Performs at Eurosonic Festival on January 17th, 2020 in Groningen, Netherlands.
Perfect Son’s (aka Tobiasz Biliński) Sub Pop debut Castwas released last year to critical acclaim from such places as Brooklyn Vegan, EXCLAIM!, Pop Matters and Big Take Over. The 10-track album features the lead single “It’s For Life,” along with the highlights “Promises,” “Lust” and the latest video offering, “Almost Mine.”
Directed by Evan and Kristina Fellers, “Almost Mine” was shot on land and underwater in Costa Rica, Iceland, Canada, and the United States. The video perfectly encapsulates how energy transitions through the self-realizing universe.
Perfect Son has confirmed an appearance on January 17th, 2020 at Eurosonic Festival in Groningen, the Netherlands. Biliński is also one of 16 nominees for the “Music Moves Europe Award” which Eurosonic co-organizes (winners will be announced on January 17th). Sub Pop co-founder Jonathan Poneman will also appear as the festival’s keynote speaker. The band will then perform the following night, January 18th in Hamburg, Germany at Mucke bei die Fische. Perfect Son has also confirmed a 5 date run throughout the UK with Canadian band The Dears. These shows will begin on April 16th in Bristol and find the band opening shows in London, Glasgow, Bristol, Leeds and Manchester.
Tour Dates:
Jan. 17 - Groningen, NL - Eurosonic Festival Jan. 18 - Hamburg, DE - Mucke bei die Fische
Mar. 07 - Warsaw, PL - Wolskie Centrum Kultury Apr. 16 - Bristol, UK - Exchange # Apr. 17 - Manchester, UK - Deaf Institute # Apr. 18 - Glasgow, UK - Drygate Theatre # Apr. 19 - Leeds, UK - Brudenell Social Club # Apr. 21 - London, UK - The Garage #
# w/ The Dears
Cast is available from Sub Pop Mega Mart right over here. --------- What The People are saying about Perfect Son:
“As Perfect Son, Biliński makes hard, streamlined pop music, building waves of pulsating keyboards up around his impressive, expressive voice.” [“It’s For Life”] - Stereogum
“Typically, in this genre, artists will get dark and deep, but PS create a non-threatening, subdued landscape where Biliński’s vocals tend to float rather than cause confrontation.” [Cast] - The Big Takeover
” An electronic pulse, hip programmed percussion, and grungy guitar lines guide Biliński’s angelically crestfallen harmonies regarding losing and finding his humanity. It’s intense yet serene, with subtle but purposeful modulations in the arrangement that keep it cryptic and enthralling (8/10).” [Cast] - Pop Matters
“Cast nails both style and substance; an exciting debut.” - Exclaim!
“A heavily-layered, beat-driven dose of appealing art-pop.” [“Lust”] -Brooklyn Vegan
Today, February 15th, 2019, marks the debut release of Cast from Polish artist, Perfect Son (aka Tobiasz Biliński). The 10-track album features the previously released lead singles “It’s For Life,” “Lust,” and the latest video offering, “Promises.” Inspired by the legend of Golem and the myth of Pygmalion and Galatea, “Promises” depicts an unusual love story, in an undetermined time. Isolated in an old house away from people, lives SHE. Unable to coexist with others, SHE creates a partner, a humanoid. You can unravel this love story, directed by Jarek Tokarski here.
Cast was co-produced by Biliński and Marcin Buźniak at Axis Audio in Warsaw, with additional production from Jeff Zeigler at Uniform Recording in Philadelphia, and mixed/mastered by Buźniak.
The band has announced a string of Polish shows beginning on March 20th in Warszawa, with additional dates beginning on April 4th in Torun. Perfect Son will also appear at this years OFF Festival in Katowice this coming August. Additional European dates to follow.
Mar. 20 - Warszawa, Poland - Hydrozagadka Apr. 04 - Torun, Poland - NRD Apr. 05 - Gdansk, Poland - Zak (PL) Apr. 11 - Poznan, Poland - Meskalina Apr. 12 - Łódź, Poland - Radio Lódź, Apr. 13 - Lublin, Poland - Dom Kultury Apr. 14 - Kraków, Poland - Zet Pe Te Apr. 17 - Wrocław, Poland - Stary Klasztor Apr. 18 - Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland - Magnet Off On, Aug. 02 - Katowice, Poland - Off Festival (Poland) Aug. 03 - Katowice, Poland - Off Festival (Poland) Aug. 04 - Katowice, Poland - Off Festival (Poland)
On February 15th, 2019, Sub Pop will release the debut album Castfrom Polish artist Perfect Son (aka Tobiasz Biliński). The 10-track album features the previously released lead single “It’s For Life,” along with the highlights “Promises,” and the latest offering, “Lust.” Biliński and his wife Anna Mayer-Biliński directed the atmospheric lyric video as seen above. (see also CLASH “Track of the Day” January 15th).
