Some albums are planned. Some are demanded — by grief, by love, by the kind of loss that leaves a silence so wide you have no choice but to fill it with the only thing you know.
“For The Hawk” is the new release from Citovitz and The Fireflies of February — the recording project of Polish-born guitarist, composer, and songwriter Andrzej Citowicz, based in Cairo, Egypt. It is available now on all major streaming platforms worldwide. And it arrives on a date that was never truly a coincidence. The official lyric video for ‘I Don’t Have To Hide’ — released also today with the album premiere, May 4th — is available now on YouTube:
May 4th. Star Wars Day. The day the world celebrates the Light Side of the Force.
He was always Light Side. Not once. Not ever, did he choose anything else.
THE HAWK His name is not printed here. Those who knew him need no introduction. Those who didn’t will understand everything they need to know from the music itself.
He was a friend. A mentor. A father figure to both Andrzej and his wife Shereen Shoukry Citowicz. He stood quietly in the background for years — never asking for recognition, never needing applause — and made everything around him better simply by being present. He was the kind of person who would die for the people he loved without hesitation, and never once mention it afterward. The kind of person the world produces rarely and loses too soon.
He was also a devoted Star Wars fan. A Light Side soul in every sense of that phrase — not as metaphor, but as lived practice. He chose good not because it was easy or rewarded or noticed, but because that was simply who he was.
“He stood in the background so we could stand at all. He never asked for anything. He gave everything. Love was not something he spoke about — it was something he did. Every single day.” — Andrzej Citowicz
When he was gone, Andrzej and Shereen faced what so many have faced before them — the impossible task of responding to an absence that language cannot adequately address. They did what they have always done. They turned to music.
A BLESSING, A CURSE, AND THE WEIGHT OF FRIENDSHIP For The Hawk did not begin as an album. It began as a song — Love Is All We Need — written in the spirit of Bon Jovi, warm and wide open and completely unapologetic in its belief that love is the hardest, strongest, most load-bearing thing a human being can carry. Shereen wrote the lyrics as a tribute. As his message, returned to the world in the only form she and Andrzej knew how to give it.
Then the grief kept arriving. And the songs kept coming with it.
This Is One’s For the Hawk. We Are The Good Guys. I Don’t Have To Hide. Love Is All We Need. Each track arrived from the same source — the specific, irreplaceable ache of losing someone who shaped you. Someone whose guidance you did not fully appreciate until the guidance was no longer there. Someone whose friendship was so present, so reliable, so quietly foundational, that you only began to understand its full weight when it was no longer something you could reach for.
“Music is all I can give back. If there is any paying back for his love, his friendship, his heart held out for both of us — for me and for Shereen — then this is it. Every note. Every lyric. Every song on this record.” — Andrzej Citowicz
“For The Hawk” is not a grief project. It is a friendship project. It is a record about the people who stand in the background and hold everything together — unseen, unrewarded, irreplaceable. About the loyalty that does not announce itself. About the loss that does not diminish but deepens everything it touches.
Andrzej and Shereen have faced much in recent years. Loss upon loss. The kind of accumulation that would silence many artists. Instead, it has done the opposite — driving both of them deeper into the work, further into the honesty that has always defined Citovitz and The Fireflies of February at their best.
MAY THE 4TH BE WITH HIM The choice of May 4th as the release date arrived with the particular logic of things that feel inevitable in retrospect. Star Wars Day. The day the galaxy celebrates the Light Side. The Jedi. The ones who chose good because it was right, not because it was easy — who stood in the fire and did not become it.
He was exactly that.
“I told myself it was coincidence. I know now that it was not. He was always Light Side. This was always his day.” — Andrzej Citowicz
On the day of the album’s premiere, a special official lyrics video was released for I Don’t Have To Hide — one of the most intimate tracks on the record. A song about the freedom that comes from being fully known and fully accepted by another person. The kind of freedom H gave to everyone around him, simply by being who he was.
THE MUSIC: CITOWICZ WITH GUITAR IN HAND Musically, For The Hawk is unmistakably Andrzej Citowicz. The guitar is first. It is always first. Modern technology surrounds it — the home studio in Cairo, the production, the arrangements — but the heart of every track beats with the same pulse it always has: a guitarist who grew up in Wałbrzych, Poland, absorbing Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Desmond Child, and the great power ballad tradition of the late 1980s and early 1990s as if his life depended on it.
Because in some ways, it did.
That DNA runs through every track on this album — the melodic hooks, the emotional guitar work, the cinematic arrangements that make vulnerability feel enormous rather than small. Phil Collen’s harmonized leads. The Bon Jovi warmth that turns a love song into a declaration. The Def Leppard wall of sound that makes a chorus feel like the world opening up.
But For The Hawk is not nostalgia. It is a man with a guitar and fifty years of scars, writing songs for someone who mattered, in the only musical language that has ever felt completely honest to him.
