You would be forgiven if you have never heard of Jakub Zytecki before. He has not been in any band that has had particular success on the international scene, but he has risen to slow fame through his mastership of the djent guitar, or a true djentleman if you will. On occasion, he has released tracks on YouTube to show off his songwriting skill and mastery of djent, and he is so good that he has had endorsements from guitar companies that brought him to perform at the NAMM conference last year. After a couple years of following him, he has finally released a full length solo album and brought some surprise friends along with him as guests. Will Jakub be able to find an audience now that he has released a full album?

Mr. Zytecki’s first full opus has been given the name ‘Wishful Lotus Proof‘. I don’t quite understand what that means either, but it doesn’t seem that the name gives the album any theme or concept. What is instantly understandable though is that we are in for a master work demonstrating the best of Jakub Zytecki’s 8-string guitar skill and songwriting magic from the downright simple to the super technical.

The album opens with an intro track, ‘Yes‘, that takes on a simple demonstration of skill of a one track clean jazzy jam on the guitar, transcending into a full on distorted djent attack,  ‘Satya’s Diary‘. The track is a progressive masterpiece founded with odd time-signatures, the heaviest distorted notes and layered with clean-shred solos, along with a great vocal range of grunts and harmonised clean singing.

While the album is varied in terms of guitar techniques, effects, and especially time signatures, the album stays remarkably consistent with some atmospheric keyboards that are present on almost every track. Jakub has brought some friends on this album to help fill some gaps, mainly being the vocals. Misha Mansoor of Periphery makes a guest solo on the super technical ‘Nihility Rooted‘ that could easily be featured on a sci-fi epic, and Rafał Piotrowski of Decapitated who makes a vocal appearance on the brick heavy ‘Majin‘.

What is particularly fantastic about this album is how true musicianship is brought alive without any super-professional backing. Zytecki has written and recorded everything himself bar the vocals and released the album. He’s even made the album available for free on YouTube just to show his love of music and his willingness to be heard. (We have included the album below to listen to right away!)

For prog and djent fans, this is something you will want to listen to over and over again to soak in and comprehend every note. For fans of other genres, it’s a lot to take in but it is something magical. An album that can diversify from the heaviest of tracks to placing you in a dreamscape and pull it off is rare, and something that must be appreciated. ‘Wishful Lotus Proof‘ has the potential to be big, and definitely win the approval of any musican on the planet.

Here’s your new favourite guitarist, Mr. Jakub Zytecki.