Timpuri Noi is a

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 ...

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.

History

Timpuri Noi was formed in 1980, and remained an underground act up until 1991. This was mainly due to what was perceived as "

subversive Subversion () refers to a process by which the values and principles of a system in place are contradicted or reversed in an attempt to transform the established social order and its structures of power, authority, hierarchy, and social norms. Sub ...

lyrical content" in the Ceauşescu era. Incidentally, the name derives from a

cliché A cliché ( or ) is an element of an artistic work, saying, or idea that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, even to the point of being weird or irritating, especially when at some earlier time it was consi ...

of the period: its literal meaning is "New Times" (in the sense of "New Age"), used to signify

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

Socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

. The

tongue-in-cheek The idiom tongue-in-cheek refers to a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner. History The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walter Scott ...

reference is somehow associated with the

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 ...

metro station of the same name (see:

Timpuri Noi Timpuri Noi is a Romanian alternative rock band. History Timpuri Noi was formed in 1980, and remained an underground act up until 1991. This was mainly due to what was perceived as "subversive lyrical content" in the Ceauşescu era. Incide ...

). The name is also the Romanian translation of Modern Times, the title for

Charles Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

's classic 1936 film. In the early nineties, up to around 1995, the band was arguably the top Romanian act. Around the time, they had the opportunity to be the opening act for rather prestigious (albeit musically different) foreign acts during concerts in Bucharest:

Ian Gillan Ian Gillan (born 19 August 1945) is a British singer who is best known as the lead singer and lyricist for the rock band Deep Purple. He is known for his powerful and wide-ranging singing voice. Initially influenced by Elvis Presley, Gillan ...

and Uriah Heep in 1992,

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

in 1993,

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse (poetry), verse. A second edition fo ...

and Jethro Tull in 1994,

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

and

Kreator Kreator is a German thrash metal band from Essen, formed in 1982. Their current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Miland "Mille" Petrozza, drummer Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, lead guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö, and bassist Frédér ...

in 1995,

Eros Ramazzotti Eros Walter Luciano Ramazzotti (; born 28 October 1963) is an Italian pop singer, musician and songwriter. He is popular in Italy and most European countries, and throughout the Spanish-speaking world, as he has released most of his albums in bo ...

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

and

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

later in the same year. 1994 also signified an important event in both Timpuri Noi's career and

Romanian music Romania is a European country with a multicultural music environment which includes active ethnic music scenes. Traditional Romanian folk music remains popular, and some folk musicians have come to national (and even international) fame. Histo ...

in general: Timpuri Noi gives the very first

unplugged Unplugged may refer to: *Acoustic music, music not produced through electronic means * "Unplugged" (B.A.P song), 2014 * "Unplugged" (''Modern Family''), a 2010 episode of ''Modern Family'' Albums and EPs * ''Unplugged'' (5'nizza album), 2002 * '' ...

performance in this country, recorded as an album in the same year (see below). Adrian Plesca (Timpuri Noi) 1

In 1997, the band was presented with one of th
MCM
French music television and

Radio France Internationale Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of France. With 37.2 million listeners in 2014, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world, along with ...

"Decouvertes de Rock a l'Est" (Eastern European New Acts) Awards, performing in a special gala concert. (The previous year, Timpuri Noi had been interviewed for

MTV Europe MTV Global (formerly as MTV Europe) is the international version of the American TV channel MTV, a 24-hour music and entertainment TV channel that began broadcasting on August 1, 1987, as part of the worldwide MTV network. Initially, MTV serve ...

during the

Golden Stag Festival The Golden Stag Festival ( ro, Cerbul de Aur) is the most popular Romanian song contest and awards, held annually in the town of Braşov, Romania. History The Golden Stag was first held in 1968, but after 1971 it was banned by the Communist l ...

in the Romanian city of Braşov.) The band split in 2001, with members becoming involved in personal projects -

