Wickeda
Encyclopedia
Wickeda is a Bulgaria
n rock
band. It is quite popular in Bulgaria, and has occasionally topped the charts. Its style comprises punk, ska
, reggae
, funk
and some traditional Bulgarian folk
music elements. The witty lyrics filled with wordplay dealing mainly with stories from everyday life and the danceable tunes with memorable hooks have largely contributed to the band's success.
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 copies.
The third album До тук ("Until Here"), a retrospective of Wickeda's work, came out in 2001, including four new songs. During their European tour (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Hungary), they released a single out of their fourth album Осъзнай се класово (approx. "Realise your Class Membership") in advance. After the tour the album was completed and managed once again to make it into the Top Ten.
In the summer of 2004 came the fifth album called 1618. There were some new Balkan
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.
In October 2009 UK dubstep producer Ramadanman, in conjunction with the British Council and Hessle Audio, released a 500 limited edition white label remix 12" single of the Wickeda track - A Nie Dvamata S Bobi Piem Kafe ('And I and Bobby, We are Both Drinking Coffee') from their 1999 debut album 'Revolution'. The Hessle Audio co-owner and producer was approached by the council to remix a track picked by the Bulgarian public, drawn from a selection of their top 10 90's Bulgarian pop songs.
In 2010 they were headliners at Spirit of Burgas
after Everlast
couldn't make it because of sickness.
They have also had their own successful gigs in Prague
and Budapest
.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band. It is quite popular in Bulgaria, and has occasionally topped the charts. Its style comprises punk, ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
and some traditional Bulgarian folk
Music of Bulgaria
The music of Bulgaria refers to all forms of music associated with Bulgaria like classical, folk, popular music, etc. Bulgarian music is part of the Balkan tradition, which stretches across Southeastern Europe, and has its own distinctive sound...
music elements. The witty lyrics filled with wordplay dealing mainly with stories from everyday life and the danceable tunes with memorable hooks have largely contributed to the band's success.
History
Wickeda are one of the most well-known bands in Bulgaria, and have existed for quite a long time, given the unstable Bulgarian music market. 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 Rhythm 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 I 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 copies.
The third album До тук ("Until Here"), a retrospective of Wickeda's work, came out in 2001, including four new songs. During their European tour (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Hungary), they released a single out of their fourth album Осъзнай се класово (approx. "Realise your Class Membership") in advance. After the tour the album was completed and managed once again to make it into the Top Ten.
In the summer of 2004 came the fifth album called 1618. There were some new Balkan
Music of Southeastern Europe
The music of Southeastern Europe or Balkan music is a type of music distinct from others in Europe. This is mainly because it was influenced by traditional music of Southeastern European ethnic groups and mutual music influences of these ethnic groups in the period of the Ottoman Empire...
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.
In October 2009 UK dubstep producer Ramadanman, in conjunction with the British Council and Hessle Audio, released a 500 limited edition white label remix 12" single of the Wickeda track - A Nie Dvamata S Bobi Piem Kafe ('And I and Bobby, We are Both Drinking Coffee') from their 1999 debut album 'Revolution'. The Hessle Audio co-owner and producer was approached by the council to remix a track picked by the Bulgarian public, drawn from a selection of their top 10 90's Bulgarian pop songs.
In 2010 they were headliners at Spirit of Burgas
Spirit of Burgas
Spirit of Burgas is a summer music festival in the city of Burgas, on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria. The first edition of the festival took place on 15–17 August 2008 and since then it has significantly grown in popularity, becoming one of the most prominent summer music festivals in Europe.The...
after Everlast
Everlast (musician)
Erik Francis Schrody , better known by his stage name Everlast, is a Grammy Award-winning American rapper and songwriter, known for his solo hit "What It's Like" and as the front-man for rap group House of Pain. He is also part of the hip-hop supergroup La Coka Nostra, which consists of members of...
couldn't make it because of sickness.
Members
- Erol Ibrahimov (vocals, bass)
- Rossen Grygorov (guitar)
- Vladimir Georgiev - Popa(drums)
- Yassen Obretenov - Yashata (keyboard)
Discography
- Revolution (Революция) (1999)
- That's Why, Because... (Затова, защото...) (2000)
- Until Here (До тук) (2001)
- Realise Your Class Membership (Осъзнай се класово) (2003)
- 1618 (2004)
Tours and festivals
They have played numerous festivals and made several tours abroad, even overseas:- USA Tour, 2001
- The Sziget Festival in BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, HungaryHungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007 - The Taksirat Festival in MacedoniaRepublic of MacedoniaMacedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
(2002) - CroatiaCroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
(Ska-/Reggae-/Dub-Festival 2002) - SlovakiaSlovakiaThe Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
(2002) - GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
(Agrinio Festival, 2002) - GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(Fusion Festival, Rockxplosion, Stadt Festival 2003, Waltroper Parkfest 2004) - Club tour across Germany in CologneCologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
and MünsterMünsterMünster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...
in 2002 - The NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
(Wantijpop Festival 2005, Elastiek Festival 2005)
They have also had their own successful gigs in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
.