Ostava
Encyclopedia
Ostava are an alternative rock
band from Bulgaria
. They formed in 1991, but it was not until 2000 that they released a long-playing record (and subsequently received critical acclaim).
Ostava was formed in 1991 by university students Georgi Georgiev (lead vocals and guitar), Boyan Petkov (bass), Dragomir Dimitrov (drums). Singer-songwriter
Svilen Noev joined in 1995, bringing in a handful of new songs and a new approach to song writing. He changed places with Georgi Georgiev and the band began playing songs written and sung chiefly by Noev. However, Georgiev is given lead vocals on several songs. Drummer Daniel Petrov
replaced Dragomir Dimitrov in 1999, thus forming the line-up that would later record the group's first LP. Prior to Petrov's joining Ostava was enjoying slight critical praise and no commercial success whatsoever.
Ostava's first long-playing record was released in 2000, receiving overally positive reviews. The album alternates between melancholic, moody ballads and more guitar-driven tracks. The group quickly gained popularity, especially after "Would you come with me?" won the "Best rock/alternative song of the year" award at the MM Music awards. By this time Ostava were already performing regularly in various venues in Sofia
and across Bulgaria
.
"After Love in the Time of War" (alternative translation "After love in times of war") is arguably Ostava's most significant record to date. The album demonstrates the further development and elaboration of Noev's songwriting techniques and Georgiev's guitar work. Gifted multi-instrumentalist Mihail Shishkov joined the band, adding the sense of maturity and ripeness to its sound. The album was very well received and established Ostava as one of the attention-worthy Bulgarian rock acts. By this time the band had already acquired a solid and loyal following.
2003 saw another line-up change. Drummer Daniel Petrov left both Ostava and Bulgaria.He was replaced by Vladimir Vasilev, who had made a name for himself playing for Animacionerite
http://www.animacionerite.com/. With him on board, the band continued recording their third studio album. However, with Petrov returning a year and a half later, Vasilev was shown the door.
"Mono" was released in December 2004. As Noev put it, the album's sound was "far away from the melancholy Ostava is generally associated with". Indeed, "Mono" features several catchy soft rock
tunes, vaguely resembling the raw existentialism
of earlier works.
Nevertheless, the record received rapturous critical acclaim, with singles "Mono" and especially "Chocolate" topping Bulgarian charts.
The end of this plunge-into-mainstream phase is yet to be seen.
The second single from the new LP - "Baby", appeared in March 2008 with a video directed by Vassil Stefanov, who has been working with the band over the years and is responsible for a large number of Ostava’s best videos. The song ended up at the top of the weekly chart of the biggest hard rock radio station in Bulgaria - zRock, only a few days after its first broadcast. A promotional gig in the well-known Sofia venue "Yalta" in April was held to back both its release and the release of the new album.
at their second concert in this time at Sunny Beach, Bulgaria. Only a few months later they opened for Ian Brown
as part of the MTV EXIT campaign against human exploitation and trafficking, which included Bulgaria among other countries. Two appearances at London’s Brixton Telegraph followed. Ostava’s last gig in front of a bigger audience was as a supporting act of one of the most successful alternative bands worldwide - PLACEBO, at their one-off gig in Sofia on June 18. Currently the band is looking forward to a European tour to back their upcoming album - "Rock’n’Roll Song Designers?", which is currently being recorded in Istanbul (Turkey) and Plovdiv (Bulgaria). The LP is about to be released by one of the leading labels in Bulgaria - Virginia Records.
Songs that Ostava have covered live include:
Live albums:
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band from Bulgaria
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...
. They formed in 1991, but it was not until 2000 that they released a long-playing record (and subsequently received critical acclaim).
Formation and early years
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Svilen Noev joined in 1995, bringing in a handful of new songs and a new approach to song writing. He changed places with Georgi Georgiev and the band began playing songs written and sung chiefly by Noev. However, Georgiev is given lead vocals on several songs. Drummer Daniel Petrov
Daniel Petrov - Bulgarian musician
Daniel Petrov is the drummer for the Bulgarian alternative-rock band Ostava. Joining in 1999, Petrov became a major creative force behind the music of what is now widely regarded as Bulgaria's finest modern rock outfit.-External links:*...
replaced Dragomir Dimitrov in 1999, thus forming the line-up that would later record the group's first LP. Prior to Petrov's joining Ostava was enjoying slight critical praise and no commercial success whatsoever.
Ping Pong (2000)
Sofia
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 across Bulgaria
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...
.
After Love in the Time of War (2002)
Mono (2004)
Animacionerite
Animacionerite is alternative electronic Bulgarian band on the AveNew label.Albums:*2000 - A*2002 - Plus-External links:**...
http://www.animacionerite.com/. With him on board, the band continued recording their third studio album. However, with Petrov returning a year and a half later, Vasilev was shown the door.
"Mono" was released in December 2004. As Noev put it, the album's sound was "far away from the melancholy Ostava is generally associated with". Indeed, "Mono" features several catchy soft rock
Soft rock
Soft rock is a style of music which uses the techniques of rock music to compose a softer, more toned-down sound. Soft rock songs generally tend to focus on themes like love, everyday life and relationships. The genre tends to make heavy use of acoustic guitars, pianos, synthesizers and sometimes...
tunes, vaguely resembling the raw existentialism
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
of earlier works.
Nevertheless, the record received rapturous critical acclaim, with singles "Mono" and especially "Chocolate" topping Bulgarian charts.
The end of this plunge-into-mainstream phase is yet to be seen.