“The guitar is always first. Modern technology helps me build what I hear. But what I hear — I have been hearing since the early 90s. That has never changed. And with this album, more than any before it, I did not want it to change.” — Andrzej Citowicz
SHEREEN: THE LYRICAL SOUL Shereen Shoukry Citowicz is not a supporting presence on this record. She is one of its two central voices. Her lyrics — on Love Is All We Need and throughout the album’s emotional architecture — carry the particular honesty of someone who has processed grief not as a subject but as a lived experience, and found a way to transform it into something that reaches far beyond the personal.
After nearly 18 years of marriage, Andrzej and Shereen have built a creative partnership that continues to deepen and surprise. She gives him words he could not find alone. He gives her music that carries those words further than either of them could go separately. For The Hawk is their most unified and most personal collaboration to date.
“Without her — there would be nothing. Not the music. Not the courage to finish it. Not the reason to begin again every time the silence got too heavy. She is not just the person I come home to. She is the reason the guitar sounds the way it does.” — Andrzej Citowicz
AVAILABLE NOW For The Hawk is available now on all major streaming platforms worldwide. The official lyric video for ‘I Don’t Have To Hide’ — released on the day of the album premiere, May 4th, 2026 — is available now on YouTube. Youtube link: https://youtu.be/id41xCN6u8Y?si=KxZJTsx1GD8yoU6l
This is independent music in the truest sense. No label. No industry machine. Just a home studio in Cairo, a guitar, a marriage built partly on music, and the memory of a man who deserved to be honoured in the only way Andrzej and Shereen know how.
“May the Force be with him. It always was. Light Side. Forever.” — Andrzej Citowicz
TRACK CREDITS Music & Guitars: Andrzej Citowicz Lyrics: Andrzej Citowicz / Shereen Shoukry Citowicz Recorded & Arranged: 2026 Premiere Lyrics Video: I Don’t Have To Hide — May 4th, 2026 Artist: Citovitz and The Fireflies of February Dedicated to: H — Light Side. Forever. 🦅
Hard Rock Single Celebrates Brotherhood Forged Through Music, Features Decade-Long Collaboration with Bassist Patryk Szymański. Melodic Hard Rock with Modern Production Pays Homage to Bon Jovi and Def Leppard’s Legacy of Commitment and Craft.
CITOVITZ AND FIREFLIES OF FEBRUARY have released “You’re Not My Friend—You’re My Brother, My Friend,” the first single from the upcoming EP “My Revenge,” set to drop on February 10th, 2026 — Andrzej Citowicz‘s 50th birthday.
The single’s cover features Citowicz alongside bassist Patryk Szymański, whose presence represents more than musical collaboration—it embodies over a decade of genuine friendship that evolved into brotherhood through shared creative journey and mutual survival through life’s hardest moments.
Stream the single here:
A SONG ABOUT BROTHERHOOD THAT TRANSCENDS FRIENDSHIP
“You’re Not My Friend—You’re My Brother, My Friend” explores the rare bonds that develop when friendship deepens into something words struggle to capture—when someone becomes family not through blood, but through choosing to stay when staying is hardest.
“Some relationships transcend easy categorization,” Citowicz explains. “Patryk and I didn’t plan to become brothers. Music brought us together more than a decade ago, but what built between us—the trust, the loyalty, the showing up through loss and grief—that happened because we both chose it. Every single time.”
The song carries particular weight given Citowicz’s recent years navigating the loss of his son Jonasz, documented in his deeply personal album “Living Room Rockstar Part 2.” Through that darkness, certain people proved themselves to be more than friends.
“When you go through what we’ve been through, you learn who your real brothers are,” Citowicz states simply. “Patryk stayed. Not just musically, but humanly. He stood beside me when I couldn’t stand alone. This song is about people like him—the ones who become family when you need it most.”
PATRYK SZYMAŃSKI: MORE THAN A DECADE OF MUSICAL BROTHERHOOD
Patryk Szymański’s bass work on “You’re Not My Friend—You’re My Brother, My Friend” showcases the musical intuition that develops when two players share more than a stage—when they share a life. “Patryk’s bass playing is phenomenal, but that’s almost beside the point,” Citowicz reflects. “What makes working with him special is that he understands what I’m trying to say before I say it. We’ve been creating together for over ten years. We’ve survived together. The music reflects that connection—you can’t fake the kind of chemistry that comes from genuine brotherhood.”
Szymański’s contribution extends beyond technical proficiency. His bass lines provide the foundation that allows Citowicz’s guitar work to soar while grounding the song’s emotional weight in solid, driving rhythms. The result is a track that feels both powerful and intimate—rock music that carries the weight of lived experience.
“Patryk doesn’t just play on my records,” Citowicz emphasizes. “He makes everything complete. But more than that, he’s been there through the moments when music was the only thing keeping me alive. Through the loss of Jonasz. Through grief that had no words. He stayed when staying was hard. That’s brotherhood.”
