Issue 1 - Contemporary Bohemians

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Music
14
Events
22
Faces
24
Cinema
35
Art
42
Bohemian thoughts
The project started almost 5 years ago as а show for a tv
channel. At the beginning we did it mostly for fun - when
you’re 22 going around concerts and parties while drinking
all night looks quite fun as a job description. I’m not going
to lie, 5 years later it still does.Thing is, this was also the
reason why we skipped television as a conventional
channel. The heads of the station weren’t that thrilled with
the uncensored part of our escapades, and after a few
quarrels we decided to just do it as an independent online
project. As a net based media, we had a lot more freedom
and we had no conventional standards to follow. Problem
is, we were only three people at that time, no budget and
only our experience, personal equipment and passion for
nightlife. Well, we also had a cup of insanity and a bohemian
drive to do something unconventional. Everybody laughed
at the idea we could create a media where we freely chose
what we cover as events, while we drank away most of
the nights. Well one thing’s for sure - we didn’t get rich by
creating CB, but we had a lot of fun and some of the things
we experienced are novel material.
Looking back through the years I can easily describe the
whole project as a stupid idea that cost us a lot of time and
effort, but one that became a part of our lives. Creating
a project like this allowed us to have a lot of freedom.
We were always where we wanted to be and always did
what we wanted to do. At one point it became more than
a media side project - it truly became a way of life. We all
worked different day jobs and projects without leaving this
behind. While other people went on vacations to relax and
chillout we traveled around festivals, concerts and parties
while documenting them.
Through my whole life i’ve been fascinated by the realm of the night. It’s a dark place where our behaviour can be
far less restrained. A perfect home to music, theater, alcohol, sex, drugs and all matters of vices and arts. It’s the
breeding ground for artist of all kinds and most of the emblematic figures i respect have led a life closely connected
to it. The night’s a big playground for bohemians, a place where they can be free outside of light and its horrible
decency. Its enigmatic rules have always driven my imagination and redefined my limits as a person and artist and
this fascination is also the founding concept behind Contemporary Bohemians.
We’ve been lost, robbed, beaten and all other shit you can
think of and it wasn’t always worth it. But being true to what
we are we never gave up, and we always went on believing
that life’s made up of what’s fun and the closest you can get
to true freedom is living a bohemian life with no remorse
and no looking back.
We started it as a way to document our exploits during the night without fearing the censorship of conventional
media, but as much as i’ve loved all the work we did so far, it always lacked one major theme of expression literature. With this first issue we bring you an expanded view on the way we experience the night and our views
on contemporary culture. Everything here is based on personal opinion and I sincerely hope no one expects any
censorship.
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The first time we collided with the killer waves
was during one of Indioteque’s events in the old
Mixtape 5. It wasn’t a big gig but overwhelmingly full
with people. Our PR fell in love with the band from
the very first song and became a full fledged groupie.
With a little shove from her and a sincere fondness
for their music we sat down and had a talk about what
makes them tick like musicians
Let’s make a quick introduction : Krum a.k.a.
Drevniq - Drums; Stanimir a.k.a. Stankata - Bass;
Miroslav a.k.a. Lombardi - Voice & Guitar. This sort
of introduction ain’t my style - Krum the guy with a
pretty insane look in his eyes, that aspires to be the
new Count of pop in Bulgaria; Stanimir, the cynical
part of the band and by cynical I mean nihilistically
so, and of course the vocal Miro that’s drenched in a
surfer dude vibe. Just as their EP implies, the band
leaves the impression of a dead lovers club devoted
to music.
It’s hard to define The Black Swells in a certain genre,
but there’s a definite heartache feel that reverberates
as frustrated neopsych garage rock. In the constant
metrics that are typical for the genre you can find a
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persistent melancholy that’s enhanced by the flow
of the lyrics. The music leaves the impression of a
broken romance with a very close lover.
We hear the same tone in some of the jokes that Krum
makes, but it’s not only in their gestures, the way they
smoke, drink even laugh - it’s like melancholy has
engulfed their whole being. It’s even present in the
pink and dusty Powerpuff girls console they keep in
the studio, but that’s a story I will keep for another
time... You can see more about the band in our show
- Visita.
During thе last 10 years, we “the kids of the 90’s and
the late 80’s” had the pleasure to see the genres we’ve
listened when we were young grow fiercely again, with
some relevant variations, but still keeping their roots.
Most of all genres, our loved rock - mutating then to alternative-rock - created into itself so many subgenres,
enough to satisfy every listener and every taste. Finding its bases in brit-rock and the independent music,
the alternative rock had as a main purpose to be listed
outside the mainstream category, gathering together a
relevant part of the underground culture. The subgenres then grew even more in number, being influenced
by the social context and functioning as a congregation
point, just like every musical genre at its beginning.
After the popularization of indie music, even the subgenres were splitted in other categories, as there was the
need to put an etiquette on every influence. We started
sensing even more the impact of the different regional roots because of the instruments used, the themes
of the lyrics and the melodies that varied, keeping the
typical instrumental model. Of course the most popular bands were american and british because of the
origin of the genre, creating a unidirectional selling
mechanism, as the interest in the bands with other
origins was very limited. Personally, I found myself
listening mainly to british bands without showing any
care about what kind of music was released and produced in the balkans for a very long time. As most of
us, I assumed that almost every band I discovered was
either british or american, and if in some way I found
out that the origins were different, I’d be shocked.
