N.R.M.

N.R.M. (Niezaležnaja Respublika Mroja, "Independent Republic of Dreams" in English) are a rock band from Minsk, Belarus, founded in 1981 as Mroja (Belarusian: Мроя). They are considered to be the most popular rock band in the country. They perform in the Belarusian language, and are a rallying point for political opposition to the Belarusian government, despite being the target of a performance ban from 2006 to 2009.

N.R.M.
N.R.M. at concert wRock for freedom, Wrocław
Background information
Also known asMroja
OriginMinsk, Belarus
GenresRock
Years active1981–present
LabelsWest Records
MembersOleg Demidovich
Yury Levkov
Pete Pavlov
Past membersLavon Volski
Vladimir Davidovsky
Benedict Konev-Petushkovich
Oleg Pipin
Leonid Shirin
Victor Smolsky
Viktor Shot
Yury Tsyankevich

Biography
Lavon Volsky

N.R.M. were founded as Mroja in 1981 at Alexei Glebov University in Minsk by Lavon Volsky (keys, vocals) and Vladimir Davidovsky (guitar). They held their first gig on 7 November 1981. Through the 1980s, there were several lineup changes. A few albums were also released. On 24 September 1989, the group played the Chervona Ruta festival in Chernovtsy, playing the songs "Šmat", "Australijskaja polka", "Mama - Mafija" and "Ziamla". In 1989, they recorded eight songs with producer Alexander Shtilman, released the following year as Dvaccać vośmaja zorka (28th Star) on Melodiya, the group's only release with the label. The lineup on DVZ was: Lavon Volsky – keyboards and lead vocals, Benedict Konev-Petushkovich – guitars, Yury Levkov – bass and Oleg Demidovich – drums and backing vocals. Davidovsky had left the group that year and was replaced by Konev-Petushkovich, who stayed on until 1992. He was replaced by Oleg Pipin and a couple of others before settling with Pete Pavlov in 1993. The Volsky-Pavlov-Levkov-Demidovich lineup would rename itself to NRM in late 1994.

Their music tends toward melodic hard rock with witty and often indirectly political lyrics. Since the late 1990s, the band's albums and publicity materials generally use the Łacinka alphabet, the Belarusian version of the Latin alphabet that was widely used alongside Cyrillic prior to the establishment of the Soviet Union. Some songs from NRM's first album under that name, LaLaLaLa, were performed by Mroja as early as 1990.

Like several other bands that sing in Belarus, they have expressed their opposition to President Alexander Lukashenko, although they have never mentioned him by name in their lyrics. N.R.M.'s largest crowd was in Kiev in 2004, when they played in support of the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, with band members expressing their hope that something similar would happen in their own country.

In the following years N.R.M.—along with many other Belarusian bands—was unofficially banned from FM station broadcast in Belarus. There was no written blacklist, but FM station managers said they received unofficial "recommendations" from the authorities.

Despite this unofficial three-year ban, the group continued its concert activity. Numerous performances abroad took place in Poland, Germany, Slovakia, Sweden. In their homeland, however, the group remained on the forbidden list, therefore they seldom held public concerts and played in underground conditions.

In 2007, the long-awaited sixth studio album "06" was released. It was recorded, according to Lavon Volski, under the influence of political events of spring 2006 in Belarus. The album "06" is compiled with songs of different styles. The Violoncello, mandoline, and keyboard were used, all of which were new instruments for the group. For the first time songs were sung not only by Lavon Volski, but also by other participants of the group and even a children's choir.

After a late-2007 meeting of Belarusian rock-musicians with the deputy head of the Presidential Administration on Ideology Oleg Proleskovsky, the band was removed from the banned list.[1]

For its concert, at the "Rock Coronation Awards" 2009 ceremony in May 2010 the band got awarded in the category of “Event of the Year”.[2]

In 2010, Volsky left the group. N.R.M. continued playing as a three-piece band. Their next album D.P.B.Č was released in 2013.

N.R.M. performing as Mroja at the Basovišča festival in Poland, 2009

Albums
Year of releaseOriginal titleTitleLabel
1986Stary chramOld Temple
1987ZrokVision
1989Studyja BMStudio BM
1990Dvaccać vośmaja zorka28th StarMelodiya
1991BijapolieBiofield
1992Lepšyja peśni z albomau 1988–1990The Best Songs from the Albums 1988–1990Kovčeg
1993Vybranyja peśni 1989–1993Selected Songs 1989–1993ZBS
1995ŁaŁaŁaŁaLaLaLaLaKovčeg
1996OdzirydzidzinaOdzirydzidzinaKovčeg
1997Made in N.R.M.Made in N.R.M.
1998Pašpart hramadzianina N.R.M.The Passport of N.R.M CitizenKovčeg
1999Akustyčnyja kancerty kanca 20-ha stahodździaAcoustic Concerts at the End of the 20th CenturyKovčeg
2000SamotnikSingle
2000Try čarapachiThree TurtlesBulba Records
2002Dom kulturyPalace of CultureBMA
2004Spravazdača 1994–2004Report of 1994–2004West Records
20070606
2013Д.П.Б.Ч. (Da pabačennia)D.P.B.C. (Goodbye)PetePaff Inc.

Other projects
  • Peśniarok (1997), tribute to Pesniary
  • Narodny albom (Folk Album) (1997)
  • Serca Eǔropy in rock (Heart of Europe in Rock) (2001)
  • Personal Depeche (2002), Belarusian tribute to Depeche Mode
  • Generały ajčynnaha roku (Generals of Domestic Rock) (2004)
  • NiezałežnyJa (IndependentMe) (2008)
  • Budzma The Best Rock / Budzma The Best Rock/New (2009)

Line-up
Oleg Demidovich
  • Pete Pawlaw - guitar (since 1993), lead vocals (since 2010)
  • Yuras' Ljaukou - bass (since 1981)
  • Aleg Dzemidovich - drums (since 1981)

Past members
  • Lavon Volsky - lead vocals, keyboards, guitars (1981–2010)
  • Vladimir Davidovsky - guitar (1981–1989)
  • Sergei Loskutov - rhythm guitar (1981)
  • Benedict Konev-Petushkovich - guitar (1989–1992)
  • Oleg Pipin - guitar (1992)
  • Leonid Shirin - guitar (June–September 1992)
  • Viktor Shot - guitar (September 1992–1993)
  • Yury Tsyankevich - percussion (1992–1994)
  • Viktor Smolsky - guitar (1993)

Timeline

The band appeared during one of their concerts at an opposition rally in 2006, which was featured in the documentary, A Lesson of Belarusian

References
  1. http://charter97.org/en/news/hottopic/11
  2. "«Рок-корону-2009» получила группа «Без билета»" [beZ bileta received the “Rock Crown 2009”]. naviny.by (in Russian). BelaPAN. 2010-03-05. Archived from the original on 2019-06-10. Retrieved 2019-06-10.

Bibliography
  • Viktar Dziatlikovič. Ich Mroja, ich NRM. Minsk: Sučasny litaratar, 2005.
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