The Speakers

The Speakers is a Romanian alternative electro-rock band fronted by vocalist Vicentiu Oktavianus. The band was founded in 2010 by Vicentiu and producers Sebastian Crayn and Andre Rizo and first started as a 5 piece band: vocal, synthesizer, lead guitar, bass and drums They also contributed to the music of the BBC correspondent in Romania, alongside music producer, writer and director Tom Wilson. The Speakers first single and video, 6 o'clock, was released in May 2011. The band’s first live performance was at a fashion event in Bucharest. After that event The Speakers became a constant presence in the alternative stage after releasing the second single Lullaby in 2013. The video for the song was directed by Sebastian Crayn and was very well received by the public and the Romanian music channels. The story is situated in the 60's and shows in a retro way a day from the band’s life. With this video, Sebastian Crayn won the special jury prize on the young talent contest in Brighton. In the same year, The Speakers became the brand ambassadors for the Peroni Nastro Azzurro beer and they went on a national tour. The song was aired on all the national alternative radios and the band was invited to the most famous alternative TV show in Romania, “Apropo Tv- Next Generation” on ProTv. Also in 2013, The Speakers were the opening act for the band Morcheeba. The first EP of the band "Break the borders" was not released officially, but people were enjoying the songs at every concert. In 2014, Vicentiu and producer Andre Rizo decided to make a story album with songs that were describing aspects from a man’s life starting with "Birth" and ending with "City of Clouds". "About us" and "Fashion"were the next Speakers songs released in 2015. The band’s sound became more mature and more electronic. The Speakers were the opening act for the bands "Republica" and "Awolnation" in the years 2014-2015. In the same period, The Speakers became brand Ambassadors for "Finlandia" vodka and they played at fEast festival in London in the famous club The Garage (fall 2014) and at Emergenza festival in Rome. At the moment, the band is formed by three members. Viceníu, Arthur and Andu. Vicentiu is the vocalist of the band. Even if Vicentiu’s desire and dedication will always be for his music, he is also a familiar face in the fashion industry. He started off as a model and then worked as a stylist and designer.. In 2016 Vicentiu was on the cover of Top 100 Forbes magazine and was declared one of the best trendsetters and influencers. Vicentiu was in GQ Romania’s Top 50 man with style and he was the image of Ben Sherman and Moscot-Zolman. His experience and dedication helped The Speakers in becoming highly known for their fashionable image. The band was designated by the Romanian influencers and trendsetters as the only "premium" band in the country The Speakers appeared in many editorials and interviews in magazines such as: GQ, Elle Man, Cosmopolitan, Joy, Luxury Magazine, Viva Magazine and All Hollow. In 2015 The Speakers were declared by Forbes Romania, the coolest band of the year. In the summer of 2017, two new members joined the Speakers, Arthur Pasecinic, the drummer of the band and Alexandru Dumitrescu (Andu). Arthur is a drummer and percussionist and former founding member of the band Loose Jackets. He comes from a blues & jazz background, but would never pass on the chance of playing bossanova. Also, he is one of the few hand pan players in Romania, organizing various events. Andu, who deals with the technical audio part of the songs, started off by composing ambiental music at only 16. In 2008 he initiated, alongside his good friend Emanuel Carpus (E-Mantra) a psy-trance-goa project called “Eleusyn”, launching various LPs and participating in events in Great Britain, Germany and Rusia. They obtained license for one of Jean Michel Jarre’s most famous tracks “Oxygene 4”. During all this time, Andu continues his personal projects, always returning to his favourite “refugee”, psybient music. In 2012 he signs for his first CD “Imminent Satori” with Canadian label “Altar Records” and in 2016 he launches the album ''Alchemy of love'', featuring various guests such as Adrian Enescu, Suduaya or Ancient Core. Also, in 2015 he founds the label “Melusine Records” aiming to promote and support upcoming talents. In the fall of 2017, The Speakers released three singles part of the story album, "Life”, “Death" and "City of Clouds". All the tracks are linked together forming a story of disappointment, betrayal, a symbolic death and reborn from the perspective of a person that searches simplicity and spiritually. Twitter https://twitter.com/TheSpeakersBand Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thespeakersofficial SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/thespeakersofficial