THE MUSICAL APPROACH: MELODIC HARD ROCK WITH MODERN PRODUCTION
Musically, “You’re Not My Friend—You’re My Brother, My Friend” embodies melodic hard rock with contemporary production values—honoring the classic rock traditions that shaped Citowicz while embracing modern sonic possibilities. “I grew up with Bon Jovi and Def Leppard posters covering my walls in Wałbrzych, Poland,” Citowicz recalls. “Those bands taught me about melodic craft, about hooks that stay with you, about guitar-driven rock that still serves the song. But they also taught me something deeper—Jon Bon Jovi showed me you can be a rockstar and still honor commitment, still build something lasting with the people in your life. That philosophy runs through everything I create.” The song’s production balances raw emotion with polished execution. Guitars drive the track with the energy of classic hard rock, while the production techniques employ modern clarity and depth. The result bridges generations—appealing to listeners raised on 80s rock anthems while sounding current and vital.
“I wanted this song to feel timeless but sound today,” Citowicz explains. “The melodic sensibility, the song structure, the way the guitars and bass work together—that’s pure 80s hard rock influence. But the production, the sonic space, the way everything sits in the mix—that’s using everything we can do now. It’s respecting where I came from while living in the present.”
The Bon Jovi and Def Leppard influence manifests not just in sound, but in philosophy. Like his heroes, Citowicz believes rock music should be accessible without sacrificing substance, powerful without overwhelming vulnerability, anthemic while remaining personal.
“Desmond Child and Jon Bon Jovi taught me about hooks—those moments that grab you and don’t let go,” he notes. “But they also taught me that commercial appeal and emotional honesty aren’t opposites. You can write a song people want to sing along to that still means something real. That’s what I’m always chasing.”
“MY REVENGE”: A 50TH BIRTHDAY STATEMENT
“You’re Not My Friend—You’re My Brother, My Friend” serves as the opening statement for “My Revenge,” a five-song EP releasing on Citowicz’s 50th birthday, February 10th, 2026. The EP’s title carries multiple meanings—all deeply personal.
“Fifty isn’t what it was for our parents’ generation,” Citowicz reflects. “Our 50 is different. Still unfinished. Still learning. Still proving something. ‘My Revenge’ is partly about that—about reaching this milestone after everything that tried to stop me. After loss. After grief. After being told I’d never make it as a musician. Here I am. Still playing. Still creating. Still believing music matters.”
But the title carries deeper significance beyond defying expectations. “‘My Revenge’ is also about turning pain into creation,” he explains. “Life dealt some brutal hands. Losing Jonasz. Watching my wife be overlooked and unappreciated for 53 years. Going through darkness that should have destroyed us. My revenge isn’t about hurting anyone—it’s about refusing to let that pain have the final word. It’s about making something beautiful from what tried to break us. That’s the best revenge against suffering—surviving it and creating anyway.” The EP title also reflects Citowicz’s journey as a self-described “living room rockstar”—someone who never achieved mainstream success but never stopped believing music matters.
“I never became the rockstar on those posters in my teenage bedroom,” he acknowledges. “I never played stadiums or signed major deals. But I’m still here. Still writing. Still recording. Still finding people who connect with what I’m trying to say. After 50 years, I’m still standing with a guitar in my hands. That feels like its own kind of revenge against everyone who said this was impossible.”
THE COVER: A VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF BROTHERHOOD
The single’s cover features Citowicz and Szymański together—a deliberate choice that honors the song’s central theme. “I wanted people to see us,” Citowicz states. “Not just hear the music, but see the faces of two people who built something real through sound. Patryk belongs on this cover because this song doesn’t exist without him. Not just his bass playing—though that’s crucial—but his presence in my life. His brotherhood. That deserves to be visible.”
The cover image captures both musicians in a moment of genuine connection—not posed or manufactured, but authentically representing the relationship the song celebrates. “We’ve been playing together for over a decade,” Citowicz notes. “We’ve shared stages, studios, grief, joy—everything that makes up a life in music. The cover shows two brothers. That’s not marketing. That’s truth.”
CONTINUING THE JOURNEY: FROM “MY STORY” TO “MY REVENGE”
“You’re Not My Friend—You’re My Brother, My Friend” arrives in the wake of Citowicz’s recent surprise album “My Story,” released January 1st, 2026, which featured lyrics entirely written by his wife, Shereen Shoukry Citowicz. The progression from “My Story” to “My Revenge” represents Citowicz reclaiming his own narrative while honoring the collaborative spirit that defines his work.
“‘My Story’ was Shereen’s voice—her 53 years, her truth, her survival,” he explains. “‘My Revenge’ is mine. But they’re connected. Both albums are about refusing to stay silent. Both are about turning pain into something that might help someone else survive. Both prove that even when life tries to destroy you, you can still create.”
The thematic connection extends to the musical approach. Like “My Story,” “My Revenge” balances raw emotional honesty with solid musicianship, never sacrificing craft for confession or polish for authenticity. “I believe you can make music that’s emotionally devastating and still well-produced,” Citowicz states. “You can write about the hardest things and still care about the guitar tone, the arrangement, the hook. Emotion and craft aren’t enemies—they support each other. That’s what I learned from Bon Jovi, from Def Leppard, from all the bands that shaped me. They never treated commercial appeal and genuine feeling as opposites.”
