Ola Szmidt - Rooted Explorations (2023)

After making her first appearance on Accidental with breakthrough release EP3 in the summer of 2022, Ola Szmidt curates a remix collection focusing on one of her most personal tracks to date, Rooted.

Rooted nearly didn’t see release - it was a by-product of Szmidt’s recovery from a serious surgery, and she only passed it to her mentor Kieran Hebden (Four Tet) on a whim in late summer 2019. An improvised, honest reflection of her personal experience, it naturally captured his and other listener's imaginations. It gathered a life of its own, finding a proper release on EP3 and leading to a visual collaboration with dancer Mâêlys Reunaud. The experience left Szmidt musing on the possibilities that arose from her impulse to create the track and the decision to share it.

“I decided to share the stems of Rooted with ten musicians whose work I admire,” says Szmidt, “and let them create their interpretations. The intention was to EXPLORE and create an album rather than a typical remix EP.”

Szmidt shares a personal connection with all the artists selected for Rooted Explorations, whether as mutual fans connected online or through long-standing real-world support, collaboration and friendship. In the spirit of the project’s thirst for adventure, the musical styles respond to Szmidt’s source material in many different ways, informed by the Polish-born, Leicester-based singer’s nuanced, ethereal delivery but free to head in any number of directions.

Fellow Accidental signee Sijya creates a slow, meditative interpretation which gently dubs Szmidt’s voice into pools of cathedral-sized reverb, while world champion turntablist Jon1st turns in a taut, rolling slice of modernist D&B shot through with the brooding melancholy of the original track.

Todd Barton transformed lyrical vocals into lush string atmospheres and her percussive mouth sounds into gamelans. Forever - part of hotly-tipped Bristol/Leicester crew Grade 10 - builds a new suite of aqueous ambience around Szmidt’s vocal while Louf chooses to process and fold her voice into an effervescent, finely sculpted slice of crooked club material.

Daidono and Jim Tetlow, who turn in needlepoint electronica ecosystems on their respective versions, are long-time collaborators and friends of Szmidt’s. Yoyu enveloped the song with a rich atmospheric vocal treatment and authentic field recordings captured from Canada’s majestic boreal forests. Luthor’s rework is heady and earthy with a rhythmic composition resulting in a deep low-frequency experience.

Rooted Explorations is a fitting testament to Szmidt’s dedication to pursuing her craft since leaving Poland for the UK 23 years ago. She arrived in London alone, and spent her life building a community of friends and collaborators around her passion while holding various corporate jobs and refining her artistic tools. Having firmly established her voice on EP3, Rooted Explorations highlights the scope and possibilities contained within even just one of Szmidt’s song, from an artist with so much more to share.