Kaffe (band)
Encyclopedia
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
band who represented their home country in the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest 2005
The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th Eurovision Song Contest, which was held at the Palace of Sports, Kiev, Ukraine. The winner was Greece's My Number One, written by Christos Dantis and Natalia Germanou and performed by Swedish-born Greek singer Elena Paparizou, who scored 230 points,...
. The group, who sung the song "Lorraine
Lorraine (song)
"Lorraine" was the debut entry for Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest, being performed in the semi-final of the 2005 edition of the Contest by Kaffe....
", finished 19th in the semi final.
Biography
During the last three years, Kaffe have become one of the most popular bands in Bulgaria with hits like “There Again”, “Isn’t It Love”, “No More” and the number 1 bestseller “Instead Of Me”. In 2004, the sextet was even crowned ‘band of the year’.Kaffe’s musicians are all trained professionally. They believe in what they do and have participated in many musical projects. Two members of the band – Valery Tzenkov (drums) and Georgi Yanev (guitar) – graduated from the famous University of California at Berkeley in the USA.
In 1999, the band was founded under the name Badu. But, because some of the musicians had their own projects to pursue, Badu was put on ice until 2001 when it came to life as Kaffe, with some changes in personnel.
Previously, Kaffe’s musicians have participated in joint projects with famous Bulgarian pop and rock artists – Grafa, Lili Ivanova
Lili Ivanova
Lili Ivanova is a popular Bulgarian singer.-Discography:Lili Ivanova has released 65 albums Lili Ivanova (born April 24, 1939 in Kubrat) is a popular Bulgarian singer.-Discography:Lili Ivanova has released 65 albums Lili Ivanova (born April 24, 1939 in Kubrat) is a popular Bulgarian...
, Maria Ilieva
Maria Ilieva
Maria Ilieva is a Bulgarian singer and producer recognized by some as the most successful female vocal artist of the contemporary Bulgarian music scene. Judge on the upcoming first season of X factor Bulgaria.-Early life:...
, Stoyan Zahariev, Beloslava, the band TRIP and Vasil Naydenov.
It soon became clear that the founding of Kaffe was a good idea: on 22 August 2003 the six were awarded the third place during the International Music Festival ‘The Golden Stag’ in Romania. The European headquarters of MTV invited the band to make a special video for TV and soon their first album, Alone’, was released and was a big seller.
Kaffe represented Bulgaria at their debut in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005
Eurovision Song Contest 2005
The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th Eurovision Song Contest, which was held at the Palace of Sports, Kiev, Ukraine. The winner was Greece's My Number One, written by Christos Dantis and Natalia Germanou and performed by Swedish-born Greek singer Elena Paparizou, who scored 230 points,...
in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
ending 19th and failed to make it to the Finals round.
Orlin Pavlov – vocals
Orlin Pavlov was born on 23 April 1979 in SofiaSofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
and is the son of opera singers. He studied theatrical art and graduated from the University of Drama Arts in the city of Plovdiv.
In 2001 he started his artistic career as a dancer – a profession that took him to many countries, including the Netherlands, Poland, Germany and Egypt, and onto the most famous stages in Europe, such as the Grand Theatre. In 2002, Orlin settled down in Sofia, opened a newspaper and read that Kaffe were searching for a vocalist. This was the beginning of his career as Kaffe’s frontman.
Georgi Yanev – guitar
Georgi Yanev was born on 23 April 1977 in BlagoevgradBlagoevgrad
Blagoevgrad is а city in southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Province, with a population of about 74,302 . It lies on the banks of the Blagoevgradska Bistritsa River....
. When he was a teenager his parents moved to Russia and it was there that Georgi graduated from high school.
The next important step in his life was to pack his things and go to Berkley (USA) to study guitar in the world-famous Berkley College of Music. Georgi came back to Bulgaria in 1999 and – together with Valery Tsenkov – founded the band Badu, which after several transformations became Kaffe. Alongside his career as a musician, Georgi Yanev started to study psychology in Blagoevgrad’s University from which he has now graduated.
Milen Кuкоshаrоv – keyboard
Milen Кuкоshаrоv was born on 15 May 1978 in PlovdivPlovdiv
Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...
where he graduated from the College of Music. He started his career as keyboard player in a band called Infinity. In the last couple of years Milen has worked with many of the most famous Bulgarian musicians – Teodosi Spasov, Mitko Rupchev and Stefan Valdobrev
Stefan Valdobrev
Stefan Valdobrev is a Bulgarian singer, composer, theatre and cinema actor.- Biography :Stefan Valdobrev was born in Stara Zagora. In 1993 he graduated Krastyo Sarafov National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts in the acting class of professor Krikor Azaryan and Todor Kolev...
– and he has been a member of Kaffe since 2002. He still studies at the Music Conservatory in Sofia.
Valery Tzenkov – drums
Valery Tzenkov, born on 3 September 1973, started to play different instruments when he was a child. He tried piano and guitar but his favourite was drums.The study of drums brought him to the Music High School in Varna, later the Jazz Academy in Graz (Austria) and finally to the famous Berkley College of Music where he met Georgi Yanev.
Back in Bulgaria, Valery Tzenkov and Georgi Yanev founded the band Badu, which later became Kaffe.
Martin Tashev – trumpet
Martin Tashev was born on 9 July 1979 in PlovdivPlovdiv
Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...
. He graduated from Music College in Plovdic (trumpet) and is currently a student in the Music Conservatory in Sofia.
Together with Milen Kukosharov, Martin Tashev played in the band Infinity and – in 2002 – became a member of Kaffe for whom you can hear him on the trumpet and as a vocalist.
On Kaffe’s debut album, Martin even raps in Spanish.
Veselin Veselinov-Eko – bass guitar
Veselin Veselinov-Eko was born on 19 October 1963 in SofiaSofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
where he graduated from Music Conservatory (bass guitar and double bass).
Veselin has worked with world-famous musicians – amongst them Ivo Papazov
Ivo Papazov
Ivo Papazov Ivo Papazov Ivo Papazov (born 16 February 1952 in Kardzhali, nicknamed Ibryama , is a Bulgarian clarinetist. He leads the Ivo Papazov Wedding Band in performances of jazz-infused Stambolovo music, and is one of the premier creators of the genre known as "wedding band" music in...
, Teodosi Spasov, Vasko Vasilev, Benny Paupin, Anatoli Vapirov, Yildiz Ibrahimova and Okay Temiz.
Veselin Veselinov-Eko is also a composer and music producer. He is the newest member of Kaffe.
The song "Lorraine
Lorraine (song)
"Lorraine" was the debut entry for Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest, being performed in the semi-final of the 2005 edition of the Contest by Kaffe....
," with which Kaffe represented Bulgaria in the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest, was written and composed by Veselin together with Orlin Pavlov.