bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

quizIds

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

paywallTypes

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

Polish guitar prodigy Marcin, whose virtuoso performances have won celebrity fans and been viewed millions of times online, has a technique so fast and complex that he is regularly accused of tricking listeners.
“I’m a little bit annoyed that some people think it’s fake … but it’s good that there’s a discussion,” the 24-year-old said in Paris last week as he began a European and North American tour with around 40 dates.
Whether performing music by Chopin, Nirvana, Dr Dre or Stevie Wonder, Marcin Patrzalek has perfected a technique that creates the sound of a full band with just his acoustic Ibanez guitar.
He strikes the body with his right palm to create the bass drum sound, and raps it with his nails, flamenco-style, for other percussion.


At the same time, his fingers race across the strings, producing bass, rhythm and lead guitar in a whirlwind of movement.
After studying under Spanish flamenco guitar master Carlos Piñana, the wonder from Kielce, southeast Poland, decided to take his own path.
“I didn’t want to mimic anyone, I didn’t want to be like anyone else. So I was trying to do something unique,” he explained.
On Instagram, his videos almost always surpass a million views, while clips with an incredulous Wyclef Jean of The Fugees – “That’s amazing!” – and actor Will Smith are even more popular.
Smith was so impressed that he ended up featuring Marcin on his recent track “First Love”.


“Guitar has always been very natural and fun,” added Marcin, who does not come from a family of musicians and only picked up the instrument for the first time at around age 10.
As a teenager, he won Mam Talent!, the Polish version of America’s Got Talent, and a few years later, in 2019, he reached the semi-finals of the US edition after moving there for his studies.
Today, the techniques that made him famous remain a powerful magnet for clicks online – but they can also be a trap.
“For many people, the technique is a good way of impressing them,” he explained. “If you’re scrolling on your phone or you’re going through Spotify or something and you hear something that’s like: ‘Wow, how is this possible?’, of course, you want to learn more.

“But the problem is that eventually it gets too repetitive. You don’t want everything to be super fast and super technical.”
This presents a dilemma: “On the one hand if I post something online I want it to be seen by millions of people. On the other hand, I want to post new things all the time and change.”
On his latest album, Dragon in Harmony, released in September, a more stripped-down classical style emerges at times – less Instagrammable but coexisting with his signature spectacular tracks.

“Classical music is the core of all music,” Marcin stressed.
At La Maroquinerie, the venue in Paris where he started his tour, Chopin’s Nocturnes and Bach’s Toccata featured alongside a Nirvana cover.
“The fact that it (my music) reaches many people who don’t usually listen to classical music is a lucky accident,” he said. “I just want to play music I like and do it in my own way.”


Meet Jordan Hemingway, FKA Twigs’ photographer boyfriend: he’s worked with clients including Prada and Valentino, but growing up in New Jersey, he dreamed of being a pro skateboarder

Your perfect week: what to do in Hong Kong, March 30-April 5

Who is singer Jesy Nelson’s baby daddy, Zion Foster? The London-born rapper is 7 years younger than the Little Mix star, and their current relationship is unclear – but they’re having twins

Richard Chamberlain, star of Shogun, Dr Kildare, and The Thorn Birds, dies at 90

Music

Why Will Smith is such a fan of Marcin, Instagram guitar prodigy

Percussive finger-style guitarist, composer, and social media star Marcin Patrzalek. Photo: AFP

Patrzalek’s Instagram videos clock up more than a million views. Photo: AFP

Marcin Patrzalek was asked to record with Will Smith. Photo: AFP

Punk music in China is now less rebellion, more depression and apathy but still draws fans

A punk attends a punk festival in Hangzhou, China, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Punk band System Chaos performs at the School Bar club in Beijing, China, on February 15, 2025. Photo: AP

The crowd dances as they attend the “Unite Punk Music Festival” in Hangzhou on January 17, 2025. Photo: AP

Zedd, a mechanical engineer student by day who plays guitar by night for the band System Chaos, speaks before a performance at the School Bar club in Beijing on February 15, 2025. Photo: AP

An artist who goes by the name Dream Boy jumps as he performs during the “Unite Punk Music Festival” in Hangzhou. Photo: AP

A woman attends the “Unite Punk Music Festival” in Hangzhou. Photo: AP

A punk rocker attends the “Unite Punk Music Festival” in Hangzhou. Photo: AP

Chinese punk band Gum Bleed’s lead singer raises a fist onstage during the “Unite Punk Music Festival” in Hangzhou. Photo: AP

Bon Jovi’s new Slippery When Wet LP reissue splits fans

Members of Bon Jovi in the late 1980s, around the time of the original release of the album Slippery When Wet, with Jon Bon Jovi in the centre.

Why, in Kashmir, the audio cassette is king among music lovers

Self-taught tape recorder mechanic Mohammad Ashraf Matoo repairs a tape recorder at his shop in Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir. Cassette tapes remain popular in the region among lovers of its Sufi music. Photo: AP

Old cassette tapes are stacked on shelves at Mohammad Ashraf Matoo’s cassette tape player repair shop in Srinagar. Photo: AP

Refurbished tape recorders for sale in a shop in Srinagar. Photo: AP

Farooq Ahmad Shaksaaz listens to his favourite Sufi singer as he works at his tailor shop. Photo: AP 

A Kashmiri man checks his tape recorder before the start of a Sufi gathering in the outskirts of Srinagar. Photo: AP 

Kashmiri men listen to Sufi songs on a tape recorder. Photo: AP 

Old cassette tapes from Sufi music gatherings stacked inside suitcases. Photo: AP

Lifestyle

Entertainment

Culture

Marcin Patrzalek, 24, plays percussion, melody and rhythm at the same time on his acoustic guitar, and is an Instagram sensation


Marcin Patrzalek, 24, plays percussion, melody and rhythm at the same time on his acoustic guitar, and is an Instagram sensation.


YouTube and YouTubers

Poland

Offbeat