FREE show with Orkestar MEZE at the House of Blues (Hollywood) on Thursday, March 14
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As some of you may know, at the beginning of February I had a sold out show with Orkestar MEZE at the Foundation Room (House of Blues – Sunset Blvd), and they loved us so much that we got an invitation to play on the main stage, which is a huge honor for us. And we want you to be a part of this special moment as our FREE guests!!!
To order your FREE tickets, please email us at peasantfunk@gmail.com letting us know how many tickets you would like (no limit and the show is 18+)! And please note that the ticket also grants you a FREE entry to the afterparty (21+) with the band in the Foundation Room!!! Basically, we want to show that we love and appreciate you and your support so much with a FREE show and a party afterwards in which we can all have a drink together and share silly stories….
Also, we are excited to announce that our dear friend and a phenomenal musician and human being Ellis Hall will do us the incredible honor of sitting in with us for a song at the House of Blues!! We are so humbled and thrilled that such an amazing performer will share his artistry with us and our fans… You don’t want to miss this!!! Your favorite international peasant funk band joining forces on stage with the jaw-dropping force of nature that is Mr. Hall!!
March 14th, 2013; 7:30pm
House of Blues
8430 Sunset Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069
tel: (323) 848-5100
18 and over !!!!
order your FREE tickets at peasantfunk@gmail.com
Tags: Balkan, Brass, Ellis Hall, Funk, hollywood, house of blues, orkestar meze, Peasant, Sunset Blvd
Upcoming Piano Solo and Duo Concerts plus shows with Orkestar MÉZÉ
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2013 is off to an amazing start!!
Neema Pazargad and I recorded Volume 1 of my collection of concert etudes for piano solo and duo entitled “Modes & Meters”, which is currently being edited and mixed and should be released sometime late spring. We also shot 2 music videos for “Montis” and “Gorgon” – the 2 piano-duo pieces from “M&M” Vol.1, directed by the brilliant Harry Bromley-Davenport. The videos are still in the editing stage, but I can share with you that they look amazing and offer a very unique and exciting vision in the field of contemporary music. Here is a sneak peak:
Those of you who are in Southern California will have the chance to hear “Modes & Meters” Volume 1 performed in its entirety this Saturday, February 23rd at the Recital Hall of CSUN’s Department of Music. On March 17th, Neema Pazargad and I will perform “Gorgon” in the same recital hall as part of the CSUN Faculty Composers Concert.
Meanwhile, my Orkestar MÉZÉ continues with a string of amazing, high-energy, sold-out shows. Our last concert at the Foundation Room of House of Blues (Hollywood) was a smashing success and now we are excited to visit our friends from MALABOMBA! and play a show at the classic La Cita Bar in Downtown Los Angeles on February 27th. Another exciting event for us is going to be a concert produced in partnership with the Southeast European Film Festival on April 2nd. Details for this and all aforementioned concerts could be found on the ‘CONCERTS‘ page of this website.
Tags: composer, concert, csun, duo, european, fest, film, gorgon, hollywood, house of blues, la cita bar, malabomba, meters, modes, montis, orkestar meze, piano, seefest, southeast, volume 1
Concerts, Recordings, and New Music
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Hey there,
It is been quite awhile since my last update and a lot has happened since. So, here is a summary of the news around me from the last 6 months…
In May of 2012 I successfully completed my Doctoral studies at California Institute of the Art and received the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts as a Performer-Composer. The three busy and eventful years in school culminated with my dissertation, a book of concert etudes, and improvisational and finger dexterity exercises intended for the contemporary professional pianist and entitled “Modes & Meters”. This book summarizes the essence of my improvisational and compositional piano techniques and was premiered at the Roy O. Disney Hall at CalArts by myself and my colleagues and wonderful pianists Lisa Maresh and Neema Pazargad.
For those of you who live in Southern California, you will have the chance to see a live performance of “Modes & Meters” on Saturday, November 17th at Chapman University in Orange, CA and on Saturday, February 23rd at California State University, Northridge. I will be joined by Neema Pazargad at these performances and for more information, you can visit the links at the bottom of this email.
We are also planning a recording of the entire book in late December and a video recording of “Gorgon” and “Montis” for 2 pianos in January. Both the album and the videos will be released in the early spring of 2013.
This summer I finally had the chance to release a few remixed and remastered classic recordings that I had done about 10 years ago. Among them are “Luta Rakia” and “Yash Bob/Eat Beans” featuring the great Miroslav Tadic on guitar, as well as my “Bulgarian Suite No.1″ for solo piano and another version of “Luta Rakia” by one of my projects Bulgarian Moonshine Co. Below is a video of “Fugue” from “Bulgarian Suite No.1″. If you would like to download any of these tracks, just click on the track’s title and it will take you to iTunes. All of these recordings are also available on Amazon and CD Baby.
