Two award-winning new films; Beats of Freedom and All that I Love (Wszystko co Kocham) shine a light on the radical rock counter-culture that emerged in communist Poland.

Szymon Urbański, who once jammed in a band called Trumna (Coffin), reflects on those heady days.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Solidarity movement and the beginning of the end for the Soviet system. For a few die-hard punks like myself, that watershed goes hand in hand with another phenomenon - the advent of a new wave in Polish rock.

In 1981, everybody still felt some sense of relief that we were living in the "merriest barracks in the camp" - our situation was far better than in, say, East Germany or Bulgaria. And then came the martial law period of 1981-1983. Life became dull, grey and disconsolate. The physical surroundings were ugly, the shops empty, and by nightfall the streets were dark and lifeless, people sneaking close to the walls in fear. The almighty police (named Milicja Obywatelska – Citizen’s Militia, to distinguish them from the pre-war "capitalist bourgeois" police) ruled supreme. You didn’t even have to be seriously involved in any kind of political opposition activity to have trouble. Some of my friends were expelled from school during martial law just for wearing electrical resistors on their shirts – a meaningful symbol of protest back then. And if you were old enough, there was the People’s Army waiting for you – the obligatory two-year stint broke the lives of many. We felt that this would last our entire lifetimes, that there was no future.

The New Wave

Previously existing groups, some of them, like Maanam, with a hippie background, promptly changed their style. Maanam (the original line-up of which originated in Krakow), with its charismatic singer Kora Jackowska, quickly achieved cult status. Their first two records shimmered with post-punk energy – imagine 1967 Jefferson Airplane with Grace Slick, transferred to the new wave era. Freshly formed groups like Republika – musically falling somewhere between The Stranglers and XTC, Lady Pank – heavily influenced by The Police - or Oddział Zamknięty (Mental Ward), all rocked with a rebellious spirit. During live concerts, Perfect would pause while singing the famous chorus "Chcemy być sobą" ("We want to be ourselves"), and the audience sang back "Chcemy bić ZOMO" ("We want to beat ZOMO"). ZOMO was the most hated formation of the Militia, basically anti-riot squads consisting of the worst thugs.

Read the full story on The Krakow Post.