In any case these bands were my way to run away from
the mainstream commercial music that had no meaning for me and to immerse myself in the lyrics and the
concept of the songs, almost feeling as I wrote them.
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Depending on the different genre, the lyrics were about
disappointment (in someone or in the surrounding culture), hidden sadness, cynical anger and every kind
of optimistic and fun emotion of this kind, so as
every teenager with so many hormones fighting
epic battles between them, I was so misunderstood
and disappointed by everyone and everything without
discriminating the source. Oh music, you are my only
friend.
Growing up, I started listening more carefully to the
genres and stopped complaining and crying over myself as I began getting along with the hormones, like
everyone (or a big part of us), getting out of my house
and deciding to enjoy the bands live. Unfortunately
these bands were only in some small clubs in which we
couldn’t breathe, and they were very hard to find on a
regular bases. Imagine my euphoria when I got familiar
with the festivals that were growing popular, in which
I felt like in Narnia because I could find every band I
wanted to listen. We spent every last cent, which in that
time was all our money, to reach the town or even the
different country in which the festival was and to immerse ourselves in that amazing atmosphere.
Each one of us know very well what it is to go home
and pretend to be on that stage. We’d play the concert if it was uploaded somewhere, and we’d secretly
sing as if we had thousands of people in front of us
shaking their heads and screaming at the first note
of the chorus and the riffs, even simulating to play
with the guitarist and to shut up at some point of the
lyrics, so the crowd could sing them. I personally had
a couple of episodes in which my mother would find
me in the middle of the living room “communicating
with the audience”, asking me if I was possessed and
suggesting to “go seek some help”. Maybe it would’ve
been better if I followed her advice, but that’s another story I wouldn’t be writing so publicly.
So years passed and while the genres kept multiplying by osmosis, we began to be eaten by the routine
and going to festivals or live concerts was not so easy,
but we’d still manage somehow, though more rarely
of course. I remember I had this two years of pause
because I was working and studying and the priorities
were quite different, so I almost felt “homesick”, or in
this case “concert sick”, which is pretty much the same.
After this pause me and my friends had a break from
all these lame adult responsibilities, so of course the
first thought was “festival”.. We could’ve go only once,
hence it had to be majestic. After the huge research
and the syncing between the preferences (which is always a critical phase) we packed up and departed.
We reached the festival, took our things and grabbed a
beer, waiting to get in. I noticed people were quite apathetic, as if it doesn’t matter if they were at the festival
or at the town fish market. Maybe the concert has to
start and they’ll fall into the usual euphoria, I thought.
Maybe they’re just a bit different than what we were.
The support bands started quite anonymously, together with the comatose audience that was just sipping
their beer and hardly caring that there was actually
a stage, on which actual people were playing something. A decade ago we’d support these new bands
at least paying them attention. The time for the main
acts came and personally I thought that one band was
playing during the whole festival. Technically the bands
had no variation between them, absolute copies, with
same lyrics’ topics (if I can call them topics at all), and
the most impressive thing was the people seemed to
like it. It seemed enough to just like the music, not to
love it or feel it, but to just stand it.
Why do the effort to be there then?
I felt very confused, wasn’t alternative rock a genre
with so many subgenres precisely because there were
many preferences? So why did I keep hearing the same
exact thing for almost eight hours? Months later I had
the chance to go to an ambient band’s concert in Italy, which was actually well advertised and seemed to
arouse interest. Imagine my reaction when I found the
club completely empty, except for the staff and family friends of the band. Sadly, this was just one of the
infinite similar episodes I witnessed during these last
years.
So I still can’t understand how these variations of
the genre are not even checked out, not to talk
about actually listening them, when alternative
rock had to be an escape from the mainstream
products. When I open this topic with friends, their
reply is that “there’s nothing else to listen to”.
I disagree. Lately I’ve been very interested technically
in the Balkans’ folk music, because growing up in Italy
I never had the chance to study it, or to comprehend
how complicated and beautiful it actually is. So with
this interested I discovered bands that use motives of
folk, keeping a contemporary base, creating a fusion
between the two. I admit, I actually discovered them
quite late and I am sure that many of you already know
them, but better late than never.
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Smallman, a band originated in Bulgaria, is actually
one of my favorites and when I discovered them, they
had a gig in Sofia for the beginning of their new album’s tour.
But let’s introduce them shortly : The band, formed
in 2006, is mainly inspired by the Bulgarian folklore
and uses typical Bulgarian instruments such as “kaval” and “gaida”, matching them to a deep, almost abstract vocals and nu metal/alt-rock instrumentals and
introspective lyrics.
The result is hypnotizing and “Envision”, the new album, is more than I ever thought I can hear, so I really wanted to meet them, just to understand what
inspired them and gave them the idea for this fusion.
