Qba Janicki (b. 6 February 1989, Bydgoszcz, Poland) is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer emerging from the vibrant artistic community surrounding the MÓZG club. Over the past 17 years, he has performed extensively throughout Europe and beyond, collaborating with visionary artists such as Roscoe Mitchell, Jerzy Mazzoll, Sławek Janicki, Tomasz Sroczyński, Toshinori Kondo, Peter Brötzmann, Mats Gustafsson, Teoniki Rożynek, and Grischa Lichtenberger.
For over a decade, Janicki was a core member of the acclaimed Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet. He currently performs both as a solo artist and as part of several key collaborative projects, including Malediwy (with Marek Pospieszalski), T’ien Lai (with Jakub Ziołek and Łukasz Jędrzejczak), Marek Pospieszalski Octet, trio AJAKS (with Pospieszalski and Max Mucha). and a duo with Grisch Lichtenberger. In addition to his performance practice, he composes original scores for theatre, collaborating with renowned directors and collectives such as Krzysztof Garbaczewski, HERTZ HAUS, Maciej Podstawny, Ramona Nagabczyńska, and Paweł Łysak.
His artistic interests also extended into experimental hip hop, exemplified by the album HORE, produced for Vienio, a founding member of the iconic Polish rap group Molesta.
From 2020 to 2022, he curated and hosted the radio show WARSTWY on Radio Kapitał, focused on experimental and improvised music.
Janicki is also actively involved in cultural programming and community-based initiatives. As vice president of the MÓZG Foundation and the Grupa Sokołowska Association, he co-organises a range of interdisciplinary events in Bydgoszcz, Warsaw, and Sokołowsko, including the MÓZG Festival, Bromberg Calling, and Warsaw’s Studio of Experiment. In previous years, he also co-created now inactive projects such as Letnie Pranie Mózgu, Kulturalna Czerwcówka w Sokołowsku, and SuperSam+1.
Between 2014 and 2018, he ran the Warsaw branch of MÓZG Club, located within Teatr Powszechny—an important venue for experimental and interdisciplinary art on the Polish cultural map.