THE MESSAGE: FOR EVERYONE WHO FOUND THEIR BROTHER THROUGH SOUND
While deeply personal, “You’re Not My Friend—You’re My Brother, My Friend” speaks to universal experience—the discovery that sometimes the people who become most important aren’t connected by blood, but by shared passion and mutual choice. “If you’ve ever had someone in your life who became more than a friend—who became the person you call when the world is too heavy, who stays when staying is hard, who shares your music and your silence with equal care—you know what this song means,” Citovicz offers.
He continues: “This is for everyone who found their brother through sound. Who built something real through creating together. Who knows the difference between friendship and brotherhood because they’ve lived it. Music can do this—it can bring two people together and create a bond that holds when everything else falls apart.”
The song’s message resonates particularly in an era where genuine human connection often feels increasingly rare. “We’re living in complicated times,” Citowicz observes. “Everything feels divided, isolated, disconnected. But music still has this power to bring people together—not just as audience and performer, but as real human beings who recognize something in each other. Patryk and I found that through playing together. This song celebrates that possibility—that you can find your family through art, through creation, through showing up and staying.”
LOOKING FORWARD: THE FULL EP AND BEYOND
“My Revenge” drops in full on February 10th, 2026, featuring five tracks that collectively represent Citowicz’s statement on reaching 50 while refusing to be finished. “These five songs are rehearsals for whatever comes next,” he explains. “Fifty doesn’t mean done—it means experienced enough to know what matters. Scarred enough to understand survival. Humble enough to keep learning. These songs reflect all of that.”
Additional singles from the EP will be revealed in the coming weeks leading up to the February 10th release. “Each song has its own story, its own reason for existing,” Citowicz notes. “But they all connect around this idea of revenge as creation—of refusing to let pain, loss, or being overlooked have the final word. Of still standing with a guitar after everything that tried to knock you down.”
AVAILABILITY AND CONNECT
“You’re Not My Friend—You’re My Brother, My Friend” is available now on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and all major streaming platforms. The full EP “My Revenge” releases February 10th, 2026.
“Some relationships transcend easy words. Patryk and I didn’t plan to become brothers—music brought us together, and everything else built itself through years of playing, creating, surviving together. When you go through what we’ve been through, you learn who your real brothers are. Patryk stayed. Not just musically, but humanly. He stood beside me when I couldn’t stand alone. This song is about people like him—the ones who become family when you need it most. If you’ve ever found your brother through sound, this one’s for you.” — Andrzej Citowicz
About Andrzej Citowicz: Andrzej Citowicz is an acclaimed Polish guitarist and songwriter currently based in Cairo, Egypt. As a former recording artist for DownBoys Records, he has built a reputation for emotionally resonant songwriting and distinctive guitar work. His music combines classic rock influences with contemporary production, creating a sound that bridges generational and cultural gaps while maintaining artistic authenticity. His YouTube channel has garnered over 70,000 views from an international audience.
Songwriter and Guitarist Andrzej Citowicz with Wife Shereen Shoukry Citowicz Release Deeply Personal Album on First Day of 2026 – “Now I Understand” Lyric Video Marks New Year’s Day Debut of Album Written Through Loss, Resilience, and 53 Years of Untold Stories.
In an unexpected New Year’s Day release, CITOVITZ AND FIREFLIES OF FEBRUARY—the musical partnership of songwriter and guitarist Andrzej Citowicz and his wife, Shereen Shoukry Citowicz—have released “My Story,” a surprise 12-track album available now on all major streaming platforms.
Unlike their recent Italian Christmas collaboration, “My Story” represents something far more personal and unexpected: an entire album where Andrzej composed every song, but Shereen wrote all the lyrics—transforming 53 years of lived experience, overlooked pain, and unspoken trauma into music.
A SURPRISE ALBUM BORN FROM SURVIVAL
“My Story” arrives without advance promotion or industry fanfare—released on January 1st, 2026, as an honest beginning to a new year following one of the darkest periods in the couple’s life. “This album wasn’t planned as a surprise release,” Andrzej Citowicz explains. “But after everything we’ve been through—the loss of our son, the grief, the struggle to keep breathing—we realized this couldn’t wait for traditional album cycles or marketing strategies. These songs needed to exist in the world. My wife’s words needed to be heard. On the first day of 2026, we wanted to give something real, something honest, something that might help someone else who’s been overlooked, unappreciated, or broken by life.”
The 12-song collection translates trauma into music, grief into melody, and survival into art—continuing the couple’s evolution from Andrzej’s deeply personal “Living Room Rockstar Part 2” (dedicated to their stillborn son Jonasz) through their Italian Christmas singles, and now into this complete collaborative statement.
SHEREEN’S VOICE: 53 YEARS OF UNTOLD STORIES
While Andrzej Citowicz has spent years processing emotion through music, “My Story” marks the first time his wife Shereen has claimed the narrative entirely through her own words. “My wife sums up her 53 years of life in this album,” Andrzej states. “It is her message to the world—a world that was often cruel and unfair to her. She was overlooked and unappreciated for so long. With my music, she is voicing her own traumas and laying out the truth. If you too are overlooked and unappreciated, this is for you.”
The discovery of Shereen’s remarkable voice during their Italian Christmas recordings revealed one hidden dimension of her talent. “My Story” reveals another: her ability to transform personal pain into universal truth through lyrics that speak for anyone who has been dismissed, diminished, or denied.
