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 Wales ...

band from Cluj-Napoca . 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), Răzvan Ristea (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 , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a ( né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, tw ...

movie of the same name, inspired by the

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

ous novel written by

Pascal Bruckner Pascal Bruckner (; born 15 December 1948, in Paris) is a French writer, one of the "New Philosophers" who came to prominence in the 1970s and 1980s. Much of his work has been devoted to critiques of French society and culture. Biography 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,

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

, 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 (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...

with

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 mainstream or commerci ...

. 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 Vama Veche (historical names: ''Ilanlâk'', ''Ilanlâc'', tr, Ilanlık) is a town in Constanța County, Romania, on the Black Sea coast, near the border with Bulgaria, at 28.57 E longitude, 43.75 N latitude. It is part of the commune of L ...

" (protecting the endangered

seahorse A seahorse (also written ''sea-horse'' and ''sea horse'') is any of 46 species of small marine fish in the genus ''Hippocampus''. "Hippocampus" comes from the Ancient Greek (), itself from () meaning "horse" and () meaning "sea monster" or " ...

s), "Save Roşia Montană" (protecting the wildlife and natural surroundings of a mountain area from

cyanide Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms. In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...

poisoning) and social awareness projects, such as the "Vote for Them" tour, organized to convince young adults to

vote Voting is a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an Constituency, electorate, can engage for the purpose of making a collective decision making, decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election camp ...

. 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 The Sziget Festival ( hu, Sziget Fesztivál, ; "Sziget" for "Island") 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-hect ...

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. 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 ''Dilema veche'' (English: "Old Dilemma") is a Romanian weekly magazine that covers culture, social topics, and politics. It was founded in 2004 as the successor to the magazine ''Dilema'', which was founded in 1993. Both magazines were founded by ...

'' 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 March 15, 2010

Band members

Current members

* Mihnea Blidariu – lead vocals,

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

, rhythm guitar * Nick Făgădar – lead vocals, rhythm guitar * Sorin Moraru – bass * Răzvan Ristea – drums * Andrei Boțan –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

Former members

* Șerban-Onțanu Crăciun - lead guitar *Mihnea Andrei Ferezan - lead guitar * Vali Deac - lead guitar * Petru Gavrila - lead guitar * Gheorghe Farcaș - bass guitar

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Asfalt'' (2004) * 1.Gri Dorian,2.Oras,3.Asfalt,4.Ego Nr.4, 5.Rosu Aprins,6.Your Garden,7.Mara(acoustic),8.Dizident,9.Antidot,10.Folclor,11.Simplify My Spider,12.Stare De Gratie,13.Tanagra,14.Unfed,15.Ciudat(acoustic) * '' Loc Lipsă''(2006) *1.Loc Lipsa,2.Intunecare,3.Se intampla-n Romania,4.Albastru,5.Luni de Fiere,6.La Vedere,7.Lume Oarba,8.Downtown Jesus *9.Umbra Copil,10.Somn,11.Din Cercuri,12.In Cercuri,13.Cui si Spin,14.Happines Provider,15.Din Valuri Ard. * '' Don't Let Your Dreams Fall Asleep'' (2008) *1.Into Another,2.Transitions,3.Chihlimbar,4.Unghii De Drac,5.True Sunshine,6.Deadends,7.No Return,8.Kill The Dancer *9.Hunt The Wire,10.Floodmoses,11.Little Sun,12.Mara 2008. * '' Pietre în Alb'' (2011) *1.In Gol,2.Bathtub Glory,3.Versus,4.Cand Totul a Murit Tacut,5.In Tine Tu,6.In Lumina,7.Doar Gandul,8.Pietre In Alb,9.Are We Happy Now,10.Glow *11.Monkey Retail,12.Oameni Noi,13.Toti La Fel. * '' Aproape'' (2016) *1.Aproape,2.Doar Noi Doi,3.Dusi De Val,4.Lampioane,5.Pene,6.Prea Tarziu,7.Prieteni Calatori. * '' Nord'' (2018) *1.Atat De Simplu,2.Insomnii,3.Viu,4.Nu Stiu,Nu Iau,Nu Sunt,5.Alearga,Asteapta, 6.Ploi Negre, *7.Om,8.Respira Un Inceput,9.Focuri,10.Tacerea,11.Esti Tu.

References

External links

*
Interview with Mihnea Blidariu
(voice, guitar & trumpet) {{DEFAULTSORT:Luna Amara Romanian alternative rock groups Romanian heavy metal musical groups