With powerful, sweeping production that recalls the best pop beats of Matthew Dear and arcing melodies that conjure the majesty of Jonathan Meiburg, Perfect Son animates sensations of lust, belonging, and newfound trust with tumescent electronic arrangements that threaten the safety of any sound system.
Cast was co-produced by Biliński and Marcin Buźniak at Axis Audio in Warsaw, with additional production from Jeff Zeigler at Uniform Recording in Philadelphia, and mixed/mastered by Buźniak.
Sub Pop has signed Polish artist Perfect Son (aka Tobiasz Biliński) for the world, to release Cast, his label debut on CD/LP/DL February 15th, 2019. The 10 track album, which features the lead single “It’s For Life,” along with the highlights “Promises,” and “Lust,” was co-produced by Biliński and Marcin Buźniak at Axis Audio in Warsaw, with additional production from Jeff Zeigler at Uniform Recording in Philadelphia, and mixed/mastered by Buźniak.
On “It’s For Life,” Biliński’s soft falsetto and arching melodies are embedded in a world of enormous drums, pounded piano, and blown-out bass. The lyric video (as seen above, and also heard on Spotify or Apple Music) was co-directed by Biliński and his wife Anna Mayer-Bilińska, and shot in his hometown of Sopot, and in Warsaw, where he now resides.
1. Reel Me 2. Lust 3. It’s For Life 4. Old Desires 5. So Divine 6. Promises 7. High Hopes 8. My Body Wants 9. Wax 10. Almost Mine
More About Perfect Son and ‘Cast’
Sometime in 2016, just as the Polish singer and producer Tobiasz Biliński began to find success through the dim and fractured electropop of Coldair, he knew it was time for a radical change. The songs on The Provider, Coldair’s much-lauded third album, had been an exorcism of sorts. Laced with songs about early death, chronic disappointment, and clouded minds, the record was, as he puts it now, his earnest attempt to “get all this old shit out.” That mission accomplished, he needed something new, a restart—the unabashedly radiant and unapologetically complex pop of Perfect Son, delivered in 10 perfect shots on Biliński’s Sub Pop debut, Cast.
[Photo Credit Weronika Izdebska]
In the past, Biliński’s music has flirted with and explored the darkness, first in a sort of Transatlantic freak-folk and then with the gothic refractions of Coldair. But on Cast, Perfect Son steps boldly into the light without sloughing off emotional weight or depth. With powerful, sweeping production that recalls the best pop beats of Matthew Dear and arcing melodies that conjure the majesty of Jonathan Meiburg, Perfect Son animates sensations of lust, belonging, and newfound trust with tumescent electronic arrangements that threaten the safety of any sound system.
On opener “Reel Me,” his soft falsetto floats through a Steve Reich-like pulse and above an ominous guitar, as he describes the feeling of a soul lost in the wilderness and doubting his own humanity. But the drums and the bass stir him awake, giving him a sense of vitality and belonging: “I’m finally aware,” he confesses, eyes brightened. “And fearing things.” During the thunderous “It’s For Life,” Biliński wraps his voice around a world of enormous drums, pounded piano, and blown-out bass. “It’s alright/It’s for life,” the newly married singer offers in the instantaneous chorus.
Biliński doesn’t forsake the heavier things here. The haunted “Old Desires” battles latent demons, soundtracked by howling synthesizers and harmonies that seem to hang in the distance like ghosts. The sweeping closer “Almost Mine” is a candid confession of pain and a frank acknowledgment that, one day, even the relationships that give us strength and purpose will crumble. Biliński sings about falls throughout Cast but also about picking yourself back up, about pressing on despite or perhaps because of the bruises. In the process, he is lifted by music that feels unabashedly motivational, built to remind us that the best times are hopefully to come.
Perfect Son, it should be said, is Sub Pop’s first Polish artist, the result of an extended interest in Biliński’s work and the country itself from label co-founder Jonathan Poneman. Several years ago, Biliński applied to play at South by Southwest as Coldair. Poneman saw his performance, and was impressed. The two stayed in touch, with Poneman eventually signing Coldair to a publishing deal. “I bugged him about releasing my stuff constantly,” Biliński admits with a laugh. “And I guess he admired my persistence.”
When Cast was finally finished, Poneman didn’t need more convincing. These songs, after all, are magnetic, with the searching harmonies and deep drums of “Promises” and the rhythmic intricacy and serial synths of “Wax” pulling you close on first listen and holding you there for the foreseeable future. These songs and this story are about the power of human perseverance and deliberate reinvention, of knowing that you can confront and come to terms with the darkest angels of your being. Cast is a testament to the possibilities of the future, brilliantly disguised as 10 grandiose and undeniable pop anthems.