“These aren’t just her stories,” Andrzej emphasizes. “They’re the stories of everyone who was told they didn’t matter, everyone who carried trauma in silence, everyone who survived what they were never supposed to survive. She’s giving voice to all of that. Every lyric comes from lived experience. Every word is earned.”
“NOW I UNDERSTAND” – THE ALBUM’S OPENING STATEMENT
Leading the album is “Now I Understand,” accompanied by a lyric video released simultaneously on New Year’s Day. “This song is crucial,” Andrzej explains. “It represents that moment when everything suddenly makes sense—when you look back at your life and understand why things happened the way they did, why you had to go through what you went through, why the pain had purpose. My wife wrote these lyrics from a place of hard-won wisdom. After 53 years of being overlooked, she finally understands her own story. And now she’s sharing that understanding with anyone who needs it.”
The lyric video allows listeners to connect directly with Shereen’s words—to read, absorb, and recognize their own experiences reflected in her truth. “We wanted people to see the lyrics as they listen,” Andrzej notes. “These words matter. They deserve to be read, considered, felt. This isn’t background music. This is someone’s life, translated into language that might help someone else survive theirs.”
FROM LOSS TO MUSIC: TRANSLATING EVERYTHING
The couple’s recent journey—from the devastating loss of their son Jonasz to the revelation of Shereen’s musical gifts—has been marked by their choice to transform unbearable pain into creative expression. “We translate everything into music and lyrics,” Andrzej states simply. “It’s how we survive. After losing Jonasz, music was the only language I had. Now, with ‘My Story,’ my wife has found her own language too. We’ve taken the hardest moments of our lives—loss, grief, trauma, being overlooked and unappreciated—and we’ve made something from them. Not to glorify the pain, but to prove that even the worst experiences can be transformed into something that matters, something that connects, something that helps.”
The album continues the musical evolution established in their earlier collaborations, with Andrzej’s guitar-driven compositions providing the foundation for Shereen’s unflinchingly honest lyrics. “I write the music from my heart,” he explains. “She writes the lyrics from her lived experience. Together, we’re creating something neither of us could make alone. That’s what ‘My Story’ represents—two people who’ve survived the unsurvivable, creating art from the wreckage.”
A MESSAGE FOR THE OVERLOOKED AND UNAPPRECIATED
Throughout “My Story,” the album speaks directly to those who have felt invisible, dismissed, or denied their truth. “If you’ve ever felt like the world didn’t see you, like your pain didn’t matter, like your story wasn’t worth telling—this album is for you,” Andrzej emphasizes. “My wife spent 53 years being overlooked. She spent decades with her trauma unacknowledged, her experiences diminished, her voice unheard. ‘My Story’ is her way of saying: I was here. I survived. My story matters. And so does yours.” The surprise release on New Year’s Day carries symbolic weight—a declaration that new beginnings are possible even after profound loss, that voices can be found even after decades of silence, that stories can be told even when the world tried to silence them.
“Starting 2026 with this album feels right,” Andrzej reflects. “It’s a statement of survival, of resilience, of refusing to let pain have the final word. My wife’s lyrics prove that even when life has been cruel and unfair, you can still create something beautiful from what tried to destroy you.”
TECHNICAL AND ARTISTIC APPROACH
Musically, “My Story” maintains Citovitz’s signature approach—guitar-driven compositions influenced by classic rock craftsmanship while embracing contemporary production techniques. But the lyrical focus shifts entirely to Shereen’s perspective, creating an album that balances Andrzej’s melodic sensibility with Shereen’s narrative truth.
“I wanted the music to serve her words,” Andrzej explains. “Every guitar line, every arrangement choice, every production decision was about creating space for her lyrics to breathe, to be heard, to land with the weight they deserve. This isn’t a guitar showcase. This is her story, supported by my music.”
The 12-track collection covers the full range of human experience—from trauma to healing, from being overlooked to being seen, from survival to understanding. “We didn’t hold anything back,” he states. “These songs are honest about the hardest parts of life. But they’re also honest about hope, about resilience, about the possibility that understanding can come even after decades of pain. That’s what ‘My Story’ offers—not false optimism, but earned hope.”
CONTINUING THE JOURNEY: FROM ITALIAN CHRISTMAS TO “MY STORY”
“My Story” follows the couple’s Italian Christmas singles “Notte Di Stelle” and “Un Altro Domani,” which marked their first musical collaboration and the discovery of Shereen’s vocal abilities. “Those Christmas songs revealed that my wife had this incredible voice,” Andrzej recalls. “But ‘My Story’ reveals something deeper—that she has stories that need to be told, experiences that need to be voiced, truth that needs to be heard. The progression feels natural. First, we discovered she could sing. Now, we’re discovering what she needs to sing about.”
The couple’s evolution from Andrzej’s solo grief processing in “Living Room Rockstar Part 2” through collaborative holiday celebration and now into full album-length storytelling demonstrates music’s capacity to hold everything—from individual mourning to shared joy to collaborative truth-telling.
