Alternosfera

Alternosfera is an alternative rock band from Chişinău, The Republic of Moldova.

The history of post-Soviet rock in the Republic of Moldova is a concise one. Since 1991, only a few bands (e.g. Zdob şi Zdub), managed to occupy solid positions on the show-business arena of the Republic of Moldova and abroad.

Alternosfera first rehearsed with their full lineup on December 13, 1998. Their first concert was on November 23, 1999 in Chişinău. In 2001, the band did their first demo recordings in Chişinău, followed by more demo recordings in 2002 in Bucharest, Romania.

Both the lineup and musical direction have changed over time, as the band reached maturity and developed their own approach to alternative rock, with the keyboards "carrying" the entire tune. Their lyrics are most often about love, but also have social and political connotations. Alternosfera sound is unique on the Moldovan market at the moment, their influences varying from 80's motifs to the Seattle alternative rock of the '90s. Some people claim that the sounding of guitar in their songs is similar to Nirvana's one.

Marcel Bostan's voice is rich in modulation, having a well-developed and thoroughly practised lyric line and also the ability to go very "high".Fact|date=February 2007 Their specific melodiousness is also partly because most songs have the classic piano "lead".

Alternosfera have performed on most of Chişinău's stages, taking part in the most important rock festivals in Moldova and always well received by the public. Recently (2005) they performed in the Tuborg festival in Bucharest.

Like most Moldovans, the band members speak Romanian as their native language, except Vlad Hohlov, who is a native Russian speaker.

Current members

* Marcel Bostan - Vocals, lyrics.Born September 21, 1982. Founder and leader of Alternosfera.

* Marin Nicoara - GuitarBorn October 19, 1983. Played accordion and tuba in school, where he was also a member of a rock band. Also played in the school band (tuba). Attended St. Neaga musical college for two years.

* Vitalie Chian - KeyboardsBorn October 21, 1979. Graduate of the St. Neaga musical college, taught piano for a year after that at music schools in Chişinău, and as of 2006 is attending the Technical University of Moldova (UTM).

* Vlad Hohlov - DrumsBorn October 12, 1982. Dropped out of St. Neaga musical college after a year as a percussion student. Went on to the Technical University of Moldova.

* Dumitru Costin - BassBorn March 9, 1979. Licensiate in International Economic Relations from the Academy of Economic Sciences, Chişinău. Original band member, left the band in 2001 only to return in April 2005.

Former members

*Andrei Ciobanu - Bass
*Olga Vîrlan - Cello
*Mirza Vitalie - Violin

Discography

First album Oraşul 511 was released 28 May, 2005

Info
* Record label: ART-SFERA
* Mixing & record : Sept.-Dec. 2004, ADM-studio, Chişinău, Moldova
* Sound engineer: Andrei LIFENCO
* Mastering: Feb. 2005, Studio МГСУ, Moscow, Russia.
* Sound engineer: Serj BOLISHAKOV
* Music & text : Marcel BOSTAN
* Arrangement: ALTERNOSFERA
* Producer: Artur MUNTEAN

Track Listing
* DRUMURI DE NOROI |4.04
* ORIENTAL MONK |3.32
* SHADOW |4.23
* IKAR |3.18
* 1500 |3.28
* SPUNE-MI |4.03
* PICAJ |3.00
* ASTA VARA |4.10
* WAMINTIRILE |version 5.11| |4.53
* ЗИМА |4.13
* VREAU SA-MI DAI |4.57
* 511 |4.46
* ALTERNOCRAZY |3.19| "bonus track"

Second album Visatori cu Plumb in Ochi was released 16 June, 2007

Track Listing
* DRUM DE FIER |4.26
* NE UNESTE, NE DESPARTE |4.11
* FEMEIA NORDICA |4.09
* POSTAS |4.46
* PLOILE NU VIN |4.09
* INCHISOAREA ALBA |5.38
* