A two-week long life-changer

As you may have noticed the freshly-ended Expectations tour wasn't covered by the usual online diary. Not that it wasn't fine, but at a point you just realize that everybody who's been in a band or is somehow involved in a scene of some sort has already heard all the '12 hours in the van', 'no hot water and shower', 'finally getting some sleep in real beds' mumbo-jumbo. That's why I skipped the stories this time. The tour itself has been pretty life-changing as I had the chance to reconsider my ideas of music and came to the conclusion a big part of what I've been involved in is just not worth it. That's why after the summer Expectations Euro tour ended I decided to call it quits. And I mean to call it quits in general, and leave all bands I've been involved in so far. I won't mention names, as the status of all of them is pretty different. To some I surely don't want to be related ever again, to others I'll keep contributing as a studio collaborator and it's highly possible that I also perform live again, still on an irregular basis. The reasons are pretty clear, just check what music is being mostly played and appreciated in the hardcore/punk/metal scenes. It says it all. 

Piss off, I'm going solo.

What's left for me now, besides tons of reading and messing around with musical theory, are my sound endeavors in the fields of ambient, drone and experimental music, which thankfully are dependent only on my sole ambition to create music, and reflect only my ideology and aesthetics, which I find most appropriate right now. I'm planning to dig deeper in media music (short film, performance, theater, exhibitions, visual music) and soon I'll reveal many common projects with film-makers and alternative artists which have been in the making for the last several months. In September I'm presenting my MA thesis on Ambient music so feel free to wish me luck. And yes, I'll still be booking shows and writing about music, and I'll be more critical than ever.

If you're still curious how the last Expectations tour with me on board went, have a look below. A tour video is in the works as far as I'm aware of so an updated version of this post will follow.

020613 Frenchbulldog Live @ Dirty, Pecs, Hungary

080613 Live @ Sentinel, Bilbao, Spain

160613 Live @ Boat Club Ladja, Belgrade, Serbia

And it's highly advised to check those bands I met on the road, as they were really making something different out of their music.

Les 2 Minutes De La Haine from Tarbes, France

Dearest from Wurzburg Germany

Expectations - South-West Europe Tour 2013

It was high time Expectations hit the road again. Last September the 'Vultures Become Eagles Tour' was more than amazing, mainly because it was shared with our awesome mates Eaglehaslanded. However this June we're heading alone (not really, we may have cooked a pretty cool surprise for random shows of the tour) to another yet unconquered part of Europe. I'll do my best to keep you posted on how we're doing, and if you find yourself somewhere in the places listed below our rad poster, painted by Katya Krasnova and designed by Iulia V., just come and say hi.

Expectations - South-West Europe Tour 2013

May 31st Bulgaria (Sofia) - Grindhouse Skateclub
http://www.facebook.com/events/450412071718405/

June 2nd Hungary (Pecs) - Strausz Ti-Ti-Tá
http://www.facebook.com/events/484783544923576/

June 3th Hungary (Budapest) - Trafik
https://www.facebook.com/events/182420818582150/

June 4th Italy (Marghera) - Pop Corn Club
https://www.facebook.com/events/655878181092307/

June 5th Italy (Mantova) - Blue Moon Pub
https://www.facebook.com/events/166152510219808/

June 6th France (Montpellier) - Up Down

June 7th Spain (Manlleu) - Rock House Osona

June 8th Spain (Valencia) - La Residencia
http://www.facebook.com/events/423030137784326/

June 9th Spain (Bilbao) - Sentinel Rock Club
https://www.facebook.com/events/611770648834467/

June 10th France (Tarbes) - Celtic Pub
http://www.facebook.com/events/479638518765480/

June 11th France (Marseille) - TBC

June 12th Switzerland (Schaffhausen) - Neustadt52
https://www.facebook.com/events/194242044059000/

June 13th Germany (Herrenberg) - JuHa Herrenberg
https://www.facebook.com/events/527005477356046/

June 14th Germany (Würzburg) - Die Kellerperle
http://www.facebook.com/events/149806378523687/

June 15th Croatia (Zagreb) - Mala dvorana Jedinstvo

June 16th Serbia (Belgrade) - Boat-club Lađa
https://www.facebook.com/events/124179027782414/

Feedback *updated*

Few weeks ago I really wanted to summarize few comments, reviews and thoughts discussing music I'm involved in, so I'll just list the albums and post what people had to say about them. Some stuff is in English, some in Bulgarian just check it out. I will update this from time to time, when new thoughts reach me.

EUS / Mytrip - Split (2014)

bandcamp | blwbck

'...cold as stone and at the same time more cohesive and monolithic.' // Santa Sangre

'...and dare I say almost soothing in parts!' // 4.9/5, tunning into the obscure

'This 60-minute ferric odyssey is full of masterful drones, both acoustic and electronic, proving, once again, that drone is not a dirty word.' // tape of the week, forest punk

'''Life" with its windswept post-apocalyptic barren landscape feel is similar to the mother spit 3" CDr. "Less" is more sinister.' // MuhMur

Human Larvae / Mytrip - Split (2014)

bandcamp / dsr

'Instead of killing you in a brutal attack, MYTRIP chooses the slow and painful approach to slaughtering your senses.' // Traumatic Static Webzine

'Ce qui nous tue à petit feu, ne nous rend pas nécessairement plus fort...' // Nova Express

'Noir, c'est noir.' // Des Cendres a La Cave

'Yes the violence is still there yet it refuses to reach noise levels, just discomfort levels.' // Beach Sloth

mother spit - carve (2013)

bandcamp | bigcartel

'If freedom ever had a soundtrack it would be this, simply perfectly formed fields of gray sound.' // Beach Sloth

'Using a carefully selected palette of eerie, droning electronics the track quite deliberately, and very successfully, creates a cosmically chilling Lovecraftian vibe.' // radio free midwich

'Simitchiev and Lukanov are certainly not playing with warm and fuzzy emotions, and create something akin to an art house horror film soundtrack. It all has a gradual, ritualistic, organic feel to it..' // Yeah I Know It Sucks

Mytrip - Scattered I (2013)

bandcamp | bigcartel

'This one-man drone unit has managed to create a path out of the darkness and towards one that is walked by very few into an ascended creation' // Heathen Harvest

'There's a strong intimacy behind the harshness of the sound' (translation) // Son of Marketing
'A highly menacing drone, dark gourd like blowing interrupted by irritation' // MuhMur 
'A living breathing creature made entirely out of sound' // Beach Sloth 
 'Despite this release’s darkness, this is the one of the most accessible releases to come from this genre...  not too noisy or too cluttered with distortion. It has that perfect amount of edge to it.'
// tuningintoobscure
'The sound production and collage is so deep and intensively well produced that it somehow puts me in a total trance state that makes the job of reviewing almost impossible.' // Yeah I Know It Sucks

zev died orchestra - I (2012)

 bandcamp | bigcartel

'It does require some endurance on the listener's part...' // Letters From A Tapehead

Expectations - Gone EP (2012)

 bandcamp / bigcartel

"Над добрата музика, доминира адски интересният глас на вокалиста, който подсилва усещането за безтегловност" // Sofia Rebel Station
"Истинска мрачна прелест" // Music Vault

Expectations - s/t (2012)

bandcamp / bigcartel

'Very dynamic and energetic, consisting of an equal dose of rushing, chest pounding tunes and slower, more dragging sections' // Natures With No Plagues

'An album you don't want to miss' // Against The Odds

'A damn exciting and cool upcoming band out of Bulgaria // Music Approved By a Banana

'The band's true strength lies, in contrasting moments of surprising beauty with a sense of understated rage' // Born Again Nihilist
' The whole record is a perfect realization of a personal form of hardcore' // We Last Longer

"Истинско изкуство, което те докосва." // Music Vault

"Така трябва да звучи българската екстремна музика през 2012 г." // Pro-Rock Magazine
"Това е албум, който ни докосва по индивидуален начин" // Sofia Rebel Station
"Лиричен, искрен, атмосферичен и достатъчно динамичен" // Metal Katehizis