Rock'n'Roll Song Designers? (2008)
The first single off their 2008 album "Rock'n'Roll Song Designers" is the controversially called "Sex in the morning". Additional mastering was done by 6-time Grammy-nominated Brad Blackwood. The track climbed to the leading spots of many rock / alternative charts nationwide, received positive reviews among the press and was accepted more than well by the fans. An invitation from MM TV to play the track live at the Annual Music Awards in 2007 followed, as well as a number of requests from foreign bands to support Ostava on-stage at their future gigs.The second single from the new LP - "Baby", appeared in March 2008 with a video directed by Vassil Stefanov, who has been working with the band over the years and is responsible for a large number of Ostava’s best videos. The song ended up at the top of the weekly chart of the biggest hard rock radio station in Bulgaria - zRock, only a few days after its first broadcast. A promotional gig in the well-known Sofia venue "Yalta" in April was held to back both its release and the release of the new album.
Recent events
In the summer of 2006 Ostava supported LadytronLadytron
Ladytron are an English electronic band formed in 1999 in Liverpool, Merseyside. The group consists of Helen Marnie , Mira Aroyo , Daniel Hunt and Reuben Wu .Their sound blends electropop with New Wave and shoegazing elements. Ladytron described their sound as "electronic pop"...
at their second concert in this time at Sunny Beach, Bulgaria. Only a few months later they opened for Ian Brown
Ian Brown
Ian George Brown is an English musician, best known as the lead singer of the alternative rock band The Stone Roses, which broke up in 1996 but are confirmed to reunite in 2012. Since the break-up of the Stone Roses he has pursued a solo career...
as part of the MTV EXIT campaign against human exploitation and trafficking, which included Bulgaria among other countries. Two appearances at London’s Brixton Telegraph followed. Ostava’s last gig in front of a bigger audience was as a supporting act of one of the most successful alternative bands worldwide - PLACEBO, at their one-off gig in Sofia on June 18. Currently the band is looking forward to a European tour to back their upcoming album - "Rock’n’Roll Song Designers?", which is currently being recorded in Istanbul (Turkey) and Plovdiv (Bulgaria). The LP is about to be released by one of the leading labels in Bulgaria - Virginia Records.
As supporting act
Ostava have opened for several internationally acclaimed artists.- LadytronLadytronLadytron are an English electronic band formed in 1999 in Liverpool, Merseyside. The group consists of Helen Marnie , Mira Aroyo , Daniel Hunt and Reuben Wu .Their sound blends electropop with New Wave and shoegazing elements. Ladytron described their sound as "electronic pop"...
- Lenny KravitzLenny KravitzLeonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
- Ian BrownIan BrownIan George Brown is an English musician, best known as the lead singer of the alternative rock band The Stone Roses, which broke up in 1996 but are confirmed to reunite in 2012. Since the break-up of the Stone Roses he has pursued a solo career...
- PlaceboPlacebo (band)Placebo are a British rock band from London, England, formed in 1994 by singer and guitarist Brian Molko and bass guitarist Stefan Olsdal. The band was joined by drummer Robert Schultzberg, who was later replaced by Steve Hewitt after conflicts with Molko. Hewitt left the band in October 2007 and...
Covers
While Ostava have never officially released a cover version, they do play covers occasionally.Songs that Ostava have covered live include:
- There Is a Light That Never Goes OutThere Is a Light That Never Goes Out"There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" is a song by the British alternative rock group The Smiths, written by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. It was originally featured on their third album The Queen Is Dead , and was released as a single in 1992, five years after The Smiths split up...
by The SmithsThe SmithsThe Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce... - The Man Who Sold the WorldThe Man Who Sold the WorldThe Man Who Sold the World is the third studio album by David Bowie. It was originally released on Mercury Records in November 1970 in the United States and in April 1971 in the UK. The album was Bowie's first with the nucleus of what would become the "Spiders from Mars", the backing band made...
by David BowieDavid BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s... - Nothing Compares 2 UNothing Compares 2 U"Nothing Compares 2 U" is a pop song written by American recording artist Prince for one of his side-projects, The Family. However, it wasn't until Sinéad O'Connor recorded her version for the album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got when it became a worldwide hit, topping charts in 15 countries,...
by PrincePrincePrince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess... - CreepCreepCreep may refer to:* CREEP, the Committee for the Re-Election of the President, associated with the Watergate scandal of U.S. president Nixon's administration....
and Karma PoliceKarma Police"Karma Police" is a song by English alternative rock band Radiohead from their 1997 third studio album OK Computer. The song's title and lyrics derive from an in-joke among the band, referring to the Hindu theory of retributive enforcement, known as karma....
by RadioheadRadioheadRadiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992... - WonderwallWonderwallWonderwall may refer to:*Wonderwall , a 1968 film by Joe Massot*Wonderwall Music, George Harrison's soundtrack to the Wonderwall film...
by OasisOasis (band)Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher... - I Gotta FeelingI Gotta Feeling"I Gotta Feeling" is the second single from The Black Eyed Peas' fifth studio album The E.N.D., produced by the French DJ David Guetta. The song was released on May 21, 2009 and debuted at number two on the Canadian and Billboard Hot 100 on the week of June 27, 2009, behind the group's "Boom Boom...
by The Black Eyed PeasThe Black Eyed PeasThe Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
Discography
Studio albums:- Ping-Pong (2000) (Пинг-Понг)
- After Love in the time of war (2002) (След любов по време на война)
- Mono (2004) (Моно)
- Rock'n'roll song designers? (2008)
Live albums:
- Love in the time of war (2003)
External links
- Ostava.com: The official Ostava website.
- myspace.com/Ostava: Ostava at MySpace.