Turns out that the band doesn’t rehearse together
often and everyone works pretty much for himself,
sharing then the ideas during the rare gatherings
they organize mainly to record which explained why
I felt like every instrument brings a personal different
story. He had sense the same lack of interest I did
during that festival, which makes music a strict market and not a pleasure anymore. Generally, it seems
that music nowaday is about the venues, the gigs and
selling albums now, and that desire that pushed people to strip from everything and stand emotionally
naked, playing their thoughts is dying, because that
doesn’t sell. I found myself agreeing to everything, as
if I was on those stages too, feeling nostalgic and, to
be honest, hopeless for that matter.
Along with Smallman, I also listened to the bands
Oratnitza and Subcarpati, the first Bulgarian and the
second Romanian. While Smallman have a rougher
sound, Oratnitza rely on a more traditional sound, interpreting Bulgarian folk music in their own way. Subcarpati instead create a fusion between the folkloristic
Romanian music and a more commercial sound, varying between hip hop, dubstep and trip-hop. These
three bands are only few of the ones falling under this
genre made of a mixture between traditional folk and
contemporary bases, and I am talking only about one
of the many subgenres available. It is not about the
lack of variety, as there is significant choice, so it is
all about the will to discover something different than
what everyone listens.
If alternative-rock originally was an escape
from the mainstream music, why are we trying
so hard to commercialize it?
I went to meet up with the band right before the
sound check in Terminal 1, and I had the possibility to talk mainly with Cvetan, which is the vocal and
plays the bagpipes and the “kaval”, and while the others were bringing the instruments, Cvetan told me
something more about the concepts of the band and
shared his points of view about the “musical market”
and music itself. The person standing in front of me
was paraphrasing his thoughts and through music,
creating a safe place, the stage and the venue, in
which everyone could understand what it would be
to live those episodes and to feel in that exact way.
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Or the art of floating through the waves
A little something that happened around a I lose track of time by talking to people and suddenly
we’re already inside.
year ago.
You’re familiar with the fact that around us the pleasant, unconventional events happenbecause of people
who are not known for crafting them, right?
Yes, craft, because in a way making an event is also an
art form.
But let’s talk more about a more unusual experience.
A year ago, the members of Doesn’t Frogs and Comasummer decided to fill club Mixtape 5 with their favorite genres and name the event “Rocket Psyence Night”.
On the 14th of May, fans of Psych, Surf, Noise, Post-rock
genres gathered for this unforgettable evening. Well, the
idea survived and about a month ago mutated in a twoday-long festival held in the same place. By doing so it
also demonstrated how these styles have been developing, locally and abroad.
Six bands, three countries, two nights, several beers
(okay, maybe more) and uncountable chills brought by
the sounds that transformed the space.
First are The John & Space Rebel Gang, an energetic band that’s been on stage in Macedonia since 2007.
They fill our ears with 60’s psyche-surf, mixed up with
punk, indie and post-rock.
Suddenly, I feel lighter. I sip my beer and little by little, where am I and who am I with doesn’t matter anymore. The boys from Skopje are the perfect warmup
for a workout.
Time for some nicotine and some conversation. On
my way back inside, I hear people trying to assume
the night’s course, as well as other bits of conversation
which if I tried to stitch together would probably result
in a dialogue from a Dr. Seuss book.
Inside darkness still rules, but not for long. Soon enough
stage lights are slowly moved by sound and there next
up is our first Bulgarian band.
Doesn’t frogs’ music places somewhere between The
Soft Moon and Sonic Youth. If it was a planet from the
solar system, it would surely be the one we know the
least about. What we know for sure though is that it
has the ability to abduct. Doesn’t Frogs are able to
open a portal that leads to some far away abyss that
sucks you in and erases your memories, leaving only
the emotions the band wants you to feel. The guys are
now recording a new album which will soon be a new
dimension to explore.
The Festival
The date is the 13th of May. The weather outside is not
particularly pleasant, I don’t want to deal with people
and I don’t feel like drinking either.
I’m running late for the only event this month, for which
I’d abandon my afterwork idyll. Maybe, it’s because I
know I’ll feel at home.
I get to the club and everybody is still outside. It’s obvious that there’s a problem - the first band is late with
the sound check. No worries, at least there’s time for a
beer.
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Another experience
A bit of reality, and then…
I hear instruments being tuned. In my head they sound
like a nail being hammered into a wall and the sound is
gradually getting louder. On that nail, a sign that says
‘Psychedelic trips to death’ is hang. Something in me
decides it’s a good idea to walk through the doorway beneath it.
Suddenly I’m on a beach, but it isn’t summer yet. Around
me it’s deserted and the first guitar notes are the seashells I’m walking on. Everything is in weird tones, changing, moving and floating. You don’t know what’s going to
happen next, what you know is that you feel safe. You
believe in the flow, and you are not left disappointed.
PTTD began ‘filling their sea’ in 2010. Five years later,
they name their first EP “LOVE ‘N’DEATH”. I believe that’s
the distance from the shore, to that bottom in the sea
that I can’t reach with my feet anymore. So far, the water
tastes like sweet hopelessness, inherited from The Jesus
and Mary Chain, Singapore Sling, and the darkest facet of
the Brian Jonestown Massacre.
Eventually the night comes to an end, but I’m still there
while the crowd disperses. Soon I’m alone in the hall. I’m
curious to see what’s next. As I walk to my next destination, the thought continues to whisper from a corner.
I want to keep swimming.