Partizan Partizan may refer to: Sport * JSD Partizan, a sports society from Belgrade, Serbia, which includes the following clubs: **AK Partizan, athletics ** Biciklistički Klub Partizan, cycling ** Džudo Klub Partizan, judo **FK Partizan, association fo ...

for Artan, ZIDD (sometimes mentioned as "Zid" - Romanian for "wall") for Dan Iliescu. These projects were short-lived, since Timpuri noi re-united in 2005, releasing a new record called "Back in Business". In 2009, Artan leaves the group, due to disagreements with Dan Iliescu. Vlad Apotrosoaei (2)

As of 2020, the group is still active, playing live sporadically throughout the country. They released a new full-length called "Moldova Mon Amour".

Lineup

Original lineup

* Adrian Pleşca (Artan) – lead vocals * Dan Iliescu – guitar, backing vocals * Răzvan Moldovan – drums

Current lineup

* Dan Iliescu – guitar and vocals * Vlad Apotrosoaei – bass guitar, backing vocals * Felix Sfura – drums and percussion, backing vocals

Other band members over the years

*1982: Sorin Petroianu – guitar *1982: Sorin Tirichiţă – bass guitar *1984 – 1985, 1990:

Marian Ionescu Marian Ion Ionescu (born 21 August 1929 in Târgoviște) is a Romanian-born British cardiac surgeon. His interest in heart surgery covered several aspects of this specialty. He was an inventor of surgical devices, mostly artificial heart valve ...

– bass guitar *1984 – 1985, 1990: Luminita Mihaescu – keyboards, vocals *1986 – 1988, 1990: Radu Cartianu – bass guitar *1983, 1990 – 1991: Sorin (Croco) Badea – bass guitar *1991: Marian Mihăilescu – bass guitar *1991: Costel Joiţa – drums *1992 – 2001: Cătălin Neagu – drums *1992 – 1995: Marian Moldoveanu – guitar *1992 – 1998: Adrian Borțun – bass guitar *1998 – 2000: Cătălin Răsvan – bass guitar *2000 – 2001: Florin Barbu – bass guitar *2005 – 2010: Silviu Sanda – bass guitar *2005 – 2010: Andrei Barbulescu – drums *2007 – 2008: Victor Rivalet – keyboards, samplers, groove machine *2009 – 2010: Vladimir Sateanu (Vlady) – bass guitar * Florin Tuliga – programming * Aurel Parocescu – samplers and drum machines In some concerts, the band would add two backing female singers to its lineup (whether vocalists or violinists): the official site mentions Denis Iliescu, Crina Godescu and Maria Radu as its main collaborators.

Discography

*''Formaţii Rock Nr. 11'' (Electrecord, 1988; split EP along with the band 'Contrast' from

Suceava Suceava () is the largest urban settlement and the seat town ( ro, oraș reședință de județ) of Suceava County, situated in the historical region of Bukovina, northeastern Romania, and at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central and Eastern E ...

), last 3 tracks (LP)The featured songs were: 'Albele furtuni' ('White Storms'), 'Seară de mister' ('Mystery Night'), and 'Am să rămân cu tine' ('I Will Stay With You'). *''

'' (Cartianu SRL, 1992) (LP, MC) *'' Timpuri Noi Unplugged'' (VIVO, 1994) (CD, MC) *'' De regiune superior'' (VIVO, 1995) (CD, MC) *'' Basca Abundenţei'' (MediaPro Music, 1998) (CD, MC) *'' Lucky Nights Unplugged'' (MediaPro Music, 2000) split, last 7 tracks (CD, MC) *'' Back in Business'' (MediaPro Music, 2006) (CD, MC) *'' Deschide-ți mintea'' (MHO, 2012) (CD) *'' Moldova Mon Amour'' (LUNA PR & EVENTS, 2020) (CD)

Notes and references

External links

*
Fan site
*
Album reviews
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1983 Romanian alternative rock groups