Oct 06, 2010 By Laura Studarus

Some countries are known exporters. The U.K. has been a rock giant ever since the Fab Four busted out of their borders, Sweden has carved out a notable Scandinavian pop niche, and Canada has been busy breaking social scenes and setting arcades on fire for some time now. But what about other countries whose bands don’t always make it to stateside indie stardom? In such an interconnected world, why are there still large places on the musical map with question marks? On a recent visit to Poland to cover the OFF Festival; Under the Radar set out to fill in some of those blanks. Assisting our exploration were musicians Natalia Fiedorczuk, Jacek Kąkolewski. Both scene stalwarts, and members of Happy Pills—a six piece who take cues from Pixies, Sonic Youth, and Smashing Pumpkins among others—they told us about the Polish music scene, cultural expectations, and their big break in the U.S. that didn’t happen. More

Aug 11, 2010 By Laura Studarus

The third day of a festival is always a bit tough. Sore feet, musical overload, sunburn—it’s a lot to take in. But then, there’s day three of the Off Festival—which proved to be an exception. And not just because I ended up in an orange jumpsuit by the end of the night. More