MISSCORE Talk New Album, Their Hometown And More

Formidable Polish hard-hitters MISSCORE continue their charge with the release of their forthcoming new album, ‘Hypocrisy’. We chatted to them about the new record, their hometown and more:

Who is in Misscore, what do they play and how did you meet?

Hello, we are Misscore, a blend of rock with elements of metal, electronics, and goth, which is highlighted by the clean vocals. The lineup in which we recorded the albums Drown and Hypocrisy came together between 2015 and 2016. In September this year, Krystian, our guitarist, left the band for personal reasons, and his place was taken by Maciej, whom I met around 2021 when we played a concert together with his other band at the Rock am Palast festival. We’ve been organizing this festival for three editions now. We started composing the album Drown at the end of 2019, and three of us remain from that band: the vocalist (me), the drummer (Jarek), and the keyboardist/bassist (Mateusz). Three of us met at music school.

When did you begin songwriting?

I started writing songs when I was 13 years old, but they were not particularly interesting “musical ideas”—more like teenage outbursts, lacking structure or skill. I truly composed my first songs when I was 19, and I signed them under the name Misscore, which has been with me since 2010. The first song I wrote was in Polish; I played it on an acoustic guitar and performed solo. Later, my friends and I added instruments to it, and that’s how Misscore became the name of the band.

What is your earliest musical memory?

I don’t have many musical memories because, as a child, I didn’t attend any music school. I remember how, in the first grade of primary school, we learned a song with the lyrics, “Because the Earth is an island, a green island,” and I still remember that melody and text to this day. And of course, in the playground near our block, we played with other kids and organized performances for the neighbors—there, too, we sang songs.

Your new single ‘F’ is out now. What was the inspiration/story behind the track?

“F” came to life after several weeks of boredom—seriously! I can’t stand when nothing is happening; everything moves slowly then, and I don’t even feel like sending a single email if that’s the only thing on my to-do list. I function much better when I have a lot to do in one day; that’s when I plan my time. But at that time, nothing was happening for a long stretch. There were no concerts, all the emails had been sent, we weren’t rehearsing, and I was irritated—probably with myself—that nothing was going on. I was also tired because the previous weeks had been packed with activity, and over the past few years, I’ve only had about five days off. On the other hand, I really wanted things to keep moving forward, but nothing happens on its own—you have to push yourself to act. And that’s what the song is about: that moment when you realize this, get up, and start doing something.

The single is accompanied by an official music video. What was the thought process behind the video and who directed it?

The script and direction were handled by Karol Kozanka. He suggested filming this music video to include it in his portfolio. It’s one of the few (or maybe even the only) videos I didn’t direct myself. Karol took care of everything—from the concept to assembling the team, casting extras, managing the set, and editing. Over three days, about 30 people from a film school worked on the set. Before we got the proposal, I had a completely different vision for the video, and since I’m pretty stubborn, I wanted to negotiate. But later, I thought we’d see how it turned out—I could use my ideas elsewhere. The final result of “F” is really great. The director’s idea was to show me being possessed and then passing that possession onto the whole band, pulling them into a dark void. 🙂

Your new album ‘Hypocrisy’ is out now. How did you want to approach the making of the album?

And here comes an unexpected answer: we postponed the release date. We’ll announce the new release dates for the album and single soon. This is due to our collaboration with a label that has a different concept for promoting our music. Overall, I anticipate that spring 2025 will be a busy time for us. We’ve visited some great places and met a lot of industry people who want to help us. You’ll find out more soon if everything goes according to plan.

Where did you record the album and who produced it?

We recorded and produced the album ourselves, just like the first one. Hypocrisy features more songs composed by just Mateusz and me, partly because we worked on them using various scholarships. The album is slightly more stylistically cohesive. Unlike Drown, which took five years, this album was created in a much shorter time—just two years. We have a small recording studio and a large room in the countryside. An acoustics expert from a technical university designed the soundproofing for us. It’s a great place to work, and we can record even at night. Still, I’d love to reach a point where we can create a more polished demo, record the tracks, produce a semi-final version, and then send it to someone else for editing, mixing, production, and mastering. That would speed up the process significantly. For now, we prefer to spend our money on visuals, music videos, and equipment. I dream of working with Zakk Cervini.

Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the recording sessions?