Martin Lukanov & Mytrip - Between (2012)

bandcamp

'A piece of music that blurs the line between stasis and rhythm and melody' // Disquiet

Mytrip | EUS - Split (2012)

bandcamp / bigcartel

'Cold, bleak, windswept, monochrome industrial landscapes' // MuhMur

'No easy listening... like drowning in a murky, nearly pitch black sewer.' // Wounds of The Earth
'Quite a cold affair' // Don't Count On It
'Slothful tonalities trudging through the murk… grimey clunker gadgets tango in the wasteland of tomorrow' // International Tapes 
'It will force all the senses of imagination, clear your mind of negative thoughts' // Dead Tones

Mytrip - Low (2011)

bandcamp / bigcartel

'It would have been better to have experienced it live.' // Wounds of The Earth

Martin Lukanov & Mytrip (2011)

bandcamp

'Piano torque from Bulgaria' // Disquiet
'Two' is a kind of album, where you have to listen between notes' // Hidden Vibes

We may have started something new

And while chewing my 'morning' oathmeal and drinking my weak ass 'morning' coffee I thought why don't I update you on something new we've started. It's called Rain Bird, and it will appear live for a first time next month in Sofia. The lyrics are in the video description.

 

Help out an ambient addict and get the new Mytrip record

Eight years ago, sitting in front of my 500 mhz 128 ram pc I probably never thought that my primal sound experiments will get that further. Yes it's been that long since I've started my work under the Mytrip monicker. I know it's nothing compared to many other (probably even better) projects, but for me it's one of the most sustainable endeavors in my life. 

However maintaining the quality is not an easy task and never was, especially when you're learning every day. Currently my goals and plans regarding the sound I want to reach are becoming way too complex for the gear I possess, and especially for my trusty almost 5-year-old laptop. It just can no longer handle my work. This is why I'm currently trying to finance a re-equipping process and I'm making it through putting out a digital pre-order of my new record 'SCATTERED I'. The package consists of 4 tracks and an art book by the Romanian artist Iulia V. (in pdf). Unlike my usual name your price policy, this time the sum is set to minimum 4€,  as this is a fund-raising campaign. Still it's more than a half less compared to the upcoming tape version (+ paper artbook) of the release, which will be out via Worthless Recordings (US). Here are some details about the release.

Bandcamp

'Scattered I' is a small collection of four very personal, yet almost lost Mytrip pieces. They were recorded in various places during travels and emotional struggles. This is music in its rawest form, once buried, now found, still leading you nowhere.

The record is accompanied by an A6 art book, featuring five paintings. They are personal interpretations of each song and their common impact. You will find there words, they are useless.

'I scattered myself. I hope I find the pieces before my end.'
~ Mytrip

recorded all over Bulgaria in the period 2009-2011
artworks by Iulia V.
on tape through Worthless Recordings (US)

Thanks in advance, and please spread the word! And huge huge thanks to everybody who already purchased the record, it means the world!

Various Artists

Lately I've been thinking a lot about the pros and cons and the value added of participating in compilations. For the last years 7+ I've contributed works to quite many of them. Some I personally initiated, to others I was invited or just got in touch so I join. Putting music in compilations almost didn't bring me anything, but cool contacts and artist discoveries. Oh yes, and the awesome process of creating something short and thorough.

I really like the whole process about writing a piece for a compilation. I always try to keep the material I'm contributing exclusive, especially the works I give away for physical releases you can hardly find on the Internet (only if they are ripped and uploaded). Sometimes I like to focus on just a tiny bit of music without getting deeper in concepts or length, and in this cases just one piece is more than enough. Then why don't I put it as a single or whatnot. Well because I like the idea of my work surrounded by other interesting, and sometimes also unknown to me artists.

