Bulgarian: Остава

It was somewhere in 1991 in the town of Gabrovo,… Read Full Bio ↴Bulgarian: Остава

It was somewhere in 1991 in the town of Gabrovo, Bulgaria, where Georgi Georgiev (guitar and vocals), Boyan Petkov (bass) and Dragomir Dimitrov (drums) formed Ostava - a band that played a key role in the history of the Bulgarian alternative music scene, influenced generations and changed lives. Svilen Noev (lead vocals and guitar) joined the band in 1995, and Daniel Petrov replaced his predecessor on drums four years later to complete the original line-up. One can say that history loves Ostava, since each and every album they have put out has become an instant classic in its own right and casts a shadow over most famous local performers that tried to match their success.

The unmistakable rough guitar sound of Ostava that refers to the most influental bands from the early past, such as Oasis, The Smiths, Blur, REM and Suede fused with the tender textures of the post-punk wave in the late-80s subculture, helped the band create an unique sound that defined a new era in the Bulgarian alternative music, which was barely existant up to that point.

Ostava's first studio efforts set the basics for the suprising success of their first LP. The first song they put out as a radio single, which was the typical format at that time - "Sunflower Fields", became an major hit after receiving the Best Song Award of the Bulgarian National Radio in 1994. The same happened to the acoustic anthem "We Are Free" in 1996. Foreign promoters noticed the band back then and Ostava got invited to take part at the Roxy Music Gunleri Festival in Turkey.

Eventually, the band started claiming its place on the national music market, after signing to Riva Sound Records in the late 90's. The first LP entitled Ping Pong was released in the spring of 2000 and received positive reviews in the Bulgarian music press. The first two singles off that album, "Blank Sequence" and "Ping - Pong", earned heavy airplay on various radio stations. However, the song that launched Ostava to the top of the Bulgarian charts was "Would You Come With Me", for some - a gentle rip-off from The Smith's "There Is a Light that Never Goes Out", for others - a defining cornerstone and one of the anthems in the history of the Bulgarian alternative music. It received the award for Best Rock/Alternative Song at the 3rd annual MM TV Music Awards. The band's fourth single, "Sorry", also became a major hit and an instant live classic. Ostava began recording the follow-up to Ping Pong at the end of 2001. With a new member on board (Michael Shishkov on slide guitar), the quintet developed an ambitious blend of indie rock'n'roll riffs and sensual, eerie, musical landscapes.

After signing to Stars Records and launching two more successful singles - "Mini Body" and "Beautiful People", Ostava's second LP entitled After Love in Times of War (След Любов По Време На Война) saw the light of day in March 2002. It was embraced by the critics right away, but failed to match the success of its predecessor among the band's supporters. A year later, in April 2003, Ostava recorded a concert at the Military Club in Sofia and released it as limited edition live album entitled Love in Times of War as a gift to their loyal fan following. A live DVD was set for release later that year, yet differences between the band and their new label "Stain Studio Ltd." put that project on ice.

But trouble never comes alone - Ostava's drummer Daniel left the band in the beginning of June as his family moved abroad. His place was taken by Vladimir Vassilev - ex-drummer of the well-known Bulgarian indie bands Animatsionerite and Cigaretta. With him Ostava finished recording their third studio album. The record entitled Mono hit the shelves in the beginning of 2005, preceded by the singles "Chocolate" (February 2004) and "Mono" (November 2004). "Chocolate" reached the first place in the Bulgarian Top 100 Chart and remained there for 7 weeks in a row!

In the beginning of February 2005 the band was invited for a gig at the most famous club live venue in Berlin - "Magnet". The invitation came from the local promoters Karerra Klub, who had worked with Kaiser Chiefs, The Libertines, The Killers and numerous famous indie rock performers. Thanks to the timely support of loyal fans in Austria and Germany, the single concert turned into a mini tour, including performances in Vienna, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe and Cologne.

At the ceremony of the 7th Annual Music Awards of MM TV (the Bulgarian music TV channel) - which was held on 12 March, 2005 at the Palace of Culture and Sport in the town of Veliko Tarnovo - Ostava claimed two awards - for Best Rock / Alternative song for "Chocolate" and Best Rock / Alternative album for Mono. Two weeks later this success was affirmed by the winning the award for Best Song of 2005 ("Chocolate") at the Annual Music Awards of BG Radio. The event took place on 27 March, 2005 at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia. Such awards are highly appreciated by the band and its team as they prove once again that the music of Ostava is valued equally by the fans and the press.

After the unquestionable success of Ostava's 3rd studio, LP various gigs abroad followed. The band returned to Germany to tour in their original line-up, and again used it as an opportunity to play new material. Ostava's new songs among which "Sex in the Morning", "Should Eye" and "You" were premiered on a 6-date tour throughout the whole country.

Later that year Ostava had the opportunity to play at the famous Brixton Telegraph in London on the 6th of October, and to be the first Bulgarian band to broadcast a live performance for their fans via the Internet.

In the meantime, Ostava dropped their label "Stain Studio Ltd." due to heavy disagreements on both sides and started looking for sponsors in order to record the new material for their upcoming 4th studio LP with working title Telephone Book and support by Knigomania. With the kind help of VivaTel - one of the leading mobile operators in Bulgaria, the first single from the new album entitled "Sex in the Morning" is ready to hit the Bulgarian media space later in March 2007. With a new producer to refresh the band's sound and "Sex in the Morning" mastered in the USA by Brad Blackwood, who has been nominated 6 times for the prestigeous Grammy Award, the future seems to be more than optimistic for Ostava. This is also reflected in the way the new songs sound. Aren't you curious? I am...

Shakermaker / Ivan Milev