PERCIVAL SCHUTTENBACH have shared a video for “O mój rozmarynie”, a traditional Polish soldiers’ song, on 6 November 2026. The track is taken from the band’s album “Zakazane piosenki”, released through Red Baaron Records and recorded earlier this year at RedBaaron Studio in Legnica, Poland.
The song was popular during the First World War and was later sung by soldiers and partisans during the Second World War. Its mostly folk melody has appeared in many versions, with soldiers adding and changing verses over time.
Songs shaped by war
PERCIVAL SCHUTTENBACH said the songs on “Zakazane piosenki” had been part of the group’s repertoire since around 2009, when it began developing a branch of its work focused on periods closer to the present than the early Middle Ages. The band recorded a live performance of the material during the pandemic, but only later realised that it had no studio version of the songs.
The new recordings draw on Warsaw street bands, gypsy jazz, Django Reinhardt and music from the 1920s and 1930s. The group also used ambient sounds and authentic wartime recordings. The main inspiration was Leonard Buczkowski’s 1947 film “Zakazane piosenki”, which Mikołaj Rybacki watched repeatedly as a child.
The album focuses on ordinary people living under occupation who resisted through song as well as armed struggle. The band said the songs came from different times and places, and that people adapted them by changing lyrics and adding verses to help them endure difficult circumstances.
Four musicians, one soldiers’ song
On “O mój rozmarynie”, Katarzyna Bromirska plays accordion, rebec and contrabass, as well as singing. Mikołaj Rybacki plays mandolin, guitar and contrabass and also sings, while Michał Lange plays drums and Ewa Pitura contributes vocals.
The video follows the release of “Rozkwitały pąki białych róż”, another song from the album. We previously covered that first video when the band shared the song in October. Both tracks were recorded in Legnica, with Mikołaj Rybacki handling the recording and sharing the musical production with Marek Dziedzic and Katarzyna Bromirska. Dziedzic also mixed and mastered the album, while Zuzanna Topolińska designed its cover.
Katarzyna Bromirska since 1999
Katarzyna Bromirska has been a member of PERCIVAL SCHUTTENBACH since 1999. In addition to accordion, rebec and vocals, she plays cello, Byzantine lyre and flute, and has also worked with Perunwit and Septum alongside her work with the band.
Ewa Pitura’s vocals
Ewa Pitura sings with PERCIVAL SCHUTTENBACH and is one of the vocalists on “O mój rozmarynie”. Her other projects include Johnny Coyote and Pitura / Kruk. The band formed in Lubin, Lower Silesia, in 1999 and has released material including “Strzyga”, “Dzikie Pola” and the 2025 album “Ćwierć wieku muzyki”.
