Percival Schuttenbach have put out a video for “Rozkwitały pąki białych róż”, a song from their album “Zakazane piosenki”. The Polish folk metal band released the clip on 23 October 2026. The album is available through Red Baaron Records.
A legion song from 1918
“Rozkwitały pąki białych róż” is a legion song from the First World War. One early version dates from 1914, but the song became widely popular in 1918. Mieczysław Słobódzki wrote the music; the words are credited to Kazimierz Wroczyński or Jan Lankau, depending on the version.
The band recorded the album in 2026 at RedBaaron Studio in Legnica. Mikołaj Rybacki handled the recording, with mixing and mastering by Marek Dziedzic. Rybacki, Dziedzic and Katarzyna Bromirska share the musical production. Zuzanna Topolińska designed the cover.
Warsaw street bands and gypsy jazz
Percival Schuttenbach have played this repertoire since around 2009, when the idea of a “historical” branch of the band took shape, devoted to periods closer to the present than the early Middle Ages. During the pandemic they filmed a live concert, still available on YouTube, but only years later did they realise they had no studio version of the material.
The sound draws on Warsaw street bands, gypsy jazz, Django Reinhardt and the music of the 1920s and 1930s. The band wanted the freedom and lightness of playing together, closer to the street than to later, ceremonial performances. The recordings also use ambient sounds and authentic wartime recordings. The main inspiration was Leonard Buczkowski’s 1947 film “Zakazane piosenki”, which Rybacki watched many times as a child.
The album is a tribute to the ordinary inhabitants of occupied Poland, who resisted with weapons in hand and with song. The war took away their safety and their everyday life, which is easy to forget when focusing on armed struggle.
- Percival Schuttenbach
The songs come from different times and places. People sang them in their own way, changed the lyrics and added verses. They helped people survive difficult moments.
Katarzyna Bromirska, in the band since 1999
Katarzyna Bromirska plays accordion, rebec and double bass on “Dnia 1 września”, and sings on the track. She has been in Percival Schuttenbach since 1999, the year the band formed, and also plays cello, Byzantine lyre and flute, with backing vocals. Her other projects include Perunwit and Septum.
Ewa Pitura also sings on the song. She appears on vocals in the band’s line-up and has worked with Johnny Coyote and Pitura / Kruk. Michał Lange plays drums on the recording.
Percival Schuttenbach formed in Lubin, Lower Silesia, in 1999. Their earlier releases include “Ćwierć wieku muzyki” in 2025, “Dzikie Pola” in 2018 and “Strzyga” in 2016.