Day two.I’m at the seashore again. This time I’m on a surf,
fighting gravity and the conditions. I’m not late, on the
contrary. Everybody knows how much I love The Black
Swells. I’m in familiar waters now, and I greet the stage
with a smile. I manage to keep my balance while the waves
start moving in a perpendicular direction. You forgot that
we’re not in our world, didn’t you? Here, things don’t have
a defined direction. It’s the same with music, it leaves you
astonished because you never expected it to be this honest. You understand when you listen, and feel that you’re
also understood. Isn’t that the point?
The wind slowly subsides. I have both feet in the water, I
shake the waves’ inertia. I look at the crowd outside - reality somehow becomes even more distant.
The curtains raise; so do the stage lights. The nuances
don’t, though. You look down at your feet and you’re able
to see beyond. Some royalties dance(or swim) around your
ankles to the sound of Hurricane Love. Comasummer are
decorating their underwater ballroom with pictures from
The Black Angels and Black Mountain, with furniture from
The Queens of the Stone Age, and lighting with the colour
of The Doors. You wish that the next dimension will narrate your own personal story, diving in and living it.
Another cigarette, more conversations? I’d rather not, I
don’t want to miss the ending, plus, I made a bet to myself, thinking it’d be difficult to come to a plot twist that
leaves me charmed.
So far I was still pretty close to the surface. There’s not
much time left. A dive in the album titled ‘Yearling’ follows, deep enough to not be able to hear anything above,
where the sound is completely distorted, sounding like a
question ‘Whereswilder” are asking in the depths. Underwater, you can only hear an unknown language. Collect
all the pieces, and you’ll understand:
“In summer I was feeling right
For the first time
As I was growing up to find
The best ride so far in life”
I wish you a similar summer.
As a conclusion, i leave you with this:
“I saw the sun coming down
I saw that trees were falling
And I don’t know how long
It will get me to forget.”
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and
This is a story that kind of hit me in an underpass on
Friday night. Ironically, I was just wondering what to
write for the magazine.Well, it was just around the
corner, literally. So the guy that was about to hit me
with his bike is Hristo Shomov and i have quite a few
interesting things i can write about him, as even the
freezer in our studio is thanks to him, but this time we
will talk about VR and some of the few people
that experiment with it in Bulgaria, namely he
and his colleague Nikola Totuhov
For their work they have created the studio TO2HOV
and they’ve been working on VR for more than 2
years. Virtual reality is now entering the phase where
resources are shifting from pure technological
development to content creators. While major studios
invest big money worldwide in Bulgaria, we can find
some of the innovators of VR in the video field.
Their team is also behind the first VR music video
shot in Bulgaria, but they also look towards the future
in new and innovative ways and a good testament to
that is their new google cardboard redesign - INTOIT.
Even though they are hard to differentiate from all
their other brethren, once you put them on, you can
see why they took months to be designed.
When you see them talk about their projects and VR
in general, they look like little kids talking about fairy
tales and robots. For them Virtual Reality is a gateway
to mars and other worlds. They see a bright future in
this a new educational tool that can make the world a
better place, but in their minds you can also find the
erotic application for it. After all, not everybody is a
child.
Hirsto and Nikola have a long history in this field, and
they were even noticed and filmed by a crew from
National Geographic while they worked on a project
for Volvo in Asia. A fun part of that campaign was a
close encounter Nikola had with a big lake snake at
the end of a shot in Laos.
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Arizona Dream
In 1993 Emir Kosturica concludes а production which is a love
letter to all dreamers. It is an exceptional rarity when a movie
touches by such an expressionistic way the theme of searching
the essence of a young person. Why expressionistic? Because
Johnny Depp, recreating Axel’s role, is leaded by a flying fish to
an adventure which asks the most important question – who am
I and how do I inscribe myself in the adult’s world conventions?
Do I have to follow the rules and become a Cadillacs’ seller or to
follow my dreams? Actually Kosturica is able to go even deeper
and to analyze the nature of dreams. Which are the real dreams
and which are the ones imposed by culture?
Axel cannot refuse to his
childhood’s hero to try at least
for a week. During this short
“trial period” in his uncle’s
showroom, Axel meets the
two women of his life - the
twice as old Elaine and her
stepdaughter Grace. Both of
them are incurably insane
and Axel begins a relationship
with Elaine. Grace, Elaine and
Axel live under the same roof
and it’s not easy for neither of
them.
Axel is a 23 years old young man, who has found the job of his
life – he lives in New York and is able to catch fishes with а little
fishing boat, to look into their souls. In the reflection of their eyes
he sees the whole world, and this is all that makes him happy. His
character is a true savior of the rhye, which is situated in this town
not coincidentally- “the place in which you can see everyone, but
no one can see you”.
The first collision of the dreams is showed when Axel’s cousin
comes to New York to take him by force to Arizona to one of his
uncle’s wedding. His uncle is a second generation Cadillac shop
owner. He has reached the American dream, living his whole life
as a merchant who gets married to a beautiful Polish woman
twice younger than him – “this, Axel, is called success and you
can reach it, when you follow my example and become a Cadillac
dealer”
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ARIZONA DREAM
Elaine’s madness expresses itself in her
desire to fly and Axel spends one third of
the film fucking her and trying to build her
a flying contraption that gets stranger by
the minute. Just like Axel, she refuses to
be what the society imposes her. She just
wants to sleep with a twice as young man
and to fly around her secluded house over
the Arizona desert.
