BRODKA

Bleaching your eyebrows, curating a dystopian city, going against gender stereotypes, and creating a new personality with each release is all a part of making an album when you are Brodka – and with the release of BRUT, Brodka defies all expectations.

Since returning to the scene with ‘BRUT’ her first studio album in 4 years, just two months ago, Brodka now is the strongest she has ever been, working against societal norms, gender roles and the position of a woman in the music industry whilst sitting safely in her self-created dystopian city tokened by the same name, ‘BRUT’.

There’s something within Polish people that is naturally very melancholic’, says Monika Brodka, on Zoom, on a gloomy Monday afternoon, ‘we grow up and we experience adverse weather conditions, the sun will go down one day, and we don’t know when it’ll reappear again. That worked hand in hand with being locked inside where restrictions changed every other day, made BRUT the dystopian album it is today’.

‘It’s crazy you know,’ she laughs, ‘I wanted to create an album made for dancing in nightclubs with big disco beats, however I found myself isolated and listening to sad songs and uncovered so much emotion within them, I’ve always known that music does not work within me at a basic level, I found beauty within this sadness, and I created BRUT. The world around me took control of this album, I’m grateful for that’.

BRUT has been heavily influenced by brutalist architecture which emerged in the UK in the 1950’s. Brutalist architecture finds itself both hated and adored, featuring unusual shapes and unfinished surfaces, small windows, and harsh materials that ‘Architecture deserved to have a place within BRUT,’ chimes Brodka, ‘I found myself entranced by brutalist architecture, huge buildings that some may deem ugly – whilst others find them breathtakingly beautiful. From there I felt there was a distinct link between brutalism and gender expression, these unique, striking features found within these giant buildings link to masculine and feminine features upon ourselves, you don’t love every feature – but they all contribute to a piece of art.’

BRUT sees Brodka explore the stereotypes linked with gender, reversing them, and switching them up as a symbol of power and defiance. The era sees her take the role of Lola, a hyper-sexual blonde heroine that enabled Brodka to find the beauty within herself and other beings.

‘People have problems with me playing these characters’ Brodka explains, ‘This time, I decided to bleach my eyebrows, the press here in Poland made a huge fuss and were posting articles about how ugly and weird I looked. I don’t think people understand that this is a character of my own album. I don’t wish to follow the stereotypes for this album, I don’t want to always be pretty and wear specific make-up. People feel uncomfortable around me because I don’t fit in with their stereotypes.’

Brodka has been in the music business since 2004, when she was crowned the winner of the third season of Poland’s Pop Idol. Her previous albums have received critical acclaim, with her third studio album, Granda, being the first exhibition of a change in musical direction, with critics saying that the record held ‘adventurousness that puts most of Poland’s altrock acts to shame’. Since then, Brodka further worked against the conventions of women within the music industry and has found herself by taking total control of her releases and catching the eyes of music lovers across the globe with her striking visuals.

‘When I was younger, I always felt like I had to act strong and tough to appeal to the men, who were gatekeepers of the music industry, because I’m a woman.’ States Brodka, ‘I had to be okay with just being a singer who puts songs out for people to enjoy – all to get the respect from men. Over the past few years something has really changed for me. I’ve found myself working with people who give me creative freedom, I’ve took control of

"I DON’T LOOK AT MYSELF IN THE MIRROR AND JUDGE MYSELF ON WHETHER I LOOK PRETTY OR NOT, I DON’T FOLLOW THE STEREOTYPES OF A WOMAN IN POP MUSIC, AND THAT SCARES PEOPLE."

‘My music didn’t fit my personality’ she continues, ‘from there I started to write my own songs and I feel as if my career has changed since then, for the better. My music, because of this, has become more personal – I enjoy what I am releasing, and I am proud of it, and it was then easy for me to start expressing myself visually too.’

BRUT feels to be as much of a cinematic masterpiece as it is a musical masterpiece, with the accompanying music videos for ‘Game Change’ and ‘Hey Man’ being prime examples of that. The latter of the two, directed by Brodka herself and Przemek Dzienis, is a sensual spy story set within the city of BRUT. It sees Brodka play her alter-ego, Lola, in a homage to classic spy movies.

‘Living in Poland as a woman, you’re constantly having to fight for your rights. The political situation has really influenced my visuals, I want to help women (through the embodiment of her alter-ego, Lola) realise that they can be dominant beings whilst men can be submissive.’

‘My visuals, weirdly, say so much more than my music’, Brodka explains, ‘they allow me to open my music up to interpretation, where my music says one thing, my visuals can say another.’

The aforementioned music video for BRUT’s lead single, ‘Game Change’, is unmissable, it sees Brodka play a woman who assumes the role of her dead husband and is more of a short film than a music video. As the video unfolds, Brodka meets more women who have took on masculine roles whilst keeping their feminine names, they dance together before watching a film about a feminine superhero and question their femininity.

‘That music video wasn’t planned, you know?’ she laughs, talking about ‘Game Change’, ‘the setting that we chose, combined with the costumes on offer made the ‘Game Change’ music video what we see today. I wanted to create something of relevance to the current situation around women in Poland, it’s 2021, why are men still deciding what we can, or cannot do, with our bodies?’

‘Everyone finds something new within that music video, it is special.’ ‘People who don’t agree with my message and the things that I believe in have told me that they have found something within the ‘Game Change’ video. I’ve had people who are right-wing, anti-vaccine, tell me that the queue’s displayed within that video mimic that of the vaccine queue – that isn’t intentional, that’s because it has been left open to interpretation.’ With the release of BRUT, Brodka wishes to challenge people’s thoughts of her, and those who feel as if they do not fit in. Every part of this album and the cinematography attached to it allow Brodka to force a reaction from her fans, but also those who are typically against her. ‘BRUT is personal to me and my experiences’, she explains, ‘I am a tiny woman who has got masculine features – both displayed physically but also within my personality. This album has allowed me to get to grips with people’s perceptions of me, allowing me to reflect on the way people see me and how these feelings would change if I was a man.’

‘I have to break those boundaries,’ she continues, ‘I want to get a reaction and this album has really enabled that. The reinvention of my character with each album is a way to do that, and with the invention of Lola and BRUT, I feel like I’ve built something new on the ashes of the old.’

With the release of BRUT, Brodka has done exactly that. Each song stands as an anthem of defiance, uniqueness, and power. In a time where societal norms and political rulings of Poland seem to have a hold over women’s bodies – Brodka has provided an album both for the present, and the future, whilst taking aim at the past. Let Brodka take your hand and throw you into the chaos of BRUT, a whirlwind of chaos and acceptance that will forever hold you safe and sound.

BRUT is available now via PIAS on all streaming services, with physical copies available from all good retailers and independent record stores. For more information on Brodka www.brodkamusic.com.