English / Polish

"Zeit"

Listening to the beginning of the world
Shaky rhythms, simple words
Shots of light from a dying bird
There is calmness and peace inside
There is a current
There are active brains in the desert
I draw a circle in the sand
And wake up
Solid mixture of flesh and passion
Fresh on the wings of time

"I Forgot"

All the men look like the prime minister
All women like his wife
This is danger zone
Police helicopters circling in
Vultures of the waste
Harbingers of horrid
Clarinets of death
This is bad country
The young are wastedly locked
In old uncertain future
Dealing with brain crime
Silent guns the triumphant
Where is love in this locale
Where? - I forgot.

***

„Zeit”

Słuchanie początku świata
Drżące rytmy, proste słowa
Ujęcia światła umierającego ptaka
Wewnątrz panuje spokój i cisza
Jest prąd
Na pustyni są aktywne mózgi
Rysuję okrąg na piasku
I budzę się
Solidna mieszanka mięsa i pasji
Świeża na skrzydłach czasu

"Zapomniałem"

Wszyscy mężczyźni wyglądają jak premier
Wszystkie kobiety lubią jego żonę
To jest strefa niebezpieczna
Policyjne helikoptery krążą
Sępy odpadów
Zwiastuny okropności
Klarnety śmierci
To jest zły kraj
Młode są marnotrawione w zamknięciu
W starej niepewnej przyszłości
Radzenie sobie z przestępczością mózgową
Ciche działa triumfują
Gdzie jest miłość w tym miejscu
Gdzie? - Zapomniałem.

"Great American Adventure" (New poem, 2023/09/30).

Dawn starts at noon here
Traces of snow birds
In the middle of highway summer
Cars and pubs
Honesty of pen
Advice from an older guy with a hot dog
Sauce kills
You should try it sometime
Guiding their way through records
Books and memorabilia
Colorful characters
Asking for this, hoping for that
Not really sure what they want
Lost ones, broken free and dancing
To the rattling bones
Directed without meaning
Where are they hoping to find
Who and when
Do they hope to arrive
Or stop arriving at all
When life marks them unsafe
And you thought you were homeless
In this great American adventure

"Passe" (New poem, 2023/09/30).

Your eyes abandoned ships
Cool acidic scent of heroin
I'm not sure what I like
Eating camembert, drinking lemonade
Thinking of the ships past me
I used to be a poet
Had the guitar jangle of morn
Passe

Gift of you
We should be the sun
When urban tides crash in
Preserving end of observation
Your hands and lips a captain
But don't you think

Your course is stolen
Ages ago we set sails
For wild and different young lands
Jungles of Maya
We used to roam together
Now it's sands and bricks
Sifting through the dim moon
Guiding new lovers
We are passe
Get used to / rid of that.