Grace always thinks about suicide and
destroys with hammers the aircrafts Axel
builds for her mother daily. She’s maniacal,
depressed, in love with Axel and full with
black humor. Lili Taylor makes the character
of Grace unique and every gesture on her
face and body are magnetic. Of course, at
some point Axel realizes that actually she is
the woman of his life, with whom he wants
to run away and be crazy with. The love
triangle between people who have issues
dealing with “the real world” of “the others”,
can only end dramatically, but the whole
story is told with Kosturica’s typical light
and funny style.
The plot isn’t complicated and there aren’t
many unexpected events, instead a slight
doom can be sensed. Axel, Grace and
Elaine are moving with full power towards
the abyss and the public expects them to
fall into the void during the whole time.
heatedly climbs over their legs.
This is one of the details Kosturica
cures the most, playing with the public’s
observation. Legends say that he wanted
things to be arranged in a specific way,
even in the closets that would never be
opened during the shooting. Yes, those
are not just decorative closets, they are
real, and inside of them there are real pots,
glasses, revolvers and cigarettes, arranged
just like Kosturica wanted. Not because
the public will see them, but because he
wanted them to be real. Just like the whole
film – he is real because of his characters,
and because of everything that cannot be
seen.
In the same time the director shows his
respect to Hollywood’s golden era. Axel’s
cousin is trying to become famous as an
actor and revives full scenes of North by
Northwest, Raging Bull and the Godfather.
An important moment is when his cousin
goes to а talents competition where he
plays a classical scene form a Hitchcock
movie, and receives the lowest rating –
both from the public and the jury. The
winner is a grotesque fat American woman
that sings with the most annoying voice,
playing a plastic doll’s role.
Yes, Kosturica hits the fan with this image of the American movie industry
and of the Hollywood’s tasteless and artificial public. Arizona Dream is
an authentic Balkan movie, full of cigarette’s smoke, love, loud and funny
scandals over a family dinner. All the magic of the seventh art wouldn’t be so
full without the unique music composed by Goran Bregovic. Johnny Depp is
famous for his taste for extremely strange roles and the work with distorted
directors, but I’m sure that this has to be one of the most memorable
adventures.
The crew fought three years to project this production on the big screen,
and after succeeding, it proves that this is one of the most different and
memorable reels made in the 90’s.
If you watched this film, watch it again. If you watched it many times, watch
it again – the ambulances that take off to the moon, the flying fishes, the
unique actor’s roleplay and the many questions asked in this movie have to
be part of every thinking person daily routine. If you didn’t watch this movie,
stop whatever you’re doing now! Buy a good bottle of wine and get out of
the normal world.
But don’t chew pop-corns, instead dig in what you see.
Also, watch what you can’t see, Kosturica worked so much on that.
Kosturica’s technical performance of the
dream is virtuous. Axel’s dreams come
to life and are full of metaphors. The
characters are blindfolded in the right
scenes and the towels on their eyes are red.
In the opening shots Kosturica introduces
us to Axel’s dreams, where Eskimos are
saved by a wolf. This same wolf is in waking
shots of most of Axel’s dreams. Neither of
the characters see him, but he is there and
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“The Losers”
Of Bulgarian Cinema
Every year, three or four ads of Bulgarian movies appear.
They rely on the usual suspects – Baltechki, Baharov,
Donkov and Torosian. Some of them look thoughtfully
in the empty space, necessarily smoking a cigarette and
promising an hour and a half full of depressing postsocialistic reflections and thoughts about the regressing
culture and the lost human values.
Most of the times I skip these reels because I don’t want
to get out of the cinema hall completely disappointed as
a consequence of the Bulgarian cinema’s eternal déjà vu.
In 2016 I saw the ad of the movie “Losers”, which left me
very impressed. A black and white stylistic, cinematography,
a rock band, humor and all of the characters with hats
(something that smelled like European culture). After
that, I saw award wreaths from international festival and
I thought – maybe it’s time for what what I’m awaiting,
precisely a production that can take the Bulgarian cinema
on the international scene.
Seems like “Losers” has an outlook, the characters are
young, maybe it will tell a beautiful story which will be
different, original, funny and untypical for the Bulgarian
cinema.
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What I liked
Plot
The action takes place in a provincial Bulgarian town, where the main
characters are still in high school. Koko is a good guy that lives with his
grandmother sick of Alzheimer. His parents are in Greece and they
communicate via skype. Elena, Koko’s classmate, is a rebel that lives
with her alcoholic mother. It seems like the time in that little town has
stopped, and until the 40th minute almost nothing happens, except
for the introduction of the two main characters. Elena has a fight
with one of her mother’s lovers and spends the night at Koko’s place,
smoking weed. Koko falls in love with her and tries even to steal her
dinner, to show that he’s a bad guy and she can be with him. On the
other side we have a rock band “Kislorod” (Oxygen), during their tour
around Bulgarian towns and village, fitting in the womanizer band
stereotypes. Their upcoming concert is in Elena’s town and Koko
animates the action and creates a problem to be solved. Ovanes’
character wants to take Elena to the concert, but doesn’t have the
impressive amount of 40 leva for the tickets. Follows a search for the
tickets with his two best friends in the name of love.
