ZIYO "s/t" LP [1989, Wifon, Poland]

"And what is behind us and next to us

It does not matter now, never mind now

And just sometimes, I want to change the world

Change the world, I want to change the world

And do not tell me

That the truth always lies in the middle

And do not tell me"

This winter I've been obsessively listening to Polish punk and cold wave from the communist era. All the bands are incredible, both musically and lyrically. 

This is a truly under appreciated gem old polish cold wave that should be mentioned in the same breath as SIEKIERA, ONE MILLION BULGARIANS, 1984, MADAME or MADE IN POLAND. However, ZIYO are more on the atmospheric side (like MADE IN POLAND's 2nd Tonpress EP) rather than the aggressive/dark cold wave that I would put SIEKIERA or ONE MILLION BULGARIANS in my head. This debut album is something to get lost in and let the music envelop your mind. 

ZIYO started in 1986 and played the legendary Jarocin Fesitval from which they had a lot of opportunities to record which eventually lead them to be offered this LP which was recorded in 250 hours in 1987 and then due to long productions wasn't released until 1989 by Wifon. Unfortunately, their subsequent LP was weirdly metal-influenced and nowhere near the quality of this first album. I'm unsure whether their later albums see a return to their great beginnings or not... 

dl link:

ZIYO 1989 S/T