This is my entry into the 2020 Strandberg & Uppsala Guitar Festival competition. When starting my entry I knew I wanted to create a wholly original interpretation of Polska från Norrbotten, but I initially struggled to connect with the song. This led me to searching for additional inspiration which I found in the form of aerial videos of Swedish cities, towns and scenery – with that sparking my creativity I began producing the rhythm section of my track where I attempted to tonally represent the natural beauty of Sweden in a Post-Rock style. I then worked to write a lead guitar section that incorporates themes and motifs from the Polska melody.

Per the rules, the lead guitar is a live-take and is shown uncut as the main video feed.

Everything was produced and recorded by me (Matt Pula)