Kottarashky
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Kottarashky
OR:
Kottarashky on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

Kottarashky ( bg, Котарашки ) (born Nikola Gruev ( bg, Никола Груев), 4 September 1979) is a musician and composer who fuses original recordings taken in his native
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
, with
electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...
, hip hop,
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
and other music genres. He personally defines his style as “Balkan psychedelic”, but critics consider him as part of the "Balkan beat wave". In November 2009 the German label
Asphalt Tango Records Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...
released Kottarashky’s debut album “Opa Hey”. A few months later he founded the band Kottarashky & The Rain Dogs. In 2012 they released together his second album “Demoni” under the same label.


Biography

Nikola Gruev was born on 4 September 1979 in Sofia, Bulgaria, in an artistic family. He studied architecture in his home city. After his graduation in 2003, Nikola started working in an architectural bureau. His experiments with digital music date back to his student years. Back then he was experimenting in his bedroom at home that was turned into a mini studio (Kottarashky is composing there till today). His specific style started getting shape a few years later, when he decided to integrate into his pieces samples from terrain recordings that he did during his trips throughout Bulgaria. That was how the piece “Opa Hey” was born. Nikola quit his job and concentrated almost all his energy on creating music, making his living as a freelance architect. After putting some of his tracks online in social networks, his compositions were noticed by Henry Ernst, founder of the Berlin-based label
Asphalt Tango Records Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...
. In a few months Nikola Gruev signed a contract with the company. On 13 November 2009 it released his debut album “Opa Hey” and Nikola acquired the artistic name Kottarashky.


“Opa Hey”

The album “Opa Hey” quickly won the attention of the critics receiving many positive reviews, including in newspapers such as
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
and
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
. It was also acclaimed by world music
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
journalist
Charlie Gillett Charles Thomas Gillett (; 20 February 1942 – 17 March 2010) was a British radio presenter, musicologist, and writer, mainly on rock and roll and other forms of popular music. He was particularly noted for his influential book ''The Sound of t ...
. In December 2009 the album entered the prestigious World Music Charts Europe where it stayed for record-breaking 5 months and reached 3rd position in February 2010. Tracks from the album have been selected for various compilations, released in the UK, Germany and the USA.


Kottarashky & The Rain Dogs

In March 2010 Nikola Gruev (sampling, programming) together with his colleague from the University Hristo Hadzhiganchev (guitar & keyboard), Alexandar Dobrev (clarinet) and Yordan Geshakov (bass) founded Kottarashky Live Band. After some time Atanas Popov (drums) joined them. The band adapted the pieces from “Opa Hey” for live performance with new arrangement and a very specific style. Its first live concert was at the festival Music Meeting in Nijmegen,
The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. A month later the band played also in front of its home Bulgarian audience. There followed a number of concerts and tours in Bulgaria and abroad. Parallel to that the band worked on the arrangement of some of Kottarashky’s compositions that had been not released so far and at the end it produced the joint album “Demoni” with which the musicians appeared as Kottarashky & The Rain Dogs. The album was released on 4 May 2012 again by
Asphalt Tango Records Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...
. The response by the critics was again positive. “Demoni” reached again 3rd position in the World Music Charts Europe. Soon after the premiere of the album, Kottarashky & The Rain Dogs obtained their first professional music video to the single " Demoni", created by the world-renowned animator
Theodore Ushev Theodore Asenov Ushev ( bg, Теодор Асенов Ушев; born 4 February 1968) is a Bulgarian animator, film director and screenwriter based in Montreal. He is best known for his work at the National Film Board of Canada, including the 2 ...
.Noel Murray
"Two inventive animated shorts draw on the traditions of Eastern Europe"
''
The Dissolve ''The Dissolve'' was a film review, news, and commentary website which was operated by Pitchfork and based in Chicago, Illinois. The site was focused on reviews, commentary, interviews, and news about contemporary and classic films.{{cite web, url ...
'', November 2, 2013. The video won dozens of awards for short animation movie all over the world. The rest of Kottarashky’s music videos have been done by himself. There he applies the same collage approach as in his compositions. The album release was followed by guest-tours in clubs and festivals in Europe and Asia, among which WOMEX and Roskilde Festival in
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
.


Guest appearances

Two of the songs in “Demoni” are recorded in collaboration with singer Tui Mamaki from the New Zealand band The Mamaku Project. Kottarashky & The Rain Dogs did one single rehearsal with her and a joint concert in Sofia. The recordings for the album were done from distance: the instrumentals were recorded in
Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...
and the vocals – in
Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...
,
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
.


Reception

In a positive review of the album ''Opa Hey!'', music critic Tim Cumming of ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' wrote, "What you hear feels like a dislocated dream ride through the pungent soundscape of night-time Sofia."Cumming, Tim (January 9, 2010). "Album of the week: Kottarashky: Opa Hey!", ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'', p. 20. Robin Denselow of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' rated the album as 3/5 and wrote, " ch of the 12 pieces here is constructed around a catchy, repeated riff, created not just from electronica, bass or keyboards, but from brass phrases, voices or strings."Denselow, Robin (January 1, 2010).
Jazz, world, folk: CD reviews: Kottarashky: Opa Hey!
, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', p. 10.


Discography


Albums

* ''Opa Hey!'' (2009,
Asphalt Tango Records Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...
) * ''Demoni'' (2012, Asphalt Tango Records, artist name "Kottarashky & The Rain Dogs") * ''Cats, Dogs and Ghosts'' (2016, Asphalt Tango Records, artist name "Kottarashky & The Rain Dogs") * ''Doghouse'' (2022, Asphalt Tango Records, artist name "Kottarashky & The Rain Dogs")


Film scores

He is a frequent collaborator with Bulgarian-Canadian animator
Theodore Ushev Theodore Asenov Ushev ( bg, Теодор Асенов Ушев; born 4 February 1968) is a Bulgarian animator, film director and screenwriter based in Montreal. He is best known for his work at the National Film Board of Canada, including the 2 ...
, including on Ushev's 2016 short, '' Blind Vaysha''


References


External links


Label artist page
{{Authority control Bulgarian music Living people Bulgarian musicians Musicians from Sofia 1979 births