Every recording session we have is funny because everyone in the band is a sound engineer, so technical jokes are always on point. Here’s a fun fact from the music video shoot for “Chimera”—they poured six liters of blue jelly over me—you can see it in the video. Apparently, they had always dreamed of doing that. Then they sprinkled semolina on me, and by the end of the one-shot shoot, it turned into cement in my hair, and I couldn’t wash it out. To make things worse, I forgot to bring a change of clothes, so I wrapped myself in towels to get home from the set.
On a more challenging note, we record everything multiple times because we don’t have to pay for studio time (except rent and electricity), so we constantly tweak things without rushing.

Did you use any particular instruments, microphones, recording equipment to help you get a particular sound/tone for the record?

We use many plugins with electronic sounds. We’re not fans of autotune, but instead, we love effects that change the tone of the voice—I’m a big fan of those and plan to start using them live. Beyond that, we have an entire arsenal of microphones, guitars… but most of the effects work happens on our computers.

Which of your new album tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

I think the happiest song on the album is “Freaks,” the angriest is “Fire,” and the most reflective is “What If.” I can’t wait for you to hear them!

What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?

I’m not sure how to interpret this question. If you’re asking what I want to achieve after a concert, it’s definitely the fans’ appreciation and good memories. If you’re asking what I’ll do when I stop making music (which isn’t in my plans), I’d become a music manager and open a restaurant with live music. But I guess you meant the first answer.

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?

My favorite is the baritone guitar, low-tuned basses, and in the studio, my U87 microphone paired with some very cheap headphones that I love recording with. I can’t stand my in-ear concert headphones; I’d rather sing into a wedge, but we play with loops, and loud drums can really damage your hearing in the long run. Overall, I love our live setup—it’s well-polished, a bit like plug-and-play.

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

As a reference point, I always list the town of Lubrza (Poland, near the Czech border). It’s a small village where our studio is located. If I had to describe it in five words (or rather phrases), they’d be:
• mountains
• silence
• gossip
• feuding neighbors
• Czechs are awesome, and it’s only 5 km to a restaurant with fried cheese

How do you look after your voice?

I mainly try to stay silent whenever I can. Unfortunately, I’m not very careful with my voice and often get sick because scarves and hats are my enemies (I just forget about them). But silence really works wonders. Before concerts, I also make sure to get plenty of sleep.

You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?

Wow, I’ve never thought about that. Honestly, I think it would be easiest for me to write lyrics for a funny novel about crazy people or students. It would be a bit harder, but I’d love to create a soundtrack for Girl, Interrupted. The book and movie are very close to my heart and evoke strong emotions in me, even though I’ve never personally related to the story—it might be from a past life.

Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?

Each of us draws inspiration from different music, so we often have differing visions for the songs. This album was primarily created by Mateusz and me, which is why it features plenty of synthesizers, hidden polyrhythms, and heavy breakdowns.
My inspirations come from the UK and US metalcore bands singing about depressive topics or being skaters. However, the band I listened to the most was Bring Me the Horizon, and they probably had the greatest impact on me, inspiring me to create my own music. Maybe that’s why my lyrics also tend to be a bit melancholic, dealing with the theme of past demons.

Do you have any live dates planned in the UK/Europe in 2024/2025?

Yes, we have some dates, but I think the most important announcements will come in spring 2025. Right now, we’re focusing on the album, singles, and gaining fans online. I think we’ll start touring the country around May 2025 to promote the new album. We’d love to visit the UK, but for now, with our limited recognition, it wouldn’t make much sense.

Who created/designed the album artwork?

For years, I’ve been working with Łukasz Bulla—he designs all the artwork, and it’s hard to find someone else who makes me go “wow” on the first try, which is quite rare! The collaboration is great, but getting hold of him on the phone is a nightmare.

Was it a difficult album to write?

It wasn’t too bad—these songs just kind of wrote themselves. Some lyrics practically flowed onto the page, and ready-made melodies fit into a single voice memo recording. These were new songs written after Drown, which we exhausted ourselves with, taking five years to record.
I’ll reveal that we already have the first single for the next album and even its title… I won’t share it yet, but the third album will blow your mind—Hypocrisy is just the warm-up.

What makes Misscore happy and what makes you unhappy?

We’re happiest when we play and see the audience enjoying themselves. This year, we played at a showcase on the other side of the country—it was only a 15-minute set at 11 a.m. But people came just for us and stood right in front of the stage. Moments like that are incredibly fulfilling. And we’re unhappiest when we’re not playing, not meeting up, or failing to create something new. I think we’re all waiting for those weekends when we pile into the van.