Sometime ago the pianist Danny Holt commissioned me to write a piece for his unique piano and percussion setup for one performer. “Aegri Somnia” is the result of this commission and Danny will premiere it tonight at the Wild Beast at CalArts and tomorrow afternoon at Art Share-LA. It is an exciting and demanding piece featuring rich ornamentation resembling the epic traditional songs of Bulgaria and based on the asymmetrical 7/8 metric pattern of the Bulgarian dance Rachenitsa.
In October, a very unique and wonderful album entitled “Orenda” by БALKANSKY was released by the Bulgarian label Kuker Music. I had the pleasure of contributing to the album by recording piano on the beautiful traditional Bulgarian song “Tudora” also featuring the legendary voice of Yanka Rupkina,“the kaval-player of the Universe” Theodosii Spassov, the programming and sounds of Ivan Shopov, and the visionary producing of Ivo Christov. Check out the amazing visuals of the official album teaser: http://youtu.be/XKTxSjoPL0A
Thank you for being a part of my musical journey. Love and peace.
Milen
Tags: balkansky, bulgarian suite, cal state northridge, chapman university, danny holt, eat beans, fugue, gorgon, luta rakia, milen kirov, Miroslav Tadic, montis, neema pazargad, orenda, theodosii spassov, tudora, yash bob
Last concert with Orkestar MÉZÉ until Fall!!
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Tonight I am performing with my Orkestar MÉZÉ for the last time before we take a well-deserved break and come back with new material in the Fall. The party is at Rusty’s Surf Ranch on the Santa Monica Pier and starts at 10pm. See you there!!!
Tags: Balkan party, milen kirov, orkestar meze, peasant funk, Santa Monica Pier
Performances in Germany, piano on Woody Allen documentary, a brand new CD and more…
Posted by admin | Filed under Concerts, News, Orkestar MÉZÉ
What a Fall it has been!!! A very busy, eventful, and exciting fall indeed…
I passed my Doctoral qualifying exams at California Institute of the Arts in late August and am on track with progressing to candidacy and finishing my Performer-Composer DMA degree in May, 2012! Immediately after the exams I started the school year at CalArts and Chapman University, with the addition of the Department of Music at California State University, Northridge where now I teach Harmony. These three music schools have such enormous differences in their curriculum, student body, and academic/creative pedagogical approach and yet I love teaching at every one of them!
Late in September I spent a week at PACT Zolverein in Essen, Germany, where I performed my piece “2″ as part of the CalArts Plays Itself festival. This was such a great experience at a truly unique art space, where I performed in front of a very educated and warm German and international audience, made new friends, met old ones, and enjoyed some great contemporary art and quality German beer. After the festival I spent a week in Bulgaria where besides seeing friends and family I was given the honor of a 2-hour interview/program on Bulgarian National Radio dedicated to my music and my latest CD – “Peasant Funk” by my 11-piece Peasant Funk ensemble Orkestar MÉZÉ.
Back in Los Angeles in October, I had the chance to work with Emmy-winning, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Robert Weide and record piano for his “Woody Allen: A Documentary”, part of the American Masters series. A week after this memorable session, I went into the studio to work with my good friend and amazing musician Miroslav Tadic on his score for “Invisible Writing” by Single Wing Turquoise Bird. This was so much fun as I got to put down some funky synth bass tracks to go with beautiful images by outstanding filmmakers.
November of course was marked by the most important event in my band Orkestar MÉZÉ‘s short life yet – the release of our debut album “Peasant Funk” on 11/11/11!! We filled up the legendary Key Club in Hollywood and had a blast. Now you can enjoy our music in your home, your car or on your iPod, as you can download the album on iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby and other fine digital distributors, or purchase a hard copy at www.peasantfunk.com!
Now I am looking forward to playing with MÉZÉ on the Santa Monica Pier on December 17th and then taking a few days of well deserved vacation! Have a fun and safe holiday season everyone!!
Cheers,
Milen
Tags: 2, Amazon, Bulgaria, CalArts, Doctorate, documentary, Germany, Invisible Writing, iTunes, key club, Miroslav Tadic, National Radio, orkestar meze, PACT, peasant funk, Robert Weide, Single Wing Turuoise Bird, Woody Allen, Zolverein
“Peasant Funk” is here!!!
Posted by admin | Filed under Concerts, Orkestar MÉZÉ
“Peasant Funk” – the eagerly anticipated debut album by Orkestar MÉZÉ is here and is available as a download and a CD!!! Get your copy today and party like a true peasant!!
Tags: bulgarian funk, CD baby, debut album, milen kirov, orkestar meze, peasant funk
