This story is about a rare phenomenon: Abkhaz punk. Salima Sagaria and her band TOM SQUARE could be described as unique.
Salima began her career in pop music and turned to punk several years ago.
“People say different things to me. Many are supportive and say they are glad that this kind of music has finally appeared in Abkhazia. But there is also a lot of hate. At the beginning of the year, I posted a clip from my new song online. I wasn’t wearing any make-up, I was in ordinary clothes at home, just sitting there and shaking my hair around. For some reason, that really shocked a lot of people. I received threats and was even cursed.
“Our latest track is about exactly that: why so many people are afraid of change, and why our society does not want to move forward and change. This attachment to tradition also manifests itself in preventing creative people from expressing themselves,” Salima says.
“But I’m going to keep going, releasing new tracks and mixing different styles. I want to bring traditional instruments and choir into punk rock. I like introducing something new.”
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