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Wickeda


Wickeda (Уикеда) are a rock band from Bozhurishte, Bulgaria. They are quite popular in Bulgaria, and have occasionally topped the charts. Their style comprises punk, ska, reggae, funk and some traditional bulgarian folklore music elements. The witty lyrics filled with word plays dealing mainly with stories from everyday life and the danceable tunes with memorable hooks have largely contributed to the band's success.


Members

The band members are Erol Ibrahimov (vocals, bass), Rossen Grygorov (guitar), Deian Dragiev (drums), Alexander Borisov (trombone) und Sando Sandov (trumpet).


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. They have played numerous festivals and made several tours abroad, even overseas (U.S.A. Tour 2001). The band has played four times on the Sziget Festival in Hungary (2000, 2002, 2004, 2005), in the Republic of Macedonia (Taksirat Festival 2002), Croatia (Ska-/Reggae-/Dub-Festival 2002), Slovakia (2002), Greece (Agrinio Festival 2002), Germany (Fusion Festival, Rockxplosion, StadtFestival 2003, Waltroper Parkfest 2004) and The Netherlands (Wantijpop Festival 2005, Elastiek Festival 2005). They have also had their own successfull gigs in Prague, Budapest and have made a club tour across Germany in Cologne, Berlin, Munich, Hamburg and Münster in 2002.

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.
Official website: www.wickeda.net .