Orlin Stoyanov - on metamorphoses in music and the power of individuality in art
"Remember that the process of growing up is full of peaks and valleys. The important thing is to keep going!"
Orlin Stoyanov is a producer, beat maker and sound engineer known in music circles under the pseudonym Bradata (BRD). For more than 25 years he has been bringing people together with great love and ambition, creating musical projects and collaborations with various artists from all over the world.
A dreamer without limits with a wealth of experience behind him, he, like a neutralizer (the mysterious pen from the movie "Men in Black" that erases memories), removes bad moods and adds color to the gray everyday life by showing the power of individuality in art.
Here's what he shared in his first of a series of interviews with maatinsideyou.com, especially for the column "You can do anything!" :
Maat: Let's tell all Maat readers who Orlin is.
- Orlin is an ordinary guy, chasing and achieving his goals. Always giving my best according to my capabilities at the moment. My ideology and policy is: Always true to myself! I constantly strive to better myself and be better than before in every way. In short - constant upgrade in all areas ☺
Maat: What would you tell us about Varna? What do you associate it with and when did you feel that music would be a very important part of your life?
- I was born in Varna, a hybrid between Dobrich and Targovishte. Much of my childhood was spent in these two cities.
I don't perceive myself much as a native of Varna. Otherwise I am very attached to the sea.
When I'm away from the "big gool" I get nostalgic. I love the sand and the water. I love listening to the song of the waves. Their magic brings me a unique peace.
As for the music, we've been hand in hand since the cradle. We've always been attracted to each other. My parents tell me that shortly after I spoke, I sang some song of mine "Cokies love little kids...." Apparently I've been a heavy metalhead since I was a baby (ha ha). Now a little more serious. My first creative attempts were in some slightly more adequate years in Dobrich. Of course, those were absolutely amateur performances. Deck recordings with a microphone from a phone earpiece, kiddie jams ☺
But everything went from there.
Years later I had my first band in Varna. I released an album and a few compilations with it, then we broke up. I had decided that I wouldn't do music anymore, but a chance encounter changed that and I went in a direction quite different from rap. And that was exactly my thing! I found the hot water once again!
Maat: What is it that makes you have this enduring interest in music?
- I don't have an exact answer to that. Maybe it's just my blood type. When you do something with desire and dedication every day, and it's been an inseparable companion throughout your conscious life, then it's meant for you. It just came and stayed! Most of the time the music brings me peace and satisfaction, other times I break my nerves and want to slap a drummer on the instrument in front of me, purely ironically speaking of course :) It's not always as easy as it looks, but what job doesn't require sacrifice!
I confess that as a listener, I don't feel music the same way now as I used to. Back then I was mostly a fan with little knowledge and big dreams. Now, after more than 24 years of living with it, things are on a very different level. I'm not just a fan anymore, I have a lot of knowledge, and my dreams are coming true, but it's becoming rarer and rarer to have something that truly grabs me.
Maat: You're an Old School boy. Tell us about hip-hop from those years.
What was the most exciting thing that you remember to this day?
- In the recent past, the music was harder, real and natural. It had a more hardcore direction and we liked that. We used to get together in big bands, go to shows regularly and have a good time. We were some stuck-up dickheads who partied non-stop. In the beginning we recorded on dat-tapes. Studio sessions and rehearsals were a lot of fun. We would often do the instrumentals and write the lyrics on the spot in the studio.
I still remember when we went out to a performance in front of 4000 people, how my legs went soft at the first moment. The adrenaline on stage hits you hard and everything goes by like on tape.
I also remember another performance from that period. We were on the same stage with Rap Nation and a number of bands from around the country. To this day I respect all the dinosaurs in that music. Without them, there wouldn't be those like us. I got disgusted with hip hop a little later in life, but that's a topic for another conversation. However, all that shenanigans had its own incredible charm for a teenager like me. Now much of the mainstream representatives of this style dress and behave like clowns and transvestites, something I don't understand or embrace.
Maat: What is the message your music carries and where can we find it?
- The music I create is a mirror of myself. It reflects the metamorphosis in my momentary states, feelings and emotions in the normal life cycle of growth, personality and character change over time.
Through it, I love to bring people together. That's why I'm always doing super weird collaborations with artists from all over the world.
For personal communication I use my FB and Instagram accounts, but my music is also available on bandcamp, soundcloud, mixcloud, youtube, and almost all platforms and online music stores. If anyone is interested in physical copies, they can get them by ordering directly from my online store: BRD-Shop.com
Maat: If you could change anything in the music industry, what would it be?
- I've never been in this swamp called the music industry. I've always stood slightly on the sidelines of it all. I've done things as I feel them and they come from my heart.
A while ago I got contracts from various online labels. Our idea was to release a small release, purely as a test, through such an organization. Of course, we didn't get to finalize a contract because their terms were more than ridiculous and ridiculous. The offer through my prism looked something like this in a nutshell: we take your product and rights and pat you on the back as a sign of respect and gratitude. I just didn't see the point in some leeches making a profit off my ideas, on my back and from my labor.
I don't like it when it all comes down to just money. It makes the music impersonal and characterless. I personally miss the soul and emotion in it. And this has become more and more noticeable in recent years. Everything is somehow too monotonous. From the look of the videos and the performers, to the stage behavior of the performers, all the way to the music purely instrumentally and structurally. Absolute conveyor belt and cookie cutter posturing. I'm talking globally about music here not referring to a specific style. A certain pattern is imposed and everything is done in its likeness. An example of this is all the mediocre one-offs flooding us constantly. You hear one like you've heard all the others.
I don't know what are the things I would change about the music industry, but I can tell you what are the things I would like to see - less posturing, more identity, originality and recognition. I want the music to spark interest, stimulate creative thinking, have emotional charge and soul.
Maat: Based on your experience so far, what would you wish or how would you encourage anyone involved in music to keep going?
- Never give up! Of course, we all fall into so-called creative holes and have a number of daily simple things on our minds.
You can't be productive 24/7 your whole life. Personally, at times like this I prefer to retreat for a few days. To read books, travel (when possible), and do things I feel like doing in the moment.
Remember, the process of growing up is full of peaks and valleys. The important thing is to keep going!
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