Luna Amară is a Romanian
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band from
Cluj-Napoca
Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...
. The band, which was founded in 1999 under the name Tanagra Noise, consists of Mihnea Blidariu (lead vocals, trumpet, rhythm guitar), Nick Făgădar (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Sorin Moraru (bass), Robert Moțoc (drums) and Andrei Boțan (lead guitar). The band's name translates to Bitter Moon, and is borrowed from the
Roman Polanski
Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Britis ...
movie of the same name, inspired by the eponymous novel written by
Pascal Bruckner. As of 2018, Luna Amară have released six studio albums (Asfalt, Loc Lipsă, Don't Let Your Dreams Fall Asleep, Pietre În Alb, Aproape and Nord).
History
The band was formed by Nick Făgădar (vocals, guitar) and Gheorghe Farcaş (bass guitar) in
Cluj-Napoca
Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...
,
Transylvania
Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
, in September 1999. The initial name of the band was Tanagra Noise. In 2000 they changed it to the current name, ''Luna Amară''. As a live act, this Romanian five-piece outfit has a style that combines
progressive metal
Progressive metal (often shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven sound of the former with t ...
with
alternative rock
Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
. Luna Amara was the first Romanian band to introduce the trumpet sound into the alternative rock style.
The band members try promote and support a modern European society in Romania, and their lyrics often have a political message. Luna Amară is also involved in ecological projects such as "Save
Vama Veche" (protecting the endangered
seahorse
A seahorse (also written ''sea-horse'' and ''sea horse'') is any of 46 species of small marine Osteichthyes, bony fish in the genus ''Hippocampus''. The genus name comes from the Ancient Greek (), itself from () meaning "horse" and () meanin ...
s), "Save
Roşia Montană" (protecting the wildlife and natural surroundings of a mountain area from
cyanide
In chemistry, cyanide () is an inorganic chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom.
Ionic cyanides contain the cyanide anion . This a ...
poisoning) and social awareness projects, such as the "Vote for Them" tour, organized to convince young adults to vote.
Luna Amară is currently one of Romania's most successful groups from the new wave of rock acts. They were the top selling artist in national chain of music stores (Hollywood Music & Film) from July until September 2004. Their singles ''Folclor'', ''Gri Dorian,'' ''Roşu aprins'' and ''Ego nr. 4'' have reached number one in airplay charts at local radio stations around the country.
In January 2006 they released the album Loc Lipsă. The band performed a 40 dates tour all over Romania in clubs and open air locations as well as shows in the Netherlands, Germany, Bulgaria and Turkey. For the 2nd time consecutively, Luna Amară has been invited to play live at
Sziget Festival
Sziget Festival (, ) is one of the largest music and cultural festivals in Europe. It is held every August in northern Budapest, Hungary, on Óbudai-sziget ("Old Buda Island"), a leafy 108-hectare (266-acre) island on the Danube. More than 1,0 ...
in
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
.
After two very well-sold albums, in 2009 ''Luna Amară'' has recorded a third one, "Don't Let Your Dreams Fall Asleep", where the acoustic side of the band is especially underlined. This album contains nine songs in English and three in Romanian. "Don't Let Your Dreams Fall Asleep" was praised in such cultural magazines as ''
Dilema Veche'' and some of their singles, such as "Chihlimbar", remained number one on several charts for quite a long time, such as for 4 weeks in June and July 2009 in ''Cityfms ''Romtop''.
Romtop at Cityfm
Retrieved 15 March 2010
Band members
Current members
* Mihnea Blidariu – lead vocals, trumpet, rhythm guitar
* Nick Făgădar – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
* Sorin Moraru – bass
* Robert Moțoc – drums
* Andrei Boțan – lead guitar
Former members
* Șerban-Onțanu Crăciun – lead guitar
* Mihnea Andrei Ferezan – lead guitar
* Vali Deac – lead guitar
* Petru Gavrila – lead guitar
* Gheorghe Farcaș – bass guitar
* Răzvan Ristea – drums
Discography
Studio albums
* ''Asfalt'' (2004)
* ''Loc Lipsă'' (2006)
* ''Don't Let Your Dreams Fall Asleep'' (2008)
* ''Pietre în Alb'' (2011)
* ''Aproape'' (2016)
* ''Nord'' (2018)
References
External links
*
Interview with Mihnea Blidariu
(voice, guitar & trumpet)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luna Amara
Romanian alternative rock groups
Romanian heavy metal musical groups