OSTAVA

The unmistakable rough guitar sound of Ostava that refers to the most influential bands from the early past, such as Oasis, The Smiths, Blur, REM and Suede fused with the tender textures of the post-punk wave in the late-80s subculture, helped the band create an unmistakable sound that defined a new era in the Bulgarian alternative music, which was barely existent up to that point.

It was somewhere in 1991 when Georgi Georgiev (guitar and vocals), Boyan Petkov (bass) and Dragomir Dimitrov (drums) formed Ostava in the town of Gabrovo - a band that played a key role in te history of the Bulgarian alternative music scene, influenced generations and changed lives. Svilen Noev (lead vocals and guitar) joined the band in 1995, and Daniel Petrov replaced his predecessor on drums four years later to complete the original line-up. One can say that history loves Ostava, since each and every album they have put out has become an instant classic in its own right and casts a shadow over most famous local performers that tried to match their success.

Ostava's first studio efforts set the basics for the surprising success of their first LP. The first song they put out as a radio single, which was the typical format at that time - Sunflower Fields, became an major hit after receiving the Best Song award of the Bulgarian National Radio in 1994. The same happened to the acoustic anthem We Are So Free in 1996. Foreign promoters noticed the band back then and Ostava got invited to take part at the Roxy Music Gunleri Festival in Turkey.The band began eventually claiming a place on the national music market in the late 90's after signing to Riva Sound Records. The first LP entitled "Ping Pong" was released in the spring of 2000 and received positive reviews in the Bulgarian music press. The first two singles off that album, Blank Sequence and Ping Pong, earned heavy airplay on various radio stations. However, the song that launched Ostava to the top of the Bulgarian charts was Would You Come With Me, for some - a gentle rip-off from The Smith's "There is a light that never goes out", for others - a defining cornerstone and one of the anthems in the history of the Bulgarian alternative music. It received the award for Best Rock/Alternative Song at the 3rd annual MM TV Music Awards. The band's fourth single, Sorry, also became a major hit and an instant live classic. Ostava began recording the follow-up to "Ping Pong" at the end of 2001. With a new member on board (Michael Shishkov on slide guitar), the quintet developed an ambitious blend of indie rock'n'roll riffs and sensual, eerie, musical landscapes.

After signing to Stars Records and launching two more successful singles - Mini Body and Beautiful People, Ostava's second LP entitled "After Love in Times of War" saw the light of day in March 2002. It was embraced by the critics right away, but failed to match the success of its predecessor among the band's supporters. A year later, in April 2003, Ostava recorded a concert at the Military Club in Sofia and released it as limited edition live album entitled "Love in Times of War" as a gift to their loyal fan following. A live DVD was set for release later that year, yet differences between the band and their new label "Stain Studio Ltd." put that project on ice. But trouble never comes alone - Ostava's drummer Daniel left the band in the beginning of June as his family moved abroad. His place was taken by Vladimir Vassilev – ex-drummer of the well-known Bulgarian indie bands Animatsionerite and Cigaretta. With him Ostava finished recording their third studio album. The record entitled "Mono" hit the shelves in the beginning of 2005, preceded by the singles Chocolate (February 2004) and Mono (November 2004). "Chocolate" reached the first place in the Bulgarian Top 100 Chart and remained there for 7 weeks in a row!

In the beginning of February 2005 the band was invited for a gig at the most famous club live venue in Berlin - "Magnet". The invitation came from the local promoters Karerra Klub, who had worked with Kaiser Chiefs, The Libertines, The Killers and numerous famous indie rock performers. Thanks to the timely support of loyal fans in Austria and Germany the single concert turned into a mini tour, including performances in Vienna, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe and Cologne.

At the ceremony of 7th Annual Music Awards of MM TV (the Bulgarian music TV channel) Ostava claimed two awards - for Best Rock / Alternative song for "Chocolate" and Best Rock / Alternative album for "Mono". The ceremony was held on 12 March, 2005 at the Palace of Culture and Sport in the town of Veliko Tarnovo. Two weeks later this success was affirmed by the winning of the award for Best Song of 2007 ("Chocolate") at the Annual Music Awards of BG Radio. The event took place on 27 March, 2005 at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia. Such awards are highly appreciated by the band and its team as they prove once again that the music of Ostava is v