Zero degrees and a book

Originally posted on DIY Conspiracy / columns.

I guess it's about zero degrees celsius. It has been snowing for the last two days even though the week before actually felt pretty closer to a spring. After grabbing a Saturday cup of double coffee with some mates I'm on my way home. I walk my daily route, I cross the small bridge like I do everyday and just like that I toss a short glimpse at the stone handrail on my right, where in drier and warmer days the local bibliopoles sell old books.

For my surprise even in this cold afternoon there are still few books lined there. I get closer, excited that I'll fulfill my beloved ritual despite the weather and look through the titles. I find an old textbook - 'History of Music' pt. 3. I look around and see a man standing a meter from me, obviously he's the one selling the books. I remember faces, but this one I've never seen before. I ask him about the price, he replies it's 2€. After the coffee, I'm left with only 1.50, and it happens to be enough for the book. “I don't like to bargain with my first client for the day, it brings me bad luck and now it's really, really cold”, he says. I take the book and rapidly jump into the tram. It will take me home in 5 minutes, instead in 10if I decide to walk. But suddenly it has become colder. Because that man won't catch a tram home at least for few more hours.

There are people who are selling old books in their fancy and warm antiquarian bookstores. There you can find great stuff, that's for sure. But you will probably won't be able to buy anything, because antiquaries will probably do their best to cheat you and sell you overpriced stuff only because they can. At least that's how they mostly roll here in Bulgaria. It seems they have long forgotten that books are to be read, and not to be left rotting on the dusty shelves of greed.

I know it was already 2 pm when the man told me I was his first customer. I know it was probably because he had just got up with a crazy hangover and went to sell some stuff on the bridge so he can cure himself with my 1.50€. I know he may choose to buy booze instead of food for himself or his family. And still he didn't want to cheat me. In the next snowy afternoon I'll meet another person, I'll give him my last 1.50€, cus when it's about zero degrees it's cool to get back home, especially with a book. Books are cool.

Start

This is how the year began. First shows and releases for 2013 to be announced soon. January only looks dead, it was actually pretty cool in terms of planning stuff.

Bits of history: ODP (2005-2010)

Few nights ago I came across at quite a sad piece of news, namely that Feedback Loop Label is preparing its very last release before it's shut down. If you are not familiar this project, it was/still is a netlabel currated by Leonardo Rosado, one of the most active and dedicated artists I've come across in the last few years. If you are also unfamiliar with the concept of netlabels I highly encourage you to do some research, and then finish reading this post. In short and by default netlabels are mostly non-profit initiatives, and as such they are very likely to end up like this. In the case with Feedback Loop, this is surely a loss, because Leonardo is really passionate about music and FBL had always meant quality despite its short life. And quality is not a usual thing when we're talking about putting music online, as it's a process that pretty much anyone could do. 

the first handmade logo I did for odp in 2005, fun times

However, this whole thing reminded, that me few years ago I was also involved in a netlabel. If you're somehow familiar with me, my work or surrounding you probably have heard about ODP. It was started when I was only 17. The concept of ODP was to promote mainly Bulgarian underground music (predominantly electronic) in harsher genres such as dark ambient, noise, power noise, gabber etc. This experience introduced me to a big number of local and foreign artists (I am pretty certain I got to know Leonardo because of what I was trying to do with ODP back in the day). But at a point I felt my efforts became worthless. Nowadays all music can be found online and for free, especially when it's put out only digitally. That's why I felt I was no longer needed as the medium between an artist and its eventual listeners. That's why after printing ODP's first and only physical release, the CDr compilation 'hear / share' in 50 copies, I put out only one more digital release (also one of the best) and decided to call it a day. Since then, from time to time I've been considering getting back to releasing other people's music in a similar form, but I haven't yet really figured out how to make it more special, because nowadays no one needs 'more of the same' as it is more of a 'do your best' age that we're living in.