“Every project has been necessary,” he reflects. “‘Living Room Rockstar Part 2’ was me trying to survive losing Jonasz. The Italian Christmas songs were us celebrating life and partnership after that darkness. ‘My Story’ is my wife claiming her own narrative after 53 years. They’re all connected. They’re all part of the same journey from loss toward healing, from silence toward voice, from alone toward together.”
AVAILABILITY AND FUTURE PLANS
“My Story” is available now on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and all major streaming platforms. The lyric video for “Now I Understand” is available on YouTube.
The couple plans to continue their collaborative work, with more music from the “My Story” collection to be promoted throughout 2026. “This is just the beginning of my wife’s voice being heard,” Andrzej promises. “She has more to say. The world needs to hear it. And I’ll keep writing music that gives her the platform she deserves—the platform she was denied for too long.”
About Andrzej Citowicz: Andrzej Citowicz is an acclaimed Polish guitarist and songwriter currently based in Cairo, Egypt. As a former recording artist for DownBoys Records, he has built a reputation for emotionally resonant songwriting and distinctive guitar work. His music combines classic rock influences with contemporary production, creating a sound that bridges generational and cultural gaps while maintaining artistic authenticity. His YouTube channel has garnered over 70,000 views from an international audience.
*”Notte Di Stelle” and “Un Altro Domani” Mark First-Ever Creative Partnership Between Husband and Wife After 17 Years of Marriage* *Polish-Italian Christmas Collection Celebrates Cultural Fusion, Holiday Spirit, and the Discovery of an Unexpected Voice*
In a deeply personal departure from his recent work, Andrzej Citowicz—known for his emotionally raw album Living Room Rockstar Part 2 dedicated to his late son Jonasz—has released two Italian Christmas singles that represent something entirely new in his artistic journey: his first musical collaboration with his wife, Shereen Shoukry Citowicz. “Notte Di Stelle” (Night of Stars) and “Un Altro Domani” (Another Tomorrow) are more than holiday releases. They are the culmination of nearly two decades of shared life, the celebration of Polish-Italian heritage, and the unexpected discovery that changed everything—his wife’s remarkable voice.
Stream the songs below.
**A SEVENTEEN-YEAR JOURNEY TO THE MICROPHONE**
For Andrzej Citowicz, music has always been his primary language. As someone on the autism spectrum, songwriting and performance have served as his means of processing emotion, connecting with others, and making sense of a world that often feels overwhelming. But for seventeen years of marriage, his wife, Shereen, remained behind the scenes—his support, his strength, his inspiration, but never his collaborator. Until now. “I never knew,” Citowicz admits with a mixture of wonder and pride. “Seventeen years together, and I never knew she had this voice. We were preparing for our special gig in Hurghada, Egypt, on December 28th for Polish Day, and we got this idea—what if we created something together? Something that honored her Italian roots, something for the holidays, something that was *ours*.” What began as an idea became a revelation. “When she started singing, I was stunned,” he continues. “This was my wife—the person I’ve known longer than anyone—and suddenly I was discovering this whole new dimension of who she is. It was challenging for her. She’s never done this before, never recorded, never performed. But once we started working together, something magical happened. Her voice carries this emotion, this authenticity, this connection to her heritage that you simply cannot fake.”
The discovery transformed what could have been a simple holiday project into something far more significant: proof that even after 17 years together, love can still surprise you.
**THE ITALIAN CONNECTION**
The decision to record in Italian was never in question. Citowicz’s wife is half Italian, half Egyptian—a cultural fusion that shapes their household, their worldview, and now, their music. “She wrote the lyrics with her Nonna in her mind and heart,” Citowicz explains, his voice softening. “Her Italian grandmother—that connection runs so deep. When she writes in Italian, when she sings in Italian, you can hear generations of tradition, of family, of love passed down through language. I wanted the world to hear that.” He laughs when describing the recording process. “She trained me like a soldier with my Italian pronunciation. I have to apologize—’sorry for my pronunciation’—but she was tough! She wouldn’t let me get away with anything. Every word had to be right, had to honor the language properly. That’s who she is—when she commits to something, she commits completely.” The result is music that sounds authentically Italian while maintaining Citowicz’s signature rock sensibility—a true collaboration where neither culture dominates, but both shine.
**TWO SONGS, TWO MESSAGES**
“Notte Di Stelle” (Night of Stars) embodies the wonder and magic of the Christmas season. Drawing inspiration from the melodic craftsmanship of Desmond Child and Jon Bon Jovi—Citowicz’s longtime songwriting heroes—the song balances rock energy with Italian warmth. “I wanted this song to capture that feeling of Christmas Eve,” Citowicz describes. “When you look up at the stars and believe, even for a moment, that magic is real. That’s what ‘Notte Di Stelle’ is about—that sense of wonder, that hope, that belief in something bigger than ourselves. My wife’s voice brings such warmth to it. These songs aren’t pure hard rock—they keep the spirit of rock and pop but embrace the Italian language and the soul of the holiday season.” “Un Altro Domani” (Another Tomorrow) carries a different, equally powerful message—one of hope and resilience that resonates particularly deeply given Citowicz’s recent journey through grief. “This song is about new beginnings,” he explains. “It’s dedicated to everyone who’s lost hope, who’s struggling to find faith in life again. After losing Jonasz, I understand that darkness intimately. But ‘Un Altro Domani’ says that even when life has been unkind, even when you can’t see the way forward, there’s always another tomorrow. There’s always light at the end of the tunnel. My wife has been my light through that tunnel. She’s been my strength through the darkest time imaginable. This song is our way of saying to everyone else who’s struggling—keep going. Another tomorrow is coming. Better days exist, even when you can’t see them yet.”
