Cztery Refy

The “Cztery Refy” or “The Four Reefs”- came into existence around the end of 1985. All the band’s founding members of the band belonged to the AKZ (Academic Sailing Club) in Lodz.
The band’s repertoire consists of over 250 pieces including: shanties, sea ballads, whaling and fishing songs, songs about sea battles, as well as instrumental tunes based on the folk music of Ireland, Scotland, England and Brittany, which had been played on the decks of large sailing vessels. Many of the lyrics are the “Refy’s” own Polish translations of traditional sea songs. They also sing in English. Members of the band use only traditional acoustic instruments: the concertina, fiddle, mandolin, guitar, tin whistle and Jew’s harp.
Quite a number of musicians have played with the group in recent years, although its nucleus still retains well-known members of “Refpatent” (the first Polish group to champion sea-songs in translation) which flourished from 1974 to 1980.

In recent years, the “Refy” have been invited to nearly every festival and sea-shanty meeting in Poland. They are the most active and experienced group on the Polish “shanties scene”. They have also played in England, Scotland, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Italy and the USA, alongside the finest performers of this music from around the world.
The band were involved in starting the annual classic shanty and sea song festival, “Kubryk”, (“Foc’s’le”), which has been held in Lodz since 1985. From 1996 till 2000 they have also been co-organisers of the well known and (till 2000) only one really international sea song festival in Poland – JEZIORAK SHANTIES MEETING in Ilawa.
In 2002 (festival “Shanties” in Cracow) they were awarded the Grand Prix and in 2008 – the Stan Hugill Prize and the Audience Prize.
In 2010, the “Refy” put together special programmes to perform at some major events in celebration of the band’s 25th birthday.

“Cztery Refy” have published fifteen CD’s (earlier fourteen cassettes) Four of these albums were recorded with their friends: Ken Stephens, Simon Spalding and Ian Woods.