Our official page is long closed and gone, but if you are interested in what we were doing back in 2005-2010 you can check the best stuff from the ODP catalog in Archive.org, or just browse our blog. The coolest thing is that some of the releases we put back in the day are still being played, if we are to trust the Last.fm stats. By the way, I'm pretty sure that Abandonment have at least one copy of our last release, so if you are feeling sentimental you can grab it.

By the way Leonardo is still running heart and soul publisher, a physical label whose releases are always a great mixture of arts. And I, being a part of Amek, am still self-releasing music (for now mostly solo works or collaborations, but this may change in the future). Anyhow, there's always more to come.

zev died ochestra - I (2012)

zev died orchestra is a weird collective that was formed around numerous shows, which me and a bunch of friends made. We never rehearse, we play only live, but quite rarely. Some of us bail shows, but at a point we gather together again. We like found sounds, drones, contact mics, sub basses and super high frequencies. zev died orchestra is martin l. (gokkun), nikola m. (wayab) and angel s. (mytrip).

The cool news is we just put out our first release. 'I' features two zdo pieces and has just been published on Bandcamp, a small edition of 20 tapes is available on Amek. Huge thanks go to Valentina Gelso at Monochrome Art for the awesome artwork. We'll be glad to hear your feedback and hopefully see you during a live when we get back to doing this again.

bandcamp / bigcartel
'I' is a personal recollection for times spent away from reality. It incorporates three different views, but also everything unknown occurring in between. zev died orchestra is sometimes gently drifting, but sometimes it is raw. When we reach for the familiar, it is to deconstruct it beyound recognition. However, preparing, performing and releasing those pieces serves the sole purpose of sharing the state of freedom we reach only when exploring music.

Music for Theatre (2010-2012)

I've been considering this post for so long and finally I got the time to do it. I selected few highlights from my work in the endless field of theatre music, and here we go. The last three years I've been collaborating with Tsvetelina Stoyanova - TSV, a young Bulgarian director and actor, specialized in alternative & multimedia theatre. My first encounter with her work was in 2010, during her solo play 'Tuberculosis'. I was amazed by her presence on stage, by her scenography and by her intelligent use of digital technologies in such an ancient art as theatre. The strong social message that was implied in the play was also a reason that got me into the idea of working with her in the future. For the music I created for her I had total freedom, although at certain points I'd been given directions, ideas, concepts and whatever was coming out during the rehearsal process. My work in these three plays is basically a mixture of ambient / drone soundscapes, field recordings, spoken word and sound design. I've made excerpts that are representing the three soundtracks. They sound similar as the plays for me are following a common and a very unique concept and style. And now some history.

"Оранжерията" / 'The Glasshouse' (2010)

"Оранжерията" / 'The Glasshouse' (2010)

The play depicts life as a trap for the human soul, a sealed box in which our souls are put after its birth. A box, in which we are doomed to exist, a symbol of a life which we only appreciate when facing a terminal disease or the death itself. The script was written by TSV and is based on the original Helmut Peschina play, as well as on works by Herman Hesse, Jean-Paul Sartre and Rabindranath Tagore. The project struggles to wake the spiritual charge in the individual, vegetating in the somatic embrace of the 'greenhouse-body'. The play questions issues as sexism, homophobia, cultural and social norms, materialism etc.

As this was my first interaction with theatre, and especially in its quite alternative form (with multimedia, live camera and specific scenography) I was quite enthusiastic. I regularly attended rehearsals, felt the spirit of the play and this was my main inspiration. Sadly this play is not currently on stage, but I strongly hope it will be revived at a point. My soundscapes were not the only music used, there were also excerpts from classical pieces and contemporary ones.
"Оранжерията" / 'The Greenhouse' (2010) OST (excerpt) by Mytrip