Without a unifying concept or a specific occasion compilations are pointless, they are also difficult for comprehending if their volume is too big (especially applying for online samplers). But with all of this said they are fun to do, because in the ideal scenario they are a result of a friendly and meaningful communication and that's cool, cus maybe someday you'll meet that Argentinian artist who wrote the track after yours.

Here are two compilations that I've contributed music so far this year.

DARK AMBIENT RADIO VOL. 3 (CD) // Mytrip 'Small Humyn'

Back in 2006 I took part in the first ever sampler created in the community of the great German dark ambient radio. Now some years after it has turned into a tradition, all tracks are chosen by anonymous voting. Community and democracy at its max, oh yes quality dark ambient too. My piece is called 'Small Humyn' and it's closing the compilation. It's quite a noisy track for such a release, and the best about it is that I don't even remember how or when I created it. I can't find any traces of it in my archives. Below is a sample mix of all pieces.

 DAR official site | Discogs

REVIEWS:
@Guts Of Darkness (French) / English translation
@Medienkonverter (German)
@Kulturterrorismus (German)
@Winter Light (English)
 
WELCOME TO OUR DECAYED FACTORY (2xCDr) // Мytrip 'Meat Extraction'

Besides being very active (too active for my taste) releasing music in the Internet, Abandonment is one of the few signs that the concept of noise / dark ambient / experimental / etc. exists in Bulgaria, even though that the number of local artists released by this DIY label is not that big. However Abandonment has been around for quite some time and this compilation is a celebration of the label anniversary. It consists of music of about 30 artists and 'Meat Extraction', another very noisy and hostile Mytrip piece has the honor of opening this extreme collection of music for the listener. 

Abandonment official site | Discogs

If you are curious about the other compilations that I've taken part as Mytrip in the last few years, check out this Discogs list. I think it's pretty full. Some of those samplers are already sold out, others are hard to find even on the Internet, because the people/labels who initiated them are inactive, but if you dig deeper you can always find what you're looking for. 

'Trainbient II' End + day 6 (Sofia)

21/03/2013 @ Club Studio

w/ Torah, Trysth, Environments, Valerinne

At a point this show looked as if I've been waiting and preparing (for) since ages so when the day finally came I was prepared for a huge hassle. As I've mentioned before when balancing between the duties of a promoter and a participant one of them surely suffers a bit. On this show I was meant to play just a set of stuff that will set up a sick mood for the whole event and I actually did. I barely played my own music and focused on some raw drone, black metal, doom stuff which I was putting in my player during my runs all around the venue. At some point after the almost inexistent soundcheck the show started with Torah, they slammed a crazy and fast set and left the audience in the deceivingly calmer hands of Environments who sufficiently fighted that role by being extremely loud and massive at some points, which was great. After them Trysth played, their sound was super solid as always, but experiencing their music without vocals was a bit hard for me. At around 1 am Valerinne hit the stage to close the show. At this point all the staff at the venue was attacking me with requests to decrease the sound cause we were really really close to somebody calling the police to stop the fun. Anyway this didn't happen. The show ended successfully, Me and Martin packed the immense distro that we opened for the night, the guests packed the van and the night ended with everyone safe and sound. Maybe just our ears were not that intact, but those are the risks of not booking classical music gigs. This one really looked more as a gig report than to a description of the show, but as I said my role as a promoter dominated the night so I didn't really feel my sound participation in this awesome night.

As to the tour I think it was surely a success and I will surely do it again. There are many places and many people in Bulgaria who are if not already fans that at least really interested in ambient music. Especially outside Sofia there's a lot of territories to explore and this is something that I hope more musicians will decide to do. If not I'll keep being the only idiot travelling around the country with my weird sounds on the dirty, but friendly trains.

Oh yes and the summary.

6 days, ~ 28 hrs in 8 trains

It wasn't that hard.

the day sounded like: Environments, Noir Coeur

If you are lazy to search stuff in the blog here are the other reports, a quick summary will be soon available in Bulgarian too.

'Trainbient II' Days 4, 5 (Varna, Plovdiv)
'Trainbient II' (first half)

All stories are also available in Bulgarian on Indioteque.