**THE BON JOVI INFLUENCE: MUSIC AND MARRIAGE**
Throughout his career, Citowicz has been open about his artistic influences—the guitar-driven anthems of Bon Jovi, the melodic hooks of Def Leppard, the songwriting genius of Desmond Child. But Jon Bon Jovi’s influence extends beyond musical craft into something more fundamental: the understanding that love and creativity are not separate pursuits but intertwined expressions of the same commitment. “Jon Bon Jovi taught me something crucial,” Citowicz reflects. “He showed me that you can be a rockstar and still be devoted to one person. You can have this wild, creative life and still honor your marriage, still build something lasting with your partner. He’s been with the same woman for decades. He proves every day that rock and roll doesn’t have to mean instability or broken relationships.” This philosophy has shaped both Citowicz’s 17-year marriage and his approach to these new singles. “When I was that kid in Wałbrzych, Poland, with Bon Jovi posters covering every wall, I was learning about more than guitar solos,” he says. “I was learning about commitment, about partnership, about building something real. Now here I am, making music with my wife, and I realize—this is what those posters were really teaching me. That love and music aren’t separate. They’re the same language.” The musical influence is equally present. “Desmond Child and Jon Bon Jovi—they’re my north stars for hooks and melodies. Those key changes, those choruses that stick in your head for days—that’s the craft I’m always chasing. ‘Notte Di Stelle’ and ‘Un Altro Domani’ have that DNA. They’re not trying to be heavy metal or pure hard rock. They’re rock with soul, rock with warmth, rock that embraces Italian spirit and holiday magic while keeping those memorable hooks that make you want to sing along.”
**A VOICE DISCOVERED**
The revelation of his wife’s vocal ability remains the project’s heart.
“I cannot emphasize enough how incredible her voice is,” Citowicz states emphatically. “This wasn’t just a pleasant surprise—this was discovering that the person closest to you has been carrying this gift all along. Her tone, her emotion, the way she connects with the Italian lyrics—it’s remarkable.” The challenge of bringing her to the microphone for the first time added another layer to the project. “She was nervous, understandably,” he shares. “This is all new to her—recording, performing, putting your voice out into the world. But I watched her grow into it. I watched her find confidence. I watched her realize that she has something valuable to share. As her husband, that was one of the proudest moments of my life. As a musician, it was one of the most exciting.” He continues: “We decided we had to share this with the world. In these complicated times, with everything that’s happening globally, we believe in the magic of Christmas. We believe in love. We believe that music can bring people together across languages, across borders, across differences. My wife’s voice needed to be heard, and these songs needed to exist.”
**POLISH-ITALIAN-EGYPTIAN FUSION**
The cultural complexity of the project reflects the couple’s lived reality. “I’m Polish, from Wałbrzych,” Citowicz explains. “My wife is half Italian, half Egyptian. We live in Cairo. We’re making Italian Christmas songs inspired by American rock legends and preparing to perform them at Polish Day in Hurghada. When you actually map it out, it sounds almost absurd—but that’s the beauty of it. That’s the world I want to live in, where these boundaries don’t matter, where culture is something you celebrate and share and blend together into something new.” The opening reference to the Polish national anthem—”Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła, kiedy my żyjemy” (Poland has not yet perished, so long as we still live)—connects these Italian Christmas songs to Citowicz’s Polish identity in unexpected ways. “That line from our anthem—it’s about resilience, about surviving, about maintaining your identity even when the world tries to erase you,” he notes. “What could be more Polish than that? But here we are, using that resilient spirit to celebrate Italian heritage, Egyptian home, and universal holiday joy. It’s all connected. It’s all one story.”
**BEYOND LIVING ROOM ROCKSTAR PART 2**
These singles arrive in the wake of Living Room Rockstar Part 2, Citowicz’s deeply personal 13-track album dedicated to his stillborn son Jonasz. Where that album processed unsurvivable grief through music, these Christmas singles celebrate life, partnership, and hope.
“Living Room Rockstar Part 2 was survival,” Citowicz states simply. “Every song on that album was me trying to stay alive, trying to process losing Jonasz through the only language I really have—music. It’s raw, it’s painful, it’s honest about the worst thing that ever happened to me.”
He pauses before continuing. “These Christmas songs are different. They’re joy. They’re celebration. They’re my wife and me creating something beautiful together after walking through that darkness. Both are real. Both are necessary. Both are true.”
The contrast illustrates music’s capacity to hold everything—from profound grief to pure joy, from solitary processing to collaborative creation.
