Republika
From Unearthing The Music
Republika was a Polish rock band which began in 1978 in Toruń, Poland.
Biography
Republika was originally founded and fronted by Jann Castor under the name Res Publica, but under the communist regime at the time the name was censored and not allowed. His brother, Zbigniew Ruciński, who was a guitar virtuoso, joined him, and eventually brought Grzegorz Ciechowski into the band.
Ina Koneczna, an artist from Torun, created their original black and white logo, later transformed into black and white stripes which became the band's official logo. The black and white colours would become a key motif in their performances. Their anti-mainstream rock and new wave-inspired music and lyrics, both catchy and poetic, granted them a great deal of fame in Poland. They made their debut in Torun in November 1981.
In June 1982 the band, by then consisting of Paweł Kuczyński (bass), Zbigniew Krzywański (guitar), Sławomir Ciesielski (drums), and Grzegorz Ciechowski (vocal, piano, flute) began a three-month recording session, which resulted in the classic 1983 album Nowe sytuacje (eng. New Situations). Within a year, Republika recorded Nieustanne tango (eng. Permanent Tango), which was a logical expansion of the anti-regime musical ideas they'd established in their debut. The band also released an English-language album, the Orwell inspired 1984. Due to artistic quarrels, Republika disbanded in the summer of 1986. Grzegorz Ciechowski kicked off a solo career as Obywatel G.C. (Citizen G.C); Kuczyński, Krzywański and Ciesielski, along with vocalist Robert Gawliński founded a new band, Opera. Using unreleased Republika song sketches, Ciechowski released an eponymous solo album, Obywatel G.C., in 1986. His debut was an artistic success rather than commercial one; however his 1988 sophomore effort, Tak! Tak! was a blockbuster. In 1990, a concert in Opole acted as a catalyst for Republika's reunion. Only Kuczyński refused the proposition, so as a trio, the band issued their comeback album, 1991, which was a compilation of their well-known but rearranged songs. Kuczyński was replaced by Leszek Biolik, with whom Ciechowski, Krzywański, and Ciesielski finished recording the final Obywatel G.C. album titled Obywatel Świata (Citizen of the World) .
In 1993, their first live unplugged album, Bez Prądu (Unplugged, lit. Without current) was released. The same year Republika recorded the classic album Siódma Pieczęć (eng. The Seventh Seal), which presented a more acoustic countenance, with keyboards and samplers replaced by Hammond or Rhodes piano. In 1995, they released the rather pop-sounding album, Republika marzeń (eng. Republic of Dreams). The last studio album recorded by the band was Masakra (eng. Slaughter), inspired by modern heavy rock and trip-hop. Grzegorz Ciechowski's sudden cardiac death on December 22, 2001 interrupted production of the next Republika album. Four finished tracks along with 15 live songs comprised a double-CD simply titled Republika.
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Nowe sytuacje |
|
| 1984 |
|
| Nieustanne tango |
|
| 1991 |
|
| Siódma pieczęć |
|
| Republika marzeń |
|
| Masakra |
|
| Ostatnia płyta |
|
Live albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POL <ref>http://olis.onyx.pl/listy/index.asp?idlisty=84&lang= http://olis.onyx.pl/listy/index.asp?idlisty=892&lang=</ref> | |||||||||||||||||||
| Bez prądu |
|
— | |||||||||||||||||
| Republika |
|
5 | |||||||||||||||||
| Największe przeboje - LIVE |
|
— | |||||||||||||||||
| Trójka Live! aka Koncerty w Trójce vol. 13 - Republika |
|
38 | |||||||||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||||||
Compilation albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POL <ref>http://olis.onyx.pl/listy/index.asp?idlisty=731&lang= http://olis.onyx.pl/listy/index.asp?idlisty=78&lang=</ref> | |||||||||||||||||||
| '82-'85 |
|
48 | |||||||||||||||||
| Biała flaga |
|
34 |
|
| |||||||||||||||
| Komplet |
|
— | |||||||||||||||||
| Gwiazdy polskiej muzyki lat 80. |
|
— | |||||||||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||||||
Video albums
| Title | Video details | Sales | Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republika - Złote DVD |
|
|
|
| Projekt Republika - Przystanek Woodstock 2011 |
|
Related Content
Text adapted from Wikipedia