Ecstasy Project

A release by the Ecstasy Project, led by drummer and composer Rafał Gorzycki and issued by Not Two in 2000. This self-titled debut reflects the label's openness to a different stylistic current — here a jazz-rock inflection, with electric guitar and effects-treated violin sitting at the front of the sound — characteristic of the exploratory Polish-jazz catalog Not Two built in its formative years before the label became known internationally for free jazz and improvised music.

The Ecstasy Project was founded in 1998 in Bydgoszcz, with roots in the city's celebrated Mózg club, and Gorzycki has described it as his most composed, harmonious project — a respite from the avant-garde. The band's instrumental signature is unusual: alongside Tomasz Hesse's guitar, Łukasz Górewicz's violin functions as a second solo voice, often treated with guitar-style effects such as wah-wah. The program mixes energetic pieces with calmer, atmospheric 'story' tracks, such as bassist Jarek Majewski's 'Florencja.'

That Not Two chose to release this debut speaks to the label's instinct for spotting talent early. Gorzycki was a young, largely unproven leader at the time, yet he would go on to become one of the most important and prolific figures in Polish jazz — a composer of more than twenty albums, a Fryderyk nominee, and a recipient of grants from the Polish Ministry of Culture. Giving an emerging artist of his eventual stature a first platform, years before wider recognition arrived, is exactly the kind of foresight that has defined Not Two's editorial character.

The album also marks an early chapter in Gorzycki's wide-ranging path. In the decades that followed he led and co-founded a string of contrasting groups — Sing Sing Penelope, Dziki Jazz, A-kineton, and others — moving steadily from jazz toward contemporary chamber and new music, a trajectory that recently culminated in his opera Lustro, whose world premiere took place on 11 November 2025 in Bydgoszcz. It's a striking reminder of how restlessly he continues to redefine his creative boundaries.