Based in: Vienna, Austria
Zosia Hołubowska—also known as Mala Herba—is a sound artist and a queer activist, a member of the Oramics collective and the co-founder of Sounds Queer?, a knowledge sharing investigative collective. Their practice is deeply rooted in Slavic folklore, healing rituals and queer as metholody of composing music.
As Zosia Hołubowska, they explore sound design and performance art, working at the intersection of experimental music, theatre and new media art. Their most recent works include 2020’s Śpiewając Warmię (Singing Warmia), a 5 channel composition exploring the inability to establish a relationship with the place of birth. Instead of relying on family stories, songs and memories, they’re sonifying photos of their hometown to tell a story of a place they’re not really from. In 2020 they also premiered Community of Grieving—a collaboration with Julia Giertz—turned into a live show that debuted in 2021 at Unsound Festival in Kraków in collaboration with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. Conceived during the pandemic, it’s an audio ritual drawing on lament and vesper traditions as a choreographed sonic meditation.
As Mala Herba, they compose music for the dancefloor. Rooted deeply in Slavic rituals, magic and demonology, Mala Herba’s songs explore the darker side of the club music, blending demonic disco with EBM. Juxtaposing dance traditions from the past with their contemporary counterparts, Demonologia—Mala Herba’s debut album for Aufnahme+Wiedergabe—creates something unique: an experience close to primal instincts yet intriguely post-modern.
Granko represents Zosia Hołubowska globally (excluding “Community of Grieving“) and Mala Herba in Poland.
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17.11 XXX Festiwal Ars Cameralis | Katowice, Poland
05.11 Mala Herba [PL] + Den Sorte Død [DK/SE] + Albert Severin | Spillestedet Stengade, Copenhagen, Denmark
30.10 ASFAST / MALA HERBA / ANTONIA XM | Sargfabrik, Vienna, Austria
22.10 REAKTOR Potenziale #3 | Amniotic Antidote | Reaktor, Vienna, Austria
21.10 Zoë Mc Pherson, Mala Herba, Morast, ADHS Lene | fluc + fluc wanne, Vienna, Austria
16.10 Unsound 2021: dəəp authentic | Teatr Łaźnia Nowa, Kraków, Poland
11.09 LILA LIED – The Queer Cabaret | SchwuZ Queer Club, Berlin, Germany
05.09 New Beat Sunday w/ Mala Herba, Carlos GrabStein, Chris Video… at the Urban Spree Garden | Urban Spree, Berlin, Germany
21.08 Kalabalik på Tyrolen 2021 | Tyrolen i Blädinge, Alvesta, Sweden
20.08 inPROGRESS 2021 | Gdańsk, Poland
12.08 LOTTO • Mala Herba │ Lado w Mieście 2021 vol.7 | Plac Zabaw, Warszawa, Poland
11.08 Soundrive Festival 2021 | Stocznia Gdańska, Gdańsk, Poland
30.07 Fala Occult Dźwięku | Wyszków, Poland
23.07 Sniffin Glue II | rhiz, Vienna, Austria
03.07 Sonic Territories 2021 | Fabrik, Vienna, Austria
25.06 Wianki – Jestem Wesoła | Wesoła, Kraków, Poland
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August 2021: Orgie z diabłami – Mala Herba zagra na Lado w Mieście | WYWIAD | going.pl [Polish only]
February 2021: Mala Herba: “Nie wyobrażam sobie funkcjonowania bez magii” | poptown.eu [Polish only]
January 2021: Mala Herba DEMONOLOGIA | review by Nick Roseblade in The Quietus
January 2021: Zrozumieć skąd jestem i co to znaczy. Wywiad z Mala Herba | undertone [Polish only]
