Wickeda ( bg, Уикеда ) were a

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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 Wales ...

band. They were quite popular in Bulgaria, and occasionally topped the

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. Their style comprised

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

and some traditional

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music elements. The witty lyrics filled with wordplay dealing mainly with stories from everyday life and the danceable tunes with memorable hooks largely contributed to the band's success.

History

Wickeda are one of the most well-known bands in Bulgaria. When their first album ''Революция'' ("Revolution") appeared in 1999, it caught immediately the attention of musicians, journalists and music fans alike. The album was something of a turning point for the ailing Bulgarian popular music scene. It signalled the emergence of a new wave of Bulgarian rock and electronic bands on and around the label ''Жълта музика'' ("Yellow Music"). Bulgaria's leading music magazine at the time, ''New Rhythm'' chose it as one of the 35 best Bulgarian albums ever, and Wickeda won the prize for Best band and Best newcomer awarded by the music TV channel MM. The single " ''А ние с Боби двамата пием кафе''" ("And I and Bobby, We are Both Drinking Coffee") stayed in MM's Top Ten for 10 weeks and the album sold over 30,000 copies. In 2000 Wickeda released their second album ''Затова, защото...'' ("That's Why, Because..."). The first single, '' Уиски с фъстъци'' ("Whiskey and Peanuts") again reached high positions in the Top Ten. At the yearly MM-awards they won prizes for Best band and Best album. The second album sold over 20,000 copies. The third album ''До тук'' ("Until Here"), a retrospective of Wickeda's work, came out in 2001, including four new songs. During their European tour (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Hungary), they released a single out of their fourth album ''Осъзнай се класово'' (approx. "Realise your Class Membership") in advance. After the tour the album was completed and managed once again to make it into the Top Ten. In the summer of 2004 came the fifth and final album called ''1618''. There were some new

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influences, while the style of the band was still varied and got even harder. A lot of the tracks on the album were English translations of older songs, albeit three new songs, "Секси" (Sexy), "Ми да" (I'm Here!) and "The Letter", were added. The Bulgarian version of "The Letter" has never been released, although the

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of ''1618'' refers to it as "Pismo nov voc". In the autumn Wickeda made another European tour presenting their new album in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, and Bulgaria. In October 2009 UK dubstep producer Ramadanman, in conjunction with the British Council and Hessle Audio, released a 500 limited edition white label remix 12" single of the Wickeda track "А Ние Двамата с Боби Пием Кафе" from their 1999 debut album 'Revolution'. The Hessle Audio co-owner and producer was approached by the council to remix a track picked by the Bulgarian public, drawn from a selection of their top 10 90's Bulgarian pop songs. In 2010 they were headliners at

Spirit of Burgas Spirit of Burgas was a summer music festival in the city of Burgas, on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria. The first edition of the festival took place on 15–17 August 2008 and since then has significantly grown in popularity, becoming one of the m ...

after

Everlast Erik Francis Schrody (born August 18, 1969), known by his stage name Everlast, is an American musician, singer, rapper, and songwriter, who was the frontman for hip hop group House of Pain. He was also part of the hip hop supergroup La Coka ...

couldn't make it because of sickness. On 10 June 2018, bandleader Erol Ibrahimov announced the end of the band on his personal Facebook page, stating that the band "had no more to say" after 21 years."After Kranevo Wickeda have disbanded", ProNews Dobrich, 10 June 2018
(in Bulgarian). Retrieved 25 October 2018.

Members

* Erol Ibrahimov (vocals, bass) * Rosen Grygorov (guitar) * Vladimir Georgiev - Popa(drums) * Yassen Obretenov - Yashata (keyboard)

Discography

* Revolyutsia ''(Революция)'' (1999) * ''Zatova, zashtoto...'' ''(Затова, защото...)'' (2000) * ''Do tuk'' ''(До тук)'' (2001) * ''Osaznay se klasovo'' ''(Осъзнай се класово)'' (2003) * ''1618'' (2004)

Tours and festivals

They have played numerous festivals and made several tours abroad, even overseas: *

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Tour, 2001 * The

Sziget Festival The Sziget Festival ( hu, Sziget Fesztivál, ; "Sziget" for "Island") is one of the largest Music festival, music and cultural festivals in Europe. It is held every August in northern Budapest, Hungary, on Óbuda Island, Óbudai-sziget ("Old Bu ...

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in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007 * The Taksirat Festival in Macedonia (2002) *

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(Ska-/Reggae-/Dub-Festival 2002) *

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(2002) *

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( Agrinio Festival, 2002) *

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(

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, Rockxplosion, Stadt Festival 2003, Waltroper Parkfest 2004) * Club tour across Germany in

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and

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in 2002 * The

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( Wantijpop Festival 2005, Elastiek Festival 2005) They have also had their own successful gigs in

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and

References

External links

official site (in Bulgarian)

Wickeda
at

Bulgarian Rock Archives Bulgarian Rock Archives (or Български рок архиви) is the first online encyclopedia dedicated to rock music in Bulgaria. Launched online on 2 August 2013 and includes more than 350 bands and performers from the mid-1960s. The artic ...

official forum
{{Authority control Bulgarian rock music groups Musical groups established in 1997 Musical groups disestablished in 2018