Raphael Rogiński - NOSPR

Guitarist, composer and performer, improviser, cultural animator and researcher of musical folklore. Educated in jazz and classical studies, he expanded his education to include musicology and ethnomusicology. The mix of these two paths is a determinant of the style of his work in terms of composition and performance.

Associated with Eastern Europenian Jewish culture and other minoritys, he conducts research on its forgotten traditions, translating their significance to the present. Bands such as Cukunft or Shofar, of which he was the leader, were pioneering bands translating tradition to the present.

He also plays Turkish, Bedouin, African, Georgian, Persian, Armenian music and many other countries, performing them with musicians from these places. In-depth analysis of guitar techniques, classic blues guitarists and knowledge of the instruments of the 50s and 60s can be heard in such bands as Wovoka and Shy Albatross.

His passion for Kurpie folklore led him to Genowefa Lenarcik, an outstanding folk singer of this region, daughter of the famous Stanisław Brzozowy. With the last musicians of the gypsy Polska Roma, he created the band Drom. Exploring early music resulted in the project "Bach Bleach", in which Bach's music is performed on prepared guitars and a record with the music of Henry Purcell "Plays Henry Purcell", set in the music of Zimna Fala from the 80s.

At the same time, the musician is involved in projects related to the world scene of new jazz. His compositions, improvisations or interpretations often illustrate artistic events – documentaries and cartoons as well as animated fairy tales (e.g. Man Ray, Viking Elling, Lidia Skvorcova, Collection of Borderland Fairy Tales), performances (e.g. Małga Kubiak, Jerzy Kalina), traditional and multimedia theatre (e.g. ”Lothe Lachmann video theatre “Poza”, Paweł Miśkiewicz, Piotr Cieplak, Michał Walczak, Maja Korczakowska) and words (e.g. Tadeusz Rozewicz, Mieczyslaw Mysliwski, Mieczyslaw Abramowicz, Andrzej Stasiuk).

He gives concerts mainly as part of his own projects – he performs solo or as a band leader. At the moment, his permanent musical projects are: Shofar, Hizbut Jamm, Żywizna, Elik (duet with Svitlana Nianio) and solo guitar concerts.

He played and collaborated with e.g. with: Jim White, Svetlana Nianio, Tim Sparks, Joe McPhee, Marylin Mazur, Michael Zerang, Kazuchisa Uchichashi, Le Quan Ninh, Frank London, Noel Akchote, Frederic Blondy, Joe Giardullo, Keith Rowe, Tima Sparks, Axel Dorner, Thomas Lehn, Andrew Sharpley, John Edwards, John Tilbury, Brighit Ulher, Yale

Strom, Tim Daisy, Dave Rempis, Mark Sanders, Clayton Thomas, Joe McPhee, Kris Wenders, Peter Jaquemyn, Merlyn Mazur, Piong, Natalia Przybysz, Wacław Zimpel, Emiter, Macio Moretti, DJ Lenar, Daniel Pigonski, Konstanty Usenko, Jarek Bester, Hania Rani, Mikolaj Trzaska, Maria Peszek. He takes part in music workshops, competitions and music festivals in Poland and around the world.

In June 2015, the Bółt label released the album "Raphael Roginski plays John Coltrane and Langston Hughes African mystic music". The album took high notes in the annual summaries of many journalists in Poland and abroad. The Wire magazine placed it in 16th place in its summary, and Raphael Rogiński himself was the first Polish artist to be

included on the list by this monthly magazine. In October 2024, the album was remastered and released by the Unsound label and supplemented with additional tracks. Nominated in 2015 for the Polityka Passports for this album, in 2016 he was nominated again for the Żywizna and Shy Albatross album.

In 2018-2020, Rogiński collaborates with the Slovenian band Širom. His fascination with the culture of the 70s in Senegal led him to found the band Hizbut Jamm (album released in 2024). The band Elik founded with the legend of alternative Ukrainian music, Svitlana Nianio, is dedicated to Ukrainian mythology. During the pandemic, the program "Dobroczynne Niguny" for solo guitar is created, where he developed niguny (mystical Jewish songs). In a duet with Natalia Przybysz, they reinterpret the music of the 60s and 70s. The solo album "Talán" released by Instant Calssic in September 2023 is receiving very positive reviews in the country and abroad.

In July 2024, the idea of the album "Talan" is joined by the album "Žaltys". Both focus on the original sources of the region. As part of this, they cooperate with musicians from

Eastern Europe (including Georgia, Serbia, Armenia, Ukraine) preparing a series of recordings dedicated to the heritage of this region interpreted in a contemporary way.

In May 2025 he premieres the project “Ružičniak Tajni” (with Svetlana Spajić, Marina Džukljev, Tijana Golubović), reinterpreting Serbia’s ancient musical traditions and those of its neighboring peoples in new arrangements.