The China Mail - Marcin: a guitarist so good, he's accused of faking it

"I'm a little bit annoyed that some people think it's fake... but it's good that there's a discussion," the 24-year-old told AFP in Paris last week as he began a European and North American tour with around 40 dates.

Whether performing Chopin, Nirvana, Dr. Dre or Stevie Wonder, Marcin Patrzalek has perfected a technique that creates the sound of a full band with just his acoustic Ibanez guitar.

He strikes the body with his right palm to create the bass drum sound, and raps it with his finely filed nails, flamenco-style, for other percussion.

At the same time, his fingers race across the strings, producing bass, rhythm and lead guitar in a whirlwind of movement.

After studying under Spanish flamenco guitar master Carlos Pinana, the wonder from Kielce, southeastern Poland, decided to take his own path.

"I didn't want to mimic anyone, I didn't want to be like anyone else. So I was trying to do something unique," he explained.

On Instagram, his videos almost always surpass a million views, while clips with an incredulous Wyclef Jean of The Fugees — "That's amazing!" -- and actor Will Smith have far more.

Smith was so impressed that he ended up featuring Marcin on his recent track "First Love".

- The dilemma -

"Guitar has always been very natural and fun," added Marcin, who does not come from a family of musicians and only picked up the instrument for the first time at around age 10.

As a teenager, he won Mam Talent!, the Polish version of America's Got Talent, and a few years later, in 2019, he reached the semifinals of the US edition after moving there for his studies.

Today, the show-off techniques that made him famous remain a powerful magnet for clicks online -- but they can also be a trap.

"For many people, the technique is a good way of impressing them," he explained. "If you're scrolling on your phone or you're going through Spotify or something and you hear something that's like: 'Wow, how is this possible?', of course, you want to learn more.

"But the problem is that eventually it gets too repetitive. You don't want everything to be super fast and super technical."

This presents a dilemma: "On the one hand if I post something online I want it to be seen by millions of people. On the other hand, I want to post new things all the time and change."

On his latest album, "Dragon in Harmony", released in September, a more stripped-down classical style emerges at times -- less "Instagrammable" but coexisting with his signature spectacular tracks.

"Classical music is the core of all music," Marcin stressed.

At La Maroquinerie, the venue in Paris where he started his tour, Chopin's Nocturnes and Bach's Toccata featured alongside a Nirvana cover.

"The fact that it (my music) reaches many people who don't usually listen to classical music is a lucky accident," he said. "I just want to play music I like and do it in my own way."

Y.Parker--ThChM