Introducing Interview: POLSKY

Evolving from merely a laptop in a bedroom to a fully-formed pop group, Polsky have just released their debut album. Polsky’s founder Chris Warren has previously worked with the Cocteau Twins’ Robin Guthrie, and learnt a lot from witnessing inspiring sessions with established artists such as Terry Hall and Echo And The Bunnymen.

Exuding a post-punk energy alongside electro beats and insightful social commentary, Polsky are most certainly ones to watch.

We caught up with the band to find out more about this unique project…

Hi POLSKY, who are we speaking to?
C.E.O. Chris Warren and the board of directors: Bass Systems Analyst, Chris Norman, Senior Synth Architect, Ben Warn and Rhythm Logistics Engineer, Alex Robertson.

How did you all meet?
CW: Through a business networking event on LinkedIn.
BW: There was a fantastic breakfast spread and we bonded over tiny croissants.

What five words would you use to describe your sound?
Anxious pop for corporate punks.

You’re the band that runs itself like a company. How did this idea come about?
CW: It was mostly a satirical response to the shifts in the music industry. We thought what better way to launch a pop group than as a brand/corporation?
AR:POLSKY has been Chris’ (Warren) project for a while and Ben, Chris (Norman) and I were brought in to add flesh to his sketches for live shows – especially for this album.
CN: There was a clear hierarchy to the group so we decided to keep that going with the visual and operational elements of the band.

POLSKY is an odd name, is there a story behind that?
CW: It’s a misspelling of “Polish” in Polish. I liked the way it looked, the layered interpretations and the lost in translation element of the word. It seemed like the perfect name for a fictional corporate state.

Your latest track ‘Minimax’ is quite different to ‘Switchboard Operator’, can we expect quite a range of influences and sounds on the upcoming My Own Company?
CW: Yes. Our influences come from lots of sources so the record hops about in styles, but the goal of the record has always been to deliver a complete pop experience and tell one story from different viewpoints and accents.
CN: There are fast, punky guitar lead songs that follow on from a lounge, bosa nova track which leads into dreamy, space pop.
AR: The important overarching theme is Chris’ voice and songwriting.

I understand you (Chris) have already been involved in music for a long time? Where has your career taken you up to now?
CW: It’s been a strange journey up to now, I started back in the 90s working at the Cocteau Twins’ studio in Richmond. I was a fan prior to the job and it was incredible to work alongside Robin Guthrie and many other great musicians and producers. Since then I’ve been learning my stage craft, Krypton Factor-style, as well as in various wonderful acts on guitar duties. Singing and writing came quite late, better late than never though!

What are your plans for the rest of 2016?
CW: We wanna get loaded and have a good time.
AR: We have a load of shows coming up over July and August, but promotion for the album is going to be a big part of the rest of the year before we get cracking on the second album. But mainly we want to get loaded and have a good time. Mainly.

In true business talk, what are the best case and worst case scenarios for the future of POLSKY over the next financial year (or just year, we thought adding “financial” sounded more corporate)?
CN: Taking a helicopter view of the industry, simply gaining a net-positive reaction from our stakeholders for the album is an important quarterly objective. This would then give us a great opportunity to get all our ducks in a row and pick their low hanging fruit by becoming product evangelists for our summer tours, festivals and future single releases. The best-case scenario would be to bring new fans, bands, labels and ambassadors into our unique 360 degree viewpoint. The worst case scenario would be slipping down the strategic staircase into negative equity. Thankfully we have assurances from Gideon and his pals at the Treasury that they’ve already prepared a bailout package just in case, with our hefty bonuses protected for Financial Year 17/18.
AR: One word: Strategy. Strategy and growth.

Huge thanks to POLSKY for answering our questions! 

My Own Company, the upcoming album from POLSKY, is out now. Find out more on their Facebook page.

Mari Lane

Mari Lane

Editor, London. Likes: Kathleen Hanna, 6Music, live music in the sunshine. Dislikes: Sexism, pineapples, the misuse of apostrophes.