In nearly every city he stopped, The Polish Ambassador hosted an “action day” after each show where participants conduct environmental cleanups and promote economically sound conventions to improve their own communities. The pairing of his two passions – music & sustainability – was sure to create an experience unlike any other. Using his music as a way to promote positive change in the world was a feat not many artists in his realm have tackled in the past, and the outcome could only be successful with The Polish Ambassador behind it.
The last leg of the tour started with a performance at Irving Plaza in New York City on Saturday, November 8th. The Polish Ambassador tour was supported by Wildlight, a duo consisting of the producer and his wife, Ayla Nereo. Mr. Lif, a Boston rapper who often incorporates politically charged content in his music, also joined the tour. The lyricist appeared on two songs off of Pushing Through The Pavement. The recent album has taken The Polish Ambassador in a slightly different direction – the artist’s earlier work had a much more electronic and glitchy feel while the new material incorporates more eastern and tribal nuances. During the show, the producer alternated between these two different vibes, but the show’s sentiment remained the same.
The show began with a 30 minute speech about staying active in your community and the importance of Permaculture and contributing to the conservation of our environment. (For those who may not be aware, Permaculture is a sect of environmental and ecological design that promotes creating sustainable engineering for our ecosystems.). The speech was followed by the Wildlight set, a beautiful collaboration between Ayla Nereo’s spectacular voice & The Polish Ambassador’s spiritually inspired downtempo creations. In contrast with a few of the vocalists that perform with electronic artists, Ayla did not use backing vocals and she certainly didn’t lip-sync – everything heard was straight from her vocal chords, and was quite impressive. Her voice carried a very calming and soothing aura. After a relatively short set, The Polish Ambassador left the stage (presumably to hop into his jumpsuit) and Mr. Lif joined Ayla on stage.
In a world with so many rappers only discussing material possessions and the degradation of females, Mr. Lif was a breath of fresh air. The balance between his sociopolitical commentary and his cunning and inventive lyricism was a perfect match for the tour, and he returned on stage towards the end of the show to put in his two cents on Permaculture activism. Towards the end of his set, Ayla joined him on stage to try something different. The singer looped her vocals paired with some simple drum kits and Mr. Lif proceeded to freestyle over the spontaneous creation. The concept of freestyling has changed much, as many rappers nowadays resort to reading off their phones, or reciting something previously written. Mr. Lif, on the other hand, was absolutely freestyling and was stringing lyrics together on the spot, which, in its own way, is a dying art. This brought an authentic feel to his set and was definitely delightful to experience. After Mr. Lif blessed the audience with a handful of verses, The Polish Ambassador reemerged, clad in his new neon jumpsuit, alongside his long-time friend and visual collaborator Liminus.
Much of the electronic music these days, particularly Dubstep and Drum & Bass, and even some Glitch Hop, has a darker feel to it, while the Polish Ambassador tends to bring a more uplifting and overwhelmingly happy atmosphere with his music. Even the glitchier electro-centric tracks are done in such a way that they emanate positivity. There wasn’t a moment during the show where most everyone in the audience wasn’t smiling ear to ear. The Polish Ambassador said it himself – his shows are not concerts, they are dance parties. Both himself and Liminus get down with the crowd the entire show. There was none of the excessive knob-turning and overzealous computer tinkering that is so prevalent in mainstream “EDM” culture today. The Polish Ambassador just played his songs and boogied with his fans – always with a smile on his face.
Some highlight tracks from the set included “Gathering of the Tribes,” “Live Inside a Dream,” and “Two and a Half Moons Away.” The artist also managed to throw in a medley of samples from several different genres, including Kelis’ “Milkshake,” Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s “Shimmy Shimmy Ya,” and remixes of Blackstreet’s “No Diggity” and Damian Marley’s “Welcome To Jamrock.”
The Polish Ambassador ended his show by bringing out Mr. Lif during the encore to perform their collaboration “Let The Rhythm Just,” a crowd favorite. The integration of well-known songs over the producer’s original music added a level of interest and curiousity for showgoers who weren’t necessarily fans prior to the event. This contributed to their overall participation at the concert and was certainly a clever way to captivate those who were new to his compositions.
The meshing of The Polish Ambassador’s groovy, funky ambient tunes with his inspirational message and desire to promote social change was a combination unlike any other. Both the concept and production behind the tour were groundbreaking in design and execution – more artists in the electronic music scene and on the festival track should take a page from The Polish Ambassador’s playbook.