Following their debut “Jazz Report From The Hood", which proved a major success and brought attention to Omasta as one of the most distinctive groups emerging from the contemporary jazz scene, the musicians return with their second album, “Hits Different”. The record develops the language established on their debut, pushing it into new territory and shifting the perspective from that of the protagonists themselves to that of a narrator telling the story.

In just one year, Omasta went from an emerging band from Kraków, Poland, to one of the most recognizable groups on the European jazz scene. More than 100 concerts, performed both in Poland and across the UK, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Czechia, Hungary, Serbia, Romania, Turkey, and Estonia, allowed them not only to gain extensive live experience, but above all to spend hundreds of hours together on the road, on stage, and beyond it. During this time, they shared stages and collaborated with artists including Aquiles Navarro of Irreversible Entanglements, Tenderlonious, Wildchild, Stacy Epps, Shirley Jones, Bina., Marysia Osu, and Leszek Żądło. This intense period helped them better understand one another and develop a shared language that has become one of the defining elements of their musical identity. “Hits Different” is the next stage of this journey, shaped by experiences that unfolded not only in the studio, but above all through the time the musicians spent together.

The new album grows directly out of the musical language Omasta developed on their first album, balancing the eclectic, smoky sound of Detroit and Los Angeles beats with instrumental hip-hop and 1970s fusion. Rather than searching for an entirely new formula, the band expands its own distinctive language, making bolder use of electronics, space, and new approaches to composition. Both albums are connected by a conscious approach to songwriting and a strong emphasis on shaping the form and sound of each track. At the same time, improvisation remains an integral part of Omasta’s music, finding particularly broad expression in their live performances. The new album further develops the language established earlier, demonstrating that its possibilities remain far from exhausted.

While the debut album was a story about the lives and emotions of the band’s members, “Hits Different” adopts the perspective of a narrator, giving the album a more cinematic structure. As on the first record, the story is never told explicitly. The track titles merely point the way, leaving space for listeners to bring their own emotions, imagination, and experiences to the music. Each track becomes another scene in a story that moves through a broad spectrum of emotions, from happiness and excitement to anxiety, tension, and disorientation. It is a story that allows everyone to create their own interpretation, but its ending leaves no room for doubt. There is no happy ending here.