Screenplay & directed by: Tsvetelina Stoyanova - TSV
Music and ambience: Mytrip, Tsvetelina Stoyanova - TSV
Multimedia: Tsvetelina Stoyanova - TSV, Ognian Kolev, Ilian Kyuchukov
Scenography and costumes: Zdravka Kantareva, Tsvetelina Stoyanova – TSV
Cast: Peter Meltev, Stanislav Peev, Iuliana Milanova, Elena Petkova, Eva Demireva, Denis Ivanov /in the multimedia/, Tsvetana Maneva /voice/

 "Трябва да се живее" / 'The Show Must Go On' (2011)

 "Трябва да се живее" / 'The Show Must Go On' (2011)

What happens when you choose to live in a virtual reality? How topics as suicide, loneliness, boredom, love and the meaning of our existence are distorted in the synthetic computer world? Isn't the real person a better choice? How can unexpected meeting in a chat-room can turn into the friendship of your life through the shared idea to committing a suicide?

These are some of the questions posed to the viewer in this play. Again an immense audio-visual work incorporated in theatre. This time a smaller cast, but the same strong social message and meaning. The music I created has a similar taste, but I was a bit more focused on getting closer to sound-design. The play is struggling to stay on stage and hopefully TSV will manage to keep performing it in Sofia. Besides my works few other pieces by various artists were used, below is an extract from my soundscapes.
"Трябва да се живее" / 'The Show Must Go On' (2011) OST (excerpt) by Mytrip

Directed by: Tsvetelina Stoyanova - TSV
Screenplay by: Tsvetelina Stoyanova - TSV
Music: Mytrip, Tsvetelina Stoyanova - TSV
Multimedia: Tsvetelina Stoyanova - TSV, Ilian Kyuchukov, Stoyan Cholakov
Cast: Elian Aroyo, Tsvetelina Stoyanova - TSV

"Алкохол" / 'Alcohol' (2012)

"Алкохол" / 'Alcohol' (2012)

The latest product of my collaboration with TSV is called 'Alcohol'. This is a biographical play based on the novel by Kalin Terziiski and Diana Dragoeva. In my personal view this is the heaviest play she has ever made. It is complex as content, and complex for it is heavily filled with multimedia, sound, text, acting, message and atmosphere. So far it has been receiving great feedback from those who are willing to experiment with their taste for theatre. The interest from both the media and audience has been quite impressive and I sincerely hope this will remain the same way in the future. The topics here are again quite social, the main thread is alcoholism and addiction through the eyes of the individual struggling to fight it. My work is dark, creepy and escalates with the development of the play. It is again a mixture of ambient soundscapes, field recordings and a lot of recorded spoken word. As it is a biographical play, so if you see this live, besides my music you will hear a lot of popular tracks, which are connected to the time period depicted by the author. Hear a sample below. 
"Алкохол" / 'Alcohol' (2012) OST (excerpt) by Mytrip

Director: Tsvetelina Stoyanova - TSV
Screenplay: Tsvetelina Stoyanova - TSV
Multimedia: Georgi Vassilev, Ivelina Mineva, Damyan Nikolov, Ognyan Kostovski
Music: Mytrip, Tsvetelina Stoyanova - TSV
Scenography & Costumes: Tsvetelina Stoyanova - TSV, Ivelina Mineva
Cast: Kalin Terziiski, Svetoslav Terziiski, Tsvetelina Stoyanova - TSV

It hasn't been too much of reading, ha? However, theatre is certainly a field I'd like to keep exploring in the future, especially in its most alternative and experimental forms. This year I took part in a live improvisation which was accompanying a piece of contemporary performance and I found it quite enjoyable. Movies are a challenging field too, but the freedom I found in theatre is still unsurpassed.

Tim Hecker @ Control Club, Bucharest 13.10.12

In my tour diary for the time I spent in Bucharest I briefly mentioned the fact a bit more than two weeks ago I was able to witness Tim Hecker live. In order to keep this memory forever and share it with those who feel intrigued, I wrote a short report for Rawk'n'Roll available HERE. It's in Bulgarian tho, so for those of  you who can't handle my native language here's a quick translation of what Hecker did to me/us in Bucharest. The lack of photos is due to the fact he plays in complete darkness which is always a bitch for photographers. However if you are into the visual part of things I recommend you checking the Environments live video below the text. I find it extremely valuable since I travelled over 13 hours from Belgrade to Bucharest for the show and I couldn't catch their set. Thankfully I watched them live the next day. So here we go.

