Kombi

Kombi are a Polish rock band from Gdańsk, active since 1969 through numerous iterations. Between 1980 and 1985, a new wave/synthpop configuration released four albums on Pronit, Wifon, and Polskie Nagrania Muza.

Members: Sławomir Łosowski (keyboards, programming, vocals, 1969-94, 2004-present), Andrzej Kyś (percussion, 1969-71), Lech Badełek (guitar, 1969-70), Jacek Tomaszewski (bass guitar, 1969-70), Jan Schwartz (vocals, 1969-70), Henryk Sikora (bass guitar, 1970), Piotr Gągałka (bass guitar, 1970-74), Jan Rucki (percussion, 1971-75), Zbigniew Gura (bass guitar, 1974-75), Zbigniew Sentowski (bass guitar, 1975), Jan Pluta (drums, electronic percussion, 1975-76, 1978-81), Waldemar Tkaczyk (bass, electronic percussion, 1975-92), Grzegorz Skawiński (vocals, guitar, 1975-92), Benedykt Musioł (percussion, 1976-77), Mariusz Bryl (percussion, 1977), Ryszard Gębura (percussion, 1977-79), Przemysław Pahl (percussion, 1980), Jerzy Piotrowski (percussion, 1981-86), Zbigniew Kraszewski (percussion, 1982)

Background

Kombi originated in Gdańsk, Poland, in 1969 as Akcenty, a group that organist Sławomir Łosowski formed with schoolmate drummer Andrzej Kyś. The initial quintet included singer Jan Schwartz, guitarist Lech Badełek, and bassist Jacek Tomaszewski. They played youth clubs throughout the Tricity area and won first prize at the 1969 Posejdon festival. After Kyś emigrated in 1971, Łosowski formed an instrumental trio with bassist Piotr Gągałka and drummer Jan Rucki. Łosowski modified Soviet Junost organs with analog effects and WEM tape echo for extended jazz-rock pieces with irregular meters and improvisation.

Akcenty won first prize at the 1973 Kalisz Festival of Contemporary Youth Music. Łosowski received the main individual award at the 1974 Jazz nad Odrą festival in Wrocław. The trio also taped pieces at the student radio studio S.A.R. in Gdańsk.

Łosowski shifted Akcenty toward vocal rock in 1975 with bassist-singer Zbigniew Sentowski and drummer Jan Pluta, whom he heard at a Kashubian resort. Pluta came from Horoskop, a Gdańsk student group with bassist Waldemar Tkaczyk and guitarist-vocalist Grzegorz Skawiński. The latter two met at high school in Mława, where they formed Kameleon, followed by a stint in Sektor in Ciechanów. They relocated to Gdańsk for pedagogy studies at the University of Gdańsk and teamed with Pluta in Horoskop, which shared concert bills with Akcenty. When Sentowski left, Pluta recommended Tkaczyk, who proposed Skawiński for the guitar-vocal slot.

Łosowski also secured representation through Bałtycka Agencja Artystyczna (BART), where Sopot director Andrzej Cybulski urged a name change for the revised group. Pluta proposed Kombi during a meeting with manager Jarosław Szeipuk. On July 4, 1976, Akcenty appeared on the Radio Gdańsk program Bałtyckie Forum Muzyczne, where listeners participated in a name-selection poll. The quartet performed the final two numbers and encore under the name Kombi. They played the August 2 Pop Session 76 festival at the Sopot Forest Opera.

Pluta made way for drummer Benedykt Musioł, who played at Pop Session 77 and on early Radio Gdańsk sessions. After Musioł emigrated in late 1977, Kombi passed through Mariusz Bryl and Ryszard Gębura. Pluta returned in 1978, when the group used two drummers at select concerts. Łosowski engaged Jacek Sylwin as manager while Kombi joined the Muzyka Młodej Generacji concert circuit.

In 1979, Kombi appeared on the Wifon compilation Muzyka Młodej Generacji and issued the Tonpress debut single “Wspomnienia z pleneru” (b/w “Przeciąg”). They also staged an April promotional concert at the Victoria Hotel in Warsaw and appeared on the television program Studio 2. The quartet entered Radio Gdańsk in the first half of 1979 with producer Sylwin, recording director Marian Ślusarczyk, and engineer Andrzej Lampers for the debut album Kombi, issued on cassette by Wifon and on LP by Pronit in 1980.

Discography:

• Kombi (1980)
• Królowie życia (1981)
• Nowy rozdział (1984)
• Kombi 4 (1985)

References and notes

• KOMBI Łosowski – undated. Official history documents Akcenty, personnel changes, festivals, radio appearances, and debut sessions. (History)
• 10 Lat Kombi – 1986. Contemporary anniversary booklet traces Kameleon, Sektor, Horoskop, recruitment, and early concerts. (Booklet)
• Encyklopedia Gdańska – undated. Confirms Akcenty continuity, July 1976 renaming, drummer changes, and early television appearances. (Kombi entry)
• Grzegorz Skawiński Biography – undated. Details Kameleon, education, Horoskop, and the Akcenty recruitment sequence. (Biography)
• Cyfrowa Biblioteka Polskiej Piosenki – July 30, 2016. Identifies debut personnel, producer, engineer, recording director, and Pronit catalog number. (Album credits)
• KOMBI Discography – undated. Dates the February Wifon cassette and October 1980 Pronit LP. (Discography)
• Polityka – February 12, 2019. Establishes the 1979 Wifon compilation and Muzyka Młodej Generacji promotional initiative. (MMG history)
• Trojmiasto.pl – November 2017. Skawiński and Tkaczyk discuss their Gdańsk pedagogy studies and early careers. (Interview)