Warsaw Afrobeat Orchestra

The first EP by WAO was released in March 2013. It caught the attention of American Ubiquity Records who in November 2017 published WAO’s red vinyl single entitled ‘Only now’ which included a bonus remix by Bosq from Whiskey Barons.

Songs ‘Your Way’ and ‘Close To Far’ (feat. Mamadou Diouf) reached top positions in Polish Radio RDC chart. ‘Only Now’ was the second best song of 2013 chosen by listeners of Strefa Dread in Polish Radio Programme 4. WAO performed, among others, at Grand Festival Róbrege and gave a live show on the stage of Polish Radio Programme 4.

International success of the single was crowned by a contract with Ubiquity Records and WAO’s debut release. ‘Wëndelu’ came out in 2015 on a CD and a double vinyl. Regularly played by BBC DJ Gilles Peterson in his programme, ‘Wëndelu’ became the album of the week in Wah Wah 45s of British Back2Back FM. Polish CD edition soon followed by Lou & Rocked Boys as Seeyousoon Recordings. In 2015 WAO supported Tony Allen – a famous drummer of Fela Kuti, at Different Sounds Art’n’Music Festival in Lublin.

At the end of 2016 the song ‘If’ by Warsaw Afrobeat Orchestra appeared on the third compilation of Festival de Afrobeat Independiente in Argentina. It included eighteen songs recorded by eighteen bands from all over the world. WAO’s second album ‘Man is Enough’ was released by Agencja Muzyczna Polskiego Radia in February 2017. The album featured a number of guests: Weronika Grozdew-Kołacińska, ShataQS, Dele Sosimi, and Kaleta (Leon Ligan- Majek). WAO promoted the material in Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio of Polish Radio, at XIII Hanza Jazz Festiwal, at Wschód Kultury/Inny Wymiar Festival (The Rise of Eastern Culture/Another Dimension) in Białystok, at the first edition of African Beats in Gdańsk, among others.

In March 2018 WAO recorded a cover of Breakout ‘Oni zaraz przyjdą tu’ by Tadeusz Nalepa and Bogdan Loebl. The song became the seventh most frequently played piece of 2018 in Radio Luz in Wrocław. In May 2019 WAO released another cover of Bemibek ‘Podaruj mi trochę słońca’ by Aleksander Bem and Marek Dutkiewicz.

‘Antibody’ was released on 15th October 2020 by American label Peace & Rhythm in digital format, and on a green vinyl by Scriptology – an independent record label. The material is largely a continuation of WAO’s initial path, which follows the combination of diverse European music elements on the ground of afrobeat. Eclecticism, combining various styles and genres make up the music of WAO. The new value is a more liberal approach to arrangements and compositions accompanied by a lot of focus on naturalness of the sound and avoiding overproduction during recordings.

The album ‘Chest’ was released on 7th January 2022 by Americal Label Peace&Rhythm in the form of digital files, and on 17th January 2022 on vinyl by Scriptology. Since its creation WAO have been experimenting by juggling diverse sounds, genres, melodic and harmonic structures. The sound of ‘Chest’ is a result of WAO’s fascinations with rock and funk of the 60-ties and 70-ties. Strong rhythm section, characteristic guitar riffs, broad sound of brass section, and three female vocals are the hallmark of the new album.

Anna Piotrowska - vocal
Agata Dąbrowska - vocal
Magdalena Kuś - vocal
Jan Jędrzejczyk - piano
Wojciech Trusewicz - guitar
Rafał Gańko - trumpet
Adam Kłosiński - trombone
Karol Gołowacz - saxophone
Janusz Sobolewski - bass guitar
Igor Chołda - percussion
Eddy - drums