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Emil Hristov’s cinematography is а first class. The
lighters and cinematographers team made a visual
feast, which would satisfy even the Japanese hipsters
and the Californian classical reels production fans. I
was very impressed by the shot composition during
the scene of the meeting between Elena and the rock
band’s vocal
The movie is full with catching and memorable details
– close-up over the grandmother’s face, whose
wrinkles explode in the black-and-white behind her
glasses; a short dialogue between Elena and Koko
during the night, arranged in a perfectly symmetrical
way on a pedestrian crossing.
The ad’s promise was fulfilled, I watched the reel
that has a retro-noir style and could be used as a
monochromatic art-photography class.
Congratulations to Mr. Donkov as well, for creating
the most alive character in the movie (the band’s
vocalist). Even if it is written as such a cliché, he moves
lightly in the scenes without leaving doubts about
his authenticity to the public. The role he created
is amusing, even though most of the things he says
are not particularly interesting. I have to say that
his clothing is well-chosen (copying almost perfectly
Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange) and shows that not
everyone in Bulgaria is lacking a sense of style.
The sound engineer also accomplished a very
professional result and the public can hear the steps,
the birds, the creaking of the door and cigarette’s
smoke breathed in, just in the right moments. Jim
Morrison’s and Hair’s references are also significant
idea, making the reel more cosmopolitan.
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What disappointed me
The strong team and the will with which the movie
is made, fly to the sky like a paper lantern, but ignite
spontaneously and falls in the mud. Reality check for
Losers is quite tough. The dialogues are extremely
stiff and completely fitting into the Bulgarian cinema
frame, typically unnatural. It was clear from the
opening lines that I can use “Bulgarian movie” as
a byword. During two thirds of the time, I had the
feeling that I’m witnessing a very bad translation
of an American movie, like Kids. Seems like mainly
monosyllabic, unnaturally sounding sentences are
used in Bulgaria, offensive but not snappy phrases.
The other third sounded like a recording of a dialogue
between grandmothers-pensioners, who talk with
pity about the new generations. “K, bye”, “Get lost”
and “Farty” are used more than ones between the
main characters. The communication between the
characters by dialogues is a key element for the
making of a good movie. Productions as Richard
Linklater’s proved that if you’re really good, you can do
something valuable only by using dialogue and a two
sentences pot. Loosers’ pot is nothing exceptional,
but there are no dialogues that can save it.
My favorite shots are from the introduction between
Donkov and Elena, but for my great disappointed, it
is followed by something too typical for the Bulgarian
cinema, a very weak sex scene. Why weak? Because
there is nothing erotical and beautiful in it, the
movements are phlegmatic and stiff. I had the feeling
a 90 years old granny was trying to tell a 3 years old
child how she lost her virginity. On top of that, the
couple stays there laying naked on the ground, even
if everyone is dressed with autumn/winter clothing
during the whole movie.
Truth is, young people in Bulgaria neither dress or talk
that way..
I read that the director chose a black and white vision
for the reel so it could be similar to a documentary.
The idea was to present the drama as the reality. Here
I have an extremely important question – why do we
have to choose to show only the ugly and the grey
in Bulgaria? In Losers we notice mainly concrete grey
buildings, half destroyed structures, maybe one of
the most beggarly schools, and many other selected
pictures. The whole atmosphere is depressing,
stifling, with post-socialistic apocalyptic taste. I agree
that this is not a fantasy and reflects a big part of what
surrounds young people, but personally I think that
cinema should inspire and give hope.
Even the genius movies have holes in the screenplay,
but here it is a loser’s one. During the whole length
the action is focused on the search for the 40 lv tickets
for the rock band Kislorod’s concert (who would really
pay 20 lv for a concert of a Bulgarian rock band in
Kyustendil, when these kind of events in the center
of Sofia are 10 lv). This amount seems absolutely
impossible to gather for the people in the town. Then
how do they all go at the end of the concert? Maybe I
didn’t catch the fact that the entry suddenly becomes
free?
I’ll just say that I don’t think the screenplay made the
characters alive. Most of the characters stand still,
just to fulfill a role. It’s not showed what they like,
we cannot care about them. They are just there and
unfortunately their roleplay is impersonal.
Conclusion
Losers is an unfulfilled promise about originality and inspiring vision,
worth to be watched to see the cinematography and to stimulated
the Bulgarian cinema. Of course, I’m not affectionate to the tasteless
productions like “Undercover”(Pod Prikritie), but Losers doesn’t get
too far from them. Maybe these movies result amusing to NATFIS’
50-60 years old professors, with their depressing socialistic culture,
but I find them dangerous for the Bulgarian artists.
The most annoying thing in this reel is the message that communicates
– “I found the definition of the word Loser – born in Bulgaria”. This
kind of thinking is the last thing, that young people in Bulgaria should
preach. Elena’s character shows it clearly with her plans for the
future – to study in Sofia and then move outside the country.
I don’t agree with the fact that people born in Bulgaria are Losers,
neither that the only option is to runaway somewhere else. What
gives me hope for young people and Bulgarian cinema, is that people
talk about Losers. They discuss it and go to the cinema. There is a
research for good movies in Bulgaria. The only thing left is for one of
our talents to go elsewhere, and show how beautiful it is to be home.
