Warsaw-based punk rock band, active since the early 1980s. One of the most important alternative rock groups in Poland.
Dezerter was founded in Warsaw in May 1981 by singer, songwriter and guitarist Robert "Robal" Matera, drummer and songwriter Krysztof Grabowski and bassist Dariusz Stepnowski. A few months later singer Dariusz "Skandal" Hajn joined the group as well. The band made their stage debut in November 1981, initially going by the name SS-20. After martial law was declared the following month, the band's name was changed to Dezerter.
In the spring of 1982, Dezerter joined two other well-known punk rock bands - Deuter and TZN Xenna - on their legendary "Rock Galicja" tour. The band went on to make their first studio recordings in Warsaw in 1983, which would appear later that year as a four-track single entitled Ku przyszłości. However, a large number of the albums they made were destroyed by the strict censors.
Banned from the studio, the members of Dezerter founded own label, Tank Records, and issued two live albums on cassette. In 1985, some of these tracks were released on the popular and influential compilations Fala and Jak punk to punk, and Paweł Piotrowski was introduced as the new bassist. In 1986 Hajn left the band, and would later die in 1995 of a heroin overdose at the age of 30. Matera became the lead singer.
Dezerter's self-titled debut album was recorded in June 1987 and released later that year by the mail-order club Płytowy Razem. The album, initially entitled Kolaboracja, was severely censored. That same year, a single featuring several previously unreleased tracks appeared as an LP called Underground Out of Poland on the US label Maximum Rock'n'Roll. Kolaboracja II followed in 1989, and the band's next album, Wszyscy przeciwko wszystkim, was followed by a two-month tour of Western Europe and Japan. Blasfemia, recorded in 1992 in the renowned Izabalin Studio and produced by the famous producer Andrzej Puczyński, was noted for its heavy rock and grunge influences and a much richer, cleaner sound. The 1993 compilation Jak powstrzymałem III wojnę światową contained several previously unreleased tracks - recorded live or during rehearsals - and included four songs featuring charismatic vocalist Katarzyna Nosowska of Hey
In the summer of 1994 Matera and Grabowski released Ile procent duszy as a duo, followed in 1995 by an album of songs originally performed by another punk legend, Deuter, and recorded along with Deuter's singer Paweł "Kelner" Rozwadowski and new bassist Tony von Kinsky. This album was followed by Mam kły mam pazury in 1996, Ziemia jest płaska in 1997 (the band's first use of electronics) and another duo recording, Decydujące starcie, in 2001. Dezerter spent most of 2002 touring Europe with guest singer Nosowska, a tour that included a gig at London's Astoria.
Nielegalny zabójca czasu appeared in 2004 with new bassist Jacek Chrzanowski, and a year later the band released its first live DVD. Dezerter has appeared at a number of Polish music festivals in recent years, and the band's latest album, Prawo do bycia idiotą, was released in October 2010.
Discography:
- Kolaboracja, Klub Płytowy Razem 1987, reissued by Polton in 1995
- Underground Out of Poland, Maximum Rock'n'Roll 1987, reissued by QQRYQ in 1996
- Kolaboracja II, Poljazz 1989, reissued by QQRYQ in 1997
- Wszyscy przeciwko wszystkim, Arston 1990, Polton 1991
- Blasfemia, Izabelin Studio 1992
- Jak powstrzymałem III wojnę światową, czyli nieznana historia Dezertera, Silverton 1993
- Ile procent duszy?, Polton 1994, Pasażer 2009
- Deuter, Polton 1995
- Mam kły mam pazury, Polton 1996
- Ziemia jest płaska, Warner 1998
- Decydujące starcie, Metal Mind Productions 2001
- Nielegalny zabójca czasu, Metal Mind Productions 2004
- Punk's Not Jazz, Metal Mind Productions 2006 (compilation)
- Prawo do bycia idiotą, Mystic Production 2010.
Author: Maciej Sienkiewicz, November 2010.