“My wife gave me strength when I had none,” he reflects. “She held me through the worst of it. She believed in me when I couldn’t believe in myself. Now we’re standing together, making music together, sharing our voices together. That progression feels important. From darkness to light. From alone to together. That’s what ‘Un Altro Domani’ is really about—another tomorrow, where things can be different, where light exists again.”
**THE CHRISTMAS MESSAGE**
Releasing these singles during the holiday season carries particular significance.
“Christmas is when we’re supposed to believe in magic, in hope, in love,” Citowicz says. “But let’s be honest—the world right now is complicated. There’s conflict, division, fear. People are struggling. I understand that struggle intimately. But that’s exactly why these songs matter. We need reminders that beauty exists, that different cultures can create something wonderful together, that love persists even through the hardest times.”
He continues with conviction: “If these songs make even one person smile during the holidays, if they remind someone that love and music can transcend anything, if they give hope to someone who’s lost it—then every second of work was worth it. That’s what Christmas music should do. Not just be background noise, but actually mean something, actually give something to people who need it.”
**TECHNICAL CRAFTSMANSHIP MEETS EMOTIONAL TRUTH**
Musically, “Notte Di Stelle” and “Un Altro Domain” maintain Citowicz’s established approach—honoring classic rock songcraft while utilizing contemporary production techniques.
“I wanted these songs to feel timeless but sound current,” he explains. “The hooks, the song structures, the melodic sensibility—they channel everything I learned from Bon Jovi, from Desmond Child, from all those late 80s rock ballads that shaped me. But the vocal production uses modern techniques. The recording technology is current. It’s respecting tradition whilst embracing what we can do today.”
The result bridges generations—songs that could appeal to someone raised on 80s rock and someone discovering music in 2025.
“That’s always my goal,” Citowicz notes. “Make it feel classic, make it sound fresh. Honor the past, live in the present. These Italian Christmas songs aren’t trying to be retro throwbacks or cutting-edge experiments. They’re just trying to be good songs that connect with people. Everything else is secondary to that.”
**LOOKING FORWARD: POLISH DAY IN HURGHADA**
Both singles will receive their live debut at Polish Day in Hurghada, Egypt on December 28th, 2025—a performance that holds special meaning for the couple. “Performing these songs live, together, for the Polish community in Egypt—it brings everything full circle,” Citowicz says. “Poland, Italy, Egypt, all together in one room, celebrating through music. That’s exactly what these songs are about. Unity through culture, connection through art, love across boundaries. And honestly, I cannot wait to perform with my wife. After 17 years together, to finally share a stage with her, to sing these songs we created together—that’s going to be a moment I’ll remember forever. The living room rockstar finally gets to play with his favorite person in the world.”
**A MESSAGE TO THE WORLD**
As “Notte Di Stelle” and “Un Altro Domani” make their way into the world, Citowicz returns to the fundamental truth that drives all his music. “I never became the rockstar on those posters in my teenage bedroom,” he states. “I never played stadiums or signed major label deals. I’m a living room rockstar—someone who still creates, still believes, still plays like it means everything. Because it does. Because music matters. Because love matters. Because hope matters.” He continues: “These songs with my wife are proof of that. After everything we’ve been through—the loss, the grief, the struggle—we’re still here, still creating, still believing that beauty is possible. If two people from different cultures, different backgrounds, living in a complicated world can make something beautiful together, then anyone can. That’s not naive optimism. That’s faith earned through surviving.” His final thoughts carry the weight of lived experience: “We’re releasing these Italian Christmas songs because we believe in the magic of this season. We believe love can surprise you even after 17 years. We believe different languages and cultures can harmonize into something more beautiful than either alone. We believe in another tomorrow, even when today is hard. And we believe that sharing our voices—both of them now—can maybe give someone else hope, joy, or just a few minutes of beauty during the holidays.”
**AVAILABILITY AND PERFORMANCE**
“Notte Di Stelle” (Night of Stars) and “Un Altro Domani” (Another Tomorrow) are available now on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and all major streaming platforms. The couple will perform both singles live at Polish Day in Hurghada, Egypt on December 28th, 2025.
“After 17 years of marriage, creating music with my wife feels like discovering a language we’ve always spoken but never voiced aloud. ‘Notte Di Stelle’ and ‘Un Altro Domani’ are our love letter to the world—proof that different cultures, different languages, different hearts can create something beautiful together. We believe in the magic of Christmas. We believe in hope, even after darkness. We believe in another tomorrow. And we believe that sharing our voices—together, finally—can remind people that love and music are the most powerful forces we have. That’s what these Italian Christmas songs are about. That’s what our marriage is about. That’s what matters.” – Andrzej Citowicz
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About Andrzej Citowicz: Andrzej Citowicz is an acclaimed Polish guitarist and songwriter currently based in Cairo, Egypt. As a former recording artist for DownBoys Records, he has built a reputation for emotionally resonant songwriting and distinctive guitar work. His music combines classic rock influences with contemporary production, creating a sound that bridges generational and cultural gaps while maintaining artistic authenticity. His YouTube channel has garnered over 70,000 views from an international audience.
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