Alternosfera is an

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band from Chişinău,

Republic of Moldova A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

. They started their career in 1998 in highschool with their first album, Oraşul 511.

History

The history of post-

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

rock in the Republic of Moldova is a concise one. Since 1991, only a few bands (e.g. Zdob şi Zdub), managed to occupy solid positions on the show-business arena of the Republic of Moldova and abroad. Alternosfera first rehearsed with their full lineup on December 13, 1998. Their first concert took place on 23 November 1999 in Chişinău. In 2001, the band made their first demo recordings in Chişinău, followed by more demo recordings in 2002 in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. Both the lineup and musical direction have changed over time, as the band reached maturity and developed their own approach to alternative rock, with the keyboards "carrying" the entire tune. Their lyrics are most often about love, but also have social and political connotations. Alternosfera's sound is unique on the Moldovan market at the moment, their influences varying from 80's motifs to the

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

alternative rock of the '90s. Their specific melodiousness is also partly due to most songs having the classic piano "lead." Alternosfera have performed on most of Chişinău's stages, taking part in the most important rock festivals in Moldova and were always well received by the public. In 2005 they performed in the Tuborg festival in Bucharest. Like most Moldovans, the band members speak both their native language

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

and

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

, except Vlad Hohlov, who is a native

speaker. While most of their songs are in Romanian, there are a small handful written in Russian, especially earlier on in their career. In 2022 the band moved to

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...

, due to concerns regarding the aforementioned Russian invasion.

Current members

* Marcel Bostan – Vocals, Keyboards, Guitar * Marin Nicoară – Guitar, Keyboards * Dumitru Costin - Bass * Nick Russu – Drums * Sergiu Aladin – Guitar, Keyboards

Former members

* Sebastian Marcovici – Bass * Andrei Ciobanu – Bass * Dumitru Costin – Bass * Olga Vîrlan – Cello * Vlad Hohlov – Drums * Max Koporski – Drums * Mîrza Vitalie – Violin * Vitalie Chian – Keyboards * Anatolii Pugaci – Drums * Victor "Vikosh" Coşparmac – Bass * Eugen Berdea – Drums

Discography

''Oraşul 511'' (''511 City'')

Release Date: 28 May 2005 Track Listing # Drumuri de noroi (Roads of Mud) # Oriental Monk # Shadow # Ikar (Icarus) # 1500 # Spune-mi (Tell Me) # Picaj (Dive) # Astă vară (Last Summer) # Wamintirile (version 5.11) (Memories) # Зима (Winter) # Vreau să-mi dai (I Want You to Give Me) # 511 # Alternocrazy onus Track * Record label: ART-SFERA * Mixing & record : September–December 2004, ADM-studio, Chişinău, Moldova * Sound engineer: Andrei Lifenco * Mastering: Feb. 2005, Studio МГСУ, Moscow, Russia. * Sound engineer: Serj Bolishakov * Music & text : Marcel Bostan * Arrangement: Alternosfera * Producer: Artur Muntean

''Visători cu plumb în ochi sau ultima scrisoare pentru femeia nordică'' (''Dreamers with Lead in Their Eyes or The Last Letter for the Northern Woman'')

Release Date: 16 June 2007 Track Listing # Drum de fier (Iron Road) # Ne uneşte, ne desparte (It Connects Us, It Divides Us) # Femeia Nordică (The Norse Woman) # Poştaş (Mailman) # Ploile nu vin (The Rains Are Not Coming) # Închisoarea albă (The White Prison) # Cocori (Cranes) # Visători cu plumb în ochi (Dreamers with Lead in Their Eyes) # Avion (Plane) # Nu e nimeni vinovat (It's Nobody's Fault) # Columb (Columbus) The first single released from the album was 'Femeia Nordica' and the second one was 'Ploile nu vin'. The new album's sound is somewhat different from the music Alternosfera were writing earlier. First, because the new songs sound more mild, and, second, because all of them (unlike on Oraşul 511) are in Romanian.

''Flori din Groapa Marianelor'' EP (''Flowers from the Mariana Trench'')

Release Date: 12 October 2008 Track Listing # Mariane Flori (Mariana Flowers) # Flori de Mai (May Flowers)* # Mariane Flori (JenyaSOLID Remix) # Mariane Flori (Remix NMKY) *"Flori de Mai" is a romanian term that refers to what would be known in english as "Forget-me-nots."

''Virgula'' (''The Comma'')

Release Date: October 2012 Track Listing # Drumuri Vecine (Neighbouring Roads) # Lumina Lăcustră (Lacustrine Light) # Virgulă (Comma) # Aruncă-mi (Throw Me) # Mută (Mute) # 2000 de ani (2000 Years) # O lume la picioare (A World At Your Feet) # Deja Străină (Already Estranged) # Două Eve (Two Eves) # Prea Departe Te Simt (I Feel You Too Far) # Manole # Ancoră (The Anchor) # Sentință (The Sentence) # Final (Ending)

''Epizodia''

Release Date: 14 March 2013* Track Listing # Drumuri Pi – necunoscute (PI roads – unknown roads) # Nepoata Lui Gagarin (Gagarin's granddaughter) # Epizodia # Singurătate (Loneliness) # Armata (The Army) # Rugi (Prayers) # Fiara (The Beast) # Văduva (The Widow) # Trei Luni (Three months) # Mai Am (I Still Have) *The album was purposely released on Pi day, as ''Virgula, Epizodia,'' and ''Haosoleum'' are all symbolic of Pi.

''Haosoleum'' (''Chaosoleum'')

Release Date: 9 October 2015 Track Listing # Drumul Tristetilor Part I (numere) (The Sadnesses' Road Part I (Numbers)) # Drumul Tristetilor Part II (bijutierul) (The Sadnesses' Road Part II (The Jewler)) # Cad Fulgi / SOS (Snowflakes Fall / SOS) # Dialog K (Dialogue K) # Punct (Period) # Am Uitat (I forgot) # Cheama-ma (Call out to Me) # Sarmanul Dionis (The Poor Dionysus) # Din Pacate (Unfortunately) # Au Ploile Azi... (Today, Do The Rains Have...) # Rasai (Rise) # Haosoleum (Chaosoleum)

''Arhitectul Din Babel'' (''The Architect from Babylon'')

Release Date: 3 July 2019 Track Listing # Drumuri Dintre Noi (Roads Between Us) # Timpul (Time) # Rachete (Missles) # Orice Gand (Any Thought) # Amanet (Pawn Shop) # Fantanile (The Fountains) # Unu Doi Unu Doi (One Two One Two) # Lucis # Scrisori (Letters) # Outro

New album (2023)

In autumn 2022 Marcel Bostan announced that in autumn 2023 a new album will be released. All material is already ready and is mixed by British recording engineer

Adrian Bushby Adrian Bushby is a recording engineer, mixer and producer. He works from his home studio in London, England and has recorded and mixed for artists including; New Order, Placebo, U2, Spice Girls, Feeder, Jamie T and Maxïmo Park. In 2008 he ...

who won two

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for his work on

Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...

sixth studio album

Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace ''Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters, released on September 25, 2007, through Roswell and RCA Records. The album is noted for a blend of regular rock and acoustic tracks with shifting ...

in 2008 and on album The Resistance by

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

in 2011. On 30 November 2022 Alternosfera released first single - "Bonjour Madame" - from future album. On 24 February 2023 - exactly 1 year from

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

- the band released second single, anti-war song called "Imnuri de război".

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Moldovan rock music groups Musical groups established in 1998 1998 establishments in Moldova