Tim Hecker always plays in total darkness and this night was not different. However, few lights managed to survive and they were pretty enough to show there's a human being in front of you. And he was the person creating this very same powerful sound environment that we happened to be in. When you listen to ambient you have two options – to listen to it quietly or so loud that the sound deafens the rest of your senses. That night the sound was powerful and engulfing, the low frequencies were mostly monolithic and massive but sometimes they reached quite chaotic states. In all of their metamorphoses they were able to create a perfect foundation for the endless sounds that Hecker was layering over them. Our ribs were vibrating after each tiny change in the sound. The music was too rich and our brains often lost track of either our perceptions were real, associative or physical. In the crashing sound waves there were hundreds of threads that you could find and follow. This made me want to experience the show again even before it was over. I often closed my eyes because they were irrelevant. Everything that I had to witness reached me through my ears or hands. Our bodies felt like an amplifier and touch gave us a double dose of vibrations. A double dose of music via physical means.

On October 13th in 'Control' Tim Hecker gave us a new, smaller but more complex world. Over a week after, the sound is gone but had generated in us a pile of thoughts, ideas, landscapes, contact. We are forever inside his music. All we need is to close our eyes and it's unfloding in an explosion of thoughts, feelings and eternal neuronal connections.

Now experience a bit of Environments.

'DRONE THE BALKANS' Day 6 (Sofia, Bulgaria)

18/10/12 Sofia, Bulgaria @ Suspacious Art Space

w/ Abandoned Shelter, Shrine, Arkhitektur Noir

After the show in Greece got cancelled we got back in Sofia to chill a bit before the last show here. When I book shows and play I tend not to enjoy them at full because I'm overwhelmed with other stuff. However this night was so different. Since the first moment in the space, which our friends from 'Suspacious' let us use, I was sure it will be a different night. We set the sound, put the gear and the next hour we spent preparing the visuals. It was around 20 minutes before the announced beginning when I saw that there are actually people gathering outside. Quite a promising start. However, after few minor issues we were ready to go. People entered the place and found six panels for visuals from two projectors on the sides of the hall, good sound, lots of merch, photography from RUBBER Gallery and of course four ambient projects. I can't explain how much I enjoyed playing in front of people who were quietly enjoying the event. The atmosphere was unbeatable. All of us were so calm and played the best we could because the event deserved it. The place was full and a huge part of the audience I'd never seen before (but I hope I will see again). Many people came to ask questions about us, about the music and the event. A lot of people didn't know about the show but passed by accidentally and decided to stay. Such interest meant a lot of me. The whole night I was explaining everybody I'd been waiting for 5 years to book and play such an event. It was the perfect end of the tour and I hope it will happen again really soon. Now after I droned a tiny part of the Balkans I'm planning to lock myself in sounds and abstain from intensively playing or booking ambient shows. But of course after me and Wayab open for La Casa Fantom THIS Sunday.

 'DRONE THE BALKANS' was something I was dying to do for quite a long time and I really plan on doing again. I enjoyed each show I played and I'm glad I met so many awesome people on the road. Thanks to each person who helped me book a show, bought merch or supported me in any way. Massive hugs to Sanja, Marius, Sergei, Nemanja, Malina, Neff, Danail and all venues who gave my music a chance. See you again soon. Here are the other stories if you are too lazy to browse my archive. 

'DRONE THE BALKANS' Days 4&5 (Varna, Plovdiv; Bulgaria)
'DRONE THE BALKANS' Days 2&3 (Bucharest, Romania)
'DRONE THE BALKANS' Day 1 (Belgrade)