Messed Up are a Belarusian punk rock band from

Grodno Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...

West Belarus Western Belorussia or Western Belarus ( be, Заходняя Беларусь, translit=Zachodniaja Bielaruś; pl, Zachodnia Białoruś; russian: Западная Белоруссия, translit=Zapadnaya Belorussiya) is a historical region of mod ...

. Formed in 2015, they have been referred to as the first all-female punk band in Belarus and compared to the

riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington and the greater Pacific Northwest and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. Riot grrrl is a subcultur ...

movement. Their lyrical themes are mostly concerned with "how a

post-Soviet The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...

society favours an ordinary person, and how people in positions of power oppress those who choose to live differently". Due to their country's authoritarian government,

restriction Restriction, restrict or restrictor may refer to: Science and technology * restrict, a keyword in the C programming language used in pointer declarations * Restriction enzyme, a type of enzyme that cleaves genetic material Mathematics and logi ...

of personal and political freedoms, as well as its patriarchal social norms, Messed Up have oftentimes had to organise concerts practically illegally and thus have arguably found greater success playing abroad in the neighbouring countries of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

, where they have frequently performed at numerous points throughout the band's history. Igor Bancer, frontman of Grodno-based street punk group Mister X, has helped the band grow and aided its members with translation as well as promotion; Messed Up and Mister X have also performed together at various concerts in several countries across

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

. For a time, Messed Up founding member Katya also played as the drummer for Mister X. All members of the band are activists in their personal lives and are strictly opposed to sexism, homophobia, racism, fascism, and ageism. Inspired by left-wing and

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

themes, all the founding members were in their late teens when the band was formed and identify as feminists. Messed Up have played alongside Moscow Death Brigade in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, at the

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

Tattoo Konwent 2017, as well as performing at the fourth edition of the 161 Fest in

Warszawa Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

, Poland. They released their first demo available for free download in October 2016. Their first full-length album, released on vinyl and CD in November 2019 via

Audiolith Records Audiolith Records is a German Independent record label from Bahrenfeld, Hamburg, which publishes mainly Electronic music and Indie rock. While the bands under the label have varied musical styles, the label's main focus is on Electropunk, where it ...

, was met with positive reviews and followed by a promotional tour throughout Germany with their own workshops about the

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

scene in Belarus. The band has been featured in a number of international media, from interviews in old-school punk

zine A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to writ ...

s to articles in online multilingual projects. In early to mid August 2020, when the 2020 Belarusian protests escalated following the announcement of falsified election results, two members of the band (first Timofei and then Maryia) were imprisoned by police forces of the authoritarian government for taking part in demonstrations against the regime. However, eventually they were both released after some time in arrest. Most members of Messed Up were eventually forced to leave Belarus due to political repression and found refuge in Poland; due to this and the damaging effects of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, in July 2021, the band decided to indefinitely cease their acitivity.

Band members

The band started out as an all-female group, but in late 2018 their drummer Katya left the band and moved out of Grodno to pursue her career. While looking for a new female drummer, Artur Lemantovich from The Goonzz! and Mister X stepped in to help as a temporary drummer for Messed Up. Liza, one of the founding members and the band's guitarist, writes the lyrics for Messed Up's songs.

Current members

*Anastasiya "Nastya" Kapytok –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

*Lizaveta "Liza" Skiba –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

*Maryia "Masha" Yatsevskaya –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, backing vocals *Aleksandra -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Former members

*Ekaterina "Katya" Khvostikova – drums *Artur "Archie" Lemantovich - drums *Timofei "Tim" Shtarev – drums

Discography

*''100% GRLZZZ PUNK ROCK'' (2016 demo) *''Всё во что ты веришь / Everything you believe in'' (2019 album)

References

External links

*{{Bandcamp, messedupgrlzzz Belarusian punk rock groups 2015 establishments in Belarus