Wickeda

Wickeda

The style of Wickeda is not that easy to describe.Their musical spectrum goes from ska to punk and from reggae to funk.It's the kind of mixtures that is incredibly energetic and that can only makes you dance.
In Bulgaria Wickeda belong to the most well-known bands, rocking the stage for 8 years. During the serious cultural changes of the last fifteen years Wickeda had a considerable influence on the music of their country. With them the new rock-scene started, at all.
Wickeda presented their first album already in 1999. It caused a stir under musicians, journalists and of course under the Bulgarian listeners.The album sold more than 30 000 copies.It was followed by 3 more albums.Even if they didn't have the first album's comercial success,they still stay as what is best in bulgarian alternative music.
However, they also caught international attention, even overseas (U.S.A. Tour 2001). They really proved themselves as a live band in club and festivals all over Europe such as Hungary(Sziget Festival 2000-2005)), Makedonia (Taksirat Festival 2002), Croatia (Ska-/Reggae-/Dub-Festival 2002), Slovakia (2002), Greece (Agrinio Festival 2002) and Germany (Fusion, Rockxplosion, StadtFestival 2003, Waltroper Parkfest 2004) as well as concerts in Melkweg(Amsterdam),Kulturbrauerei(Berlin),Flèche d'or(Paris) and many others.Not to forget, they were steadily on tour through their own country, heating the crowd as opening band for Manu Chao (2002).
Wickeda stands for versatile music, fitting nearly any musical taste - therefore a visit of their concert will remain an unforgettable experience !!!

Members

erol ibrahimov - bass,vocals rossen grigorov - guitar vladimir georgiev(popa) - drums iassen obretenov(iashata) - keys

History


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 Rythm' 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 Me 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 times.

The third album До тук ('Until here'), a retrospective of Wickeda's work, came out in 2001, including 4 new songs. During their european tour (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Hungary), they released a single out of their 4th album Осъзнай се класово (approx. 'Realise your Class Membership') in advance. After the tour the album was completed and managed it again into the Top Ten after release.

In the summer of 2004 came the fifth album called '1618'. There were some new balkan ethno influences, while the style of the band was still varied and got even harder. In the autumn Wickeda made another european tour presenting their new album in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Germany, The Netherlands and Bulgaria.