Republika

Background

Republika was a Polish rock band which began in 1978 in Toruń, Poland. Originally, the band was founded and fronted by Jann Castor under the name Res Publica.. The name took its origin from "Rzecz Pospolita", but under the communist regime at the time the name was censored and not allowed. The band name was invented by Kris Caputa (Polish) currently residing in Victoria BC, Canada, who for the last thirty years worked in various fields of applied science, including astronomical instrumentation and numerical electrodynamics. One of the most notable member was the brother of Jann Castor, Zbigniew Ruciński, who was a guitar virtuoso - and it was him, who brought Grzegorz Ciechowski into the whole picture. The original art was created by Ina Koneczna, an artist from Torun, which was later transformed into black and white stripes that became the band's logo. Republika became one of the most original European bands thanks to their specific anti-mainstream rock & roll songs and black-and-white performance motif. Their new wave-inspired music and lyrics, both catchy and poetic, forged a path into the Polish rock pantheon. Republika debuted at a new wave band concert in Torun in November 1981.