Mateusz Zolisz – an unconventional composer and software developer. He rarely parts with his guitar. He loves guitar improvisations. At our Faculty, he studies Information Technology in Automation Systems, combining his passion for computer science and automation. Our student was the guest of the #JestemzPWr (I am from WUST) series.

Our guest in the series is currently finishing the 4th semester at the Faculty. His class has been the first to study in the field of Information Technology in Automation Systems at our Faculty. He claims that he has always wanted to pursue a career in computer science, but apart from programming, he also liked to construct things. His field of study is a combination of these two areas – computer science and automation.

It turns out that his choice of the field of study could be motivated by his family background. “Computers have always been in my house, because my father is an IT specialist by profession and passion. In secondary school I developed simple websites, and in high school I had my first commercial orders. Now I'm working in a company on an employee management system. When I gain a little more experience, I plan to start my own IT business," he said in an interview for the #JestemzPWr series.

With the guitar, it was quite similar. His passion for music developed owing to the support of his parents. His first musical experiences include the concerts of Toto and Peter Gabriel. He particularly remembers the stage performance of the latter. “I was about 5 or 6 years old at the time, but I remember perfectly well what crazy things he did. Then my passion, supported by my parents, appeared, which led me to graduating from a music school.

Instead of practicing etudes, I had an inclination towards AC/DC riffs. Over time, jazz appeared, as well as hip-hop and soul music. These styles, contrary to what one may think, can be perfectly combined with each other. If you are curious about them, you can meet Mateusz during small concerts, which he gives in a duet with a talented vocalist Judyta. You can view original improvisations and fragments of performances on Mateusz's Instagram.

– I think I have the most unique experiences from my secondary and high schools, when I attended the Youth College of Popular Music in Olesno. I had the opportunity to take part in many workshops and play on one stage with such artists as: Mike Stern, Yellowjackets, Adam Sztaba, Jan Borysewicz, Marek Napiórkowski, Leszek Cichoński, Kamil Bednarek. Back then, together with WindBand, we played many concerts in Poland and abroad, in: Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Italy. I also met many friends there, with whom I managed to launch several musical projects – says the guitarist.

Mateusz has been inspired by such artists as John Mayer, Beau Diakowicz, Mateus Asato, Tom Misch, and the Polish band Bitamina. – Listening to them opened a new perspective on how to play and create – he describes in the interview. These artists create original music with its own characteristic aesthetics, which draws from various musical genres. The novel perspective of our student is just to "not categorize music into different genres, but draw inspiration from various sources and mix it into something that resonates with me – he explains.

– Music is an escape for me, but also a way to be creative. When I'm working on a project, but I can't come up with anything, I pick up my guitar and improvise. It's amazing, but after a moment a solution just comes on its own! Both in programming and composing, you have to be unconventional and sometimes go against the flow – says Mateusz Zolisz.

He found more common points between playing the guitar and programming in the hardware, i.e. in amplifiers and a lot of different guitar effects that allow you to get diverse and unobvious sounds. His passion for the guitar is not limited to playing, but also to the sound equipment itself. More specifically, to both digital and analogue electronics and the process of processing signals through it. Mateusz hoped that the studies would allow him to better understand how the equipment works "under the hood." Owing to what he has learnt, Mateusz has built a few of his own guitar effects as a hobby.

Recently, he has been developing his skills in a student research club KoNaR Robotics. He is the coordinator of the IT department there, and his team is responsible for maintaining KoNaR's websites and servers. The team is currently working on a new website. – I really admire my colleagues from the club, because what they can do at such a young age is very inspiring – he said for the ‘I am from WUST’ series.