Deviation is a Belarusian punk rock band, founded in 1993 in the city village of Bolshaya Berestovitsa by the brothers Stas and Andrei Pochobut. The leader of the group defined her musical style as “a mixture of punk and hardcore, plus some reggae and folk” [1] . The “Deviation” group is the winner of the “ Basovishcha-1999 ” music festival and has been named the “Best Belarusian Rock Band of the Year” according to the version of the Musical Newspaper . The collective is considered as the most significant element of the Belarusian DIY punk culture [2] [3] .
| Deviation |
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| Genres | punk rock folk |
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| Years | 1993 - 2009 |
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| A country | Republic of Belarus |
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| City | Grodno |
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| Language of songs | Belarusian , English , Polish |
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The overwhelming majority of the group’s songs are politically anarchist: the songs criticize fascism [4] , totalitarianism, as well as the President of the Republic of Belarus, Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko .
Content
The Deviation group was founded in August 1993 [1] in the town of Bolshaya Berestovitsa, where Stas and Andrei began their first rehearsals [5] . Testing the work of the team took place in the Berestovitsky club of culture, cellars, bomb shelters and garages [5] . The band’s first concert took place on November 12, 1993, during which, among others, the song “Police Terror” was performed, dedicated to the former head of the Berestovitsky police department, who shot his wife from a service weapon and wounded his son. This faki subsequently became the basis for the detention of the members of the group [6] [7] . Soon the brothers moved to Grodno . In 1995, the group performed at the festival “Crush the fascist scumbag 95”, where they performed 3 songs. In 1996, after the election of the first president of the Republic of Belarus, the first album “Lukaschenko ... Uber Alles” was published, which contained sharp criticism of A. G. Lukashenko . In 1997, the second album, "Fuck you, but Tatalism ny pryzdze!" Was released, which contained obscene language. It has become more popular than the previous one. It contains not only criticism of the regime, but also the leader of the opposition party of the Belarusian Popular Front, Zenon Poznyak [6] In 1998, the group participated in the cult festival of Belarusian music “Basovishcha-1998”. In the same year, the first legal concert “Deviation” was organized, in which the group performed together with NRM. In 1999, “Deviation” won the festival “Basovishcha-1999” and participated in the festival “Crush the fascist reptile”, and also received the title of “Himself the best Belarusian rock band of the year ”according to the“ Musical newspaper ”. In the late 1990s. and in the early 2000s, the group conducted quite intense concert activities in Poland and Russia . With the participation of the team, a mini-tour in Belarus was organized, conducted jointly with the Contra La Contra group and the German Morbid Rage . In 2001, in France [6], the group released its third album, “Guerrila urbana”, the content of the songs of which, among other things, criticizes the system of forced recruitment into the ranks of the armed forces of Belarus. In the same year, the group participated in the festival “Crush the fascist reptile-3”. In 2009, after a long break in the form of an Internet release, the fourth album “Chargovy Zen Pad Akupatsyay” was released, which received the most fame and many positive reviews from Belarusian and foreign music critics [8] [9] [10] . This album focuses on criticism of the activities of Belarusian law enforcement agencies.
Since the beginning of the 2010s, the group has not been active in concert activity due to the fact that the group leader Stas Pochobut lives in St. Petersburg . During its existence, the band “Deviation” had few concerts permitted by the authorities in Belarus. Mostly, private concerts and many apartment owners brought her fame, thanks to which some music critics call the group “the punk legend from Grodno” [8] . Some of the group’s songs are inspired by the work of foreign artists and are the result of translating songs from other languages: for example, the song “Your Father’s Fascist”, with the exception of the last verse, is a translation of the 80s hit “ Your Father is a Fascist ” by the Russian group “ TV ” , “Pabeda Day” is a cover for the work of the Russian group “ AuktsYon ”, and the song “To the Future Enemies of the Jarjaw” was created based on the famous Polish poem “Do prostego człowieka” by Julian Tuwima . All albums, except the last, were recorded in the studio through Finika (Sergey Finsky) [5] . The last album was recorded in the garage, with support from Ultra Pultra Rec.
At the end of April 2016, the lead singer of the group, Stas Pochobut, performed in the homeland of the team in the city of Grodno. During a performance in the bar, electricity was turned off, as the administration did not like the word “fascist” in the song “Your father’s fascist” [11] . Nevertheless, Stas continued to perform songs without a microphone and in complete darkness. Later, the Grodno court awarded a fine of 25 million Belarusian rubles to the organizers of the concert, since the event was held without coordination with the ideology department of the Grodno City Executive Committee [12] .