The action’s year is not announced, but by the
presence of smartphones and skype it’s clear that it
has to be after 2010. Meanwhile the young people’s
clothing, the music they listen to, the conversation
themes are more appropriate for the 80’s. Most of
the movie takes part in Kyustendil. With me, in the
movie theatre G8 there was a twenty years old girl,
raised in that city. After the projection she told me she
felt personally offended by the way the people from
Kyustendil were presented.
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IN THE JUNGLE
A few years ago, while I was calmly browsing tumblr,
I came across a photo of Ina colourful, geometric
tattoo that looked strikingly familiar. After some more
time spent in intense scrolling, i still kept asking myself
‘Where do I know that image from?’ so I began going
through a variety of artwork, until I finally found it –
turns out, that it’s an element from a Salvador Dali
painting. I believe that somewhere, in that moment,
my quirk for visually associating paintings from
different artists was born.
Curiosity toward art is a wonderful narcotic, and one
that is highly addictive. The catch is, you can never
consume the entire thing. It is an infinite corridor,
with a beginning but no end; a library-labyrinth,
whose paths get longer with each minute. Sometimes
I imagine myself meeting someone from the future,
someone who tells me how the art scholars from his
time have named, as a collective genre, the art from
our present.
I’ve had this feeling for a while now, that I exist in a
human jungle – so I decided I’d utilise this article to
present two of my favourite painters, whose work is
related to that theme.
As a bridge between them, I place the most beautifully
rendered jungles from the past, the ones of Henri
Rousseau. The truth is, he has never set foot in a
tropical forest, but he has spent countless hours
in parks and zoos with his tools . The elements he
sketched, he then later transferred to his canvas.
When Rousseau exhibits his first painting from ‘the
jungle’, ‘Tiger in a tropical storm’ (1891), in the
salon of independence in France, it is called naïve and
amateur-like. That’s how Naivism as a style Is born.
Naivism is distinguished by its repeating motives and
the use of a colourful palette. In that time, the work
of artists with no academic background is put under
the same name. Later on, Fauvism (from French, ‘wild
beasts’, or ‘wild world’) emerges – it is characterized
by unreal colours and the intentional roughening of
techniques (1905-1907).
Here is how ‘the wild world’, after more than a hundred
years, is accepted today.
This is actually one of the questions I love asking the
most: ‘How would you call today’s art?’ To me, it is
a mixture of new and old elements, sprinkled with
contemporary themes, and mixed with the weapons
of old and new techniques.
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Mila Lozanova
Saddo is a Romanian painter, illustrator and muralist.
He is the founder of one of the first street art collectives
in Romania – The Playground. Going through different
phases and influences, he developed an unique style
which he puts on show in exhibitions around the
world. In his work we see naturalistic illustrations
of plants and animals, Islamic miniatures, post
surrealism, religion and mythology. His inspiration
comes from authors like Henri Rousseau, Giuseppe
Arcimboldo, Hieronymus Bosch, and others.
Mila Lozanova is a painter, traveller, mother, graphic
designer and art director at an advertising agency.
Several years ago, she began creating fairytale-like dolls
for her daughter, Sofia. She draws illustrations of the
strange beings that roam the land where her imagination
is king.
This past spring, his collection of paintings ‘A stranger
in the Garden’ was on show in BC Gallery Berlin.
The collection is a result of the thoughts and fears
of the author, coupled with the influence of different
details, flowers, birds, stories and myths.
The paintings look at death, mortality, the passage
of time, and how these themes are interpreted by
different cultures.
“Punisher of Broken Oaths Orcus”
‘Sofia’ – This series is inspired by the Brazilian rainforest. It depicts the jungle
as a home and natural habitat for the man from the present. The paintings
are entirely digital. The background details are illegitimate and exaggerated,
consciously and deliberately, to underline the warm, level silhouettes of the
foreground. In places, the foreground feels decorative, flat, and even raw. This
illogical approach makes the middle flutter. Used as a base for the paintings
are photographs, nature elements from paintings, spots of aquarelle, botanical
drawings, influenced by Henri Rousseau and Frida Kahlo.
The chameleons are a symbol of the native people, the carioca. These animals
are slow but deliberate in all their actions. As a totem, it means to spend time,
to think where you are going and what you will do once you get there.
The bike in the context of the non-traversable, unexplored green forest – it
serves no purpose, but sits calmly propped against a tree, as if you always
have the choice to travel the world with no baggage. It is a tool to remind one
that in any moment, change can happen, an instrument of independence.
‘My intent was that the life of the jungle can be felt, that it breathes.
I documented many paintings in photos, and many more stayed in my
mind as feelings, smells, melodies.’
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‘Usually, myths and deities traverse from one culture to another, and in that process, they change form and meaning
– they overlay other deities or combine their functions. This
is one of the things I find charming in myths, they are mysterious and may have unclear function and meaning.’
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It is believed that the ‘blood moon’ can affect even supernatural
beings, and that the ones sleeping during such a full moon risk going
insane, losing their sight or turning into werewolves. Similarly, there
is a series of apocalyptic beliefs called ‘The prophecy of the Blood
Moon’.
