Łukasz ‘Icanraz’ Sarnacki founded UKĆ in 2017 in Białystok, Poland as one-man project. The EP Przemijanie was released in November 2022, followed by the Polish version of full-length album Coming Out on 17 April 2023. An English language version of Coming Out will be released on 18 August 2023, and today MetalTalk hosts the world premiere of the track Deaf Eyes.
There are more brash-sounding languages than English, and Black Metal in a band’s native tongue can sound much harsher. Polish is quite a brutal-sounding language, so the obvious question is, why English?
“I never thought about it,” Icanraz told MetalTalk. “At first, I recorded only the Polish version of the album because it seemed natural to me, but I realised that I was limiting my audience. Then came the idea to record Coming Out also in English.”
Challenges
Icanraz spoke of the challenges in capturing the emotion of the album in English. “The whole thing is a direct translation from the Polish version,” he says. “In the Polish version, it [capturing the emotion] was much simpler, more natural.”
Deaf Eyes, the third track released from the album (following Uncertainty and Fading Away), captures the mood of the original perfectly, and its story is a very personal one. “Deaf Eyes is a song about a very serious social problem which is the addiction to another person and physical and mental domestic violence,” Icanraz said. “This is the story of a woman who desperately seeks normality in her life. Unfortunately, the story comes from my family home, making this song very personal and emotional for me.
“Deaf Eyes is my voice of support for people struggling with this type of problem. This is my attempt to make others aware of the fact that such a problem exists and is developing all around us.
“Please keep your eyes open because maybe somewhere near you, there is a similar situation of a person who is simply afraid to talk about it out loud. Let’s not underestimate this.”
With UKĆ, Icanraz has spoken before of stepping outside his comfort zone. “The thing is, I’ve officially been a drummer all my life,” he says. “Leaving the comfort zone is everything I faced during the entire creative, writing and production process.”
The creation of a one-man project were naturally intense. “Once I asked myself, would I be able to make an album 100% by myself? I decided to try it out.”
It is this inspiration which has pushed him forward. “I was tired of the situations in the bands I was playing for at the time,” Icanraz said. “I didn’t want to be dependent on anyone or convince anyone of my ideas.”
His work with bands such as Corruption, Christ Agony, Devilish Impressions, Hermh, Abused Majesty, Virgin Snatch, Darzamat, and Voidfire has led him to the point where Coming Out was well received. It is certainly a one-man project, as he is responsible for all instruments (vocals, drums, guitars, bass, keyboards), compositions, lyrics and production.
“The album contains eight extensive compositions filled to the brim with emotions and very personal lyrics,” he says. “It’s atmospheric Metal with a rock flair where stylistic boundaries seem to be non-existent.”
Although the album is not out until 18 August 2023, the new English Version certainly makes an impression. As Atmospheric Progressive Black Metal goes, it is an exciting, involving listen.
“This music is aimed at people with open minds and is my absolute artistic coming out,” Icanraz says. “It was the first time I stepped out of my comfort zone and did something of this magnitude.”
“Thank you for your support. Check out my music. Recently, we are also an active live band, so we will be happy to play wherever people want to listen to us. Peace & love!”
With Icanraz on vocals and guitar, Łukasz Bielemuk on guitar, Mateusz Demaniuk on bass and Paweł Staniszczak on drums, UKĆ have a live set-up now. That makes for an interesting set-list.
UKĆ – Coming Out – The Polish Version, is available now from here.
To pre-order Coming Out, visit the UKĆ Bandcamp page here.