A bengal folk tale tells of an unhappy spouse, tortured by her fatherin-law. After ignoring a warning, she jumps in a nearby lake and dies.
The goddess that protected her children created a bird with a yellow
body and a black head, and the name of ‘benebou’, which means ‘the
trader’s wife’.
Mictlantecuhtli (lord of Mictlan), is the god of death in Aztec
culture. Together with his wife they ruled Mictlan, the lowest and
most northern part of the underworld.
Today in the jungle walk many other artists, some of which - Aitch,
FFO, Eduardo Recife, AlejandroPasquale, Sasha Katz, Marie
Gosselin, Paula McGloin, Haji Widayat. Each one of them has his
own shelf in the library-labyrinth, forming in it their own imaginary,
colourful, full of questions and answers jungle. Corridors, transformed
by all these artists in a new, wild contemporary world.
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#ARTVSARTIST
Gustavo Pergoli
Daniela Uhlig
Now i have a personal favorite #. I sincerely hope this little internet sect of artist continues to grow because i
believe it is a great way to popularize different artist.
Here are a couple Bulgarian artist, that decided to join the hashtag family.
A couple of months ago the internet got swarmed by an interesting hashtag. Yes a hashtag, but a
meaningful one with a good design.
#ArtvsArtist gives access to a virtual gallery in which every artist can show the overall image of their style
with a simple collage. From only a few pictures we can get a general idea of their style and we can also see
if it relates to the appearance of the artists. Everything starts from Instagram and of course migrates to
Facebook, Tumblr and all other platforms of this kind.
While going around i stumbled upon an interesting commentary. Sr Pelo(illustrator and animator) made a
video that tries to unravel the theme… of course it has its own style….
.
Parallel Dimensions
(Angela Pencheva)
MZK (Kaloyan Toshev)
i’m going back to scrolling around the # and if you’re into art, come and join me.
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The canoe swayed gently on the waves, after all levitating on a river made of alcohol isn’t
the most stable way to travel around. The sun caressed his hair with enough light to wake
a seasoned and mostly dead pirate. He took it for a gentle invitation to another wonderful
intoxicated day. He opened his bloodshot eyes and took a deep breath from the fresh alcoholic
fumes that were swarming around. He pulled the rope that was attached to a wobbly metal
cup floating a few meters down from the canoe and took a sip from the fresh alcohol in it.
While he was still enjoying the first chills from fiery spirits in his blood, he saw a beautiful
unicorn mermaid pop up from the river and screw three flying chocolate donuts to her horn…
The wonderful sight woke up his mostly dead manners and with the dance step of a nearly
sober acrobat he made a deep bow to the wonders of the bohemian world. This and the
lovely LSD gnome he captured the other day promised another unforgettable voyage down
the stream of his unsober dreams...
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Bohemians
There is no nakedness to truth
within there’s only lies
To be, or not to be?
is not a question we will ask,
Are you or are you not?
is by far more important to us
Be you a peasant or be thee a king?
is not a matter of our concerns
Does thee amuse us or bore us a lot?
is what really keeps us at that
Will you drink up to all we have wrought,
or will you quietly die with the lot ?
Will you think or shall you act,
within our screwed up act?
Shall you laugh,
or will you beg before the scythe of Death?
Are all just matters that we ask
for you will need to live like that
If thou are one of our pack,
a libertine at heart
a spirit free
a soul that’s chained
to all its passions and their plays
you need not seek the meaning of thy life
for its too short and probably your last
So come with us we drink,
we fuck,
we drug ourselves to death
We write the prose and chorus of every night’s accords
Than play the notes of liberate embrace
as gods and dogs both hear and sing
the rhapsody of dreams that we express
For we are known as flames that burn as dark as full moon nights
And last as long as summer rains in winter storms
Yet are merely measly specks of light
that shine inside the ocean of the night
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Wild spirits caged in animal bodies
Waves crushing ground tonight
To bleed shouldn’t feel so right
Just don’t escape this fight
Excrete from what you think is bright
Madness, fear - that’s what I hear
Live in prison made of flesh
Selling angels for some cash
Baby bird never jumped from its nest
You couldn’t confess But your life is a mess
Hungry for love, hungry for life
Freedom is here, comes from inside
Believe in yourself, seize the day
Life’s an experience
Long live the brave
The body is a ticking clock
Days carry you to the final stop
There’s one thing left to do
Break the chains and just be you
Be in love, be heartbroken Pump your fist, break a chin Jog naked, shower with you coat
Swim away from the lifeboat Just don’t escape this fight Don’t be afraid of the night
Imagine that you are paralysed Every day only moving your eyes
That’s how your soul feels
When you work for the bills
Why do you believe in their lies?
Why do you live a miserable life?
We’re wild spirits caged in animal bodies
The reason is right, the cost – great
You could be the one winning this bet
Or just die trapped in your net
Graphic design - Martin Kosev, Yavor Pavlov
Photographers - Yavor Pavlov, Zlatan Dekov, Mincho Mundrov, Momchil Atanasov
Ilustrations: Portraits of the team - GasparLeblanc; The adventures of a little
bohemian - Jasmine Lozanova; The poem “Bohemians” - Lyubena Fox
Contact - [email protected]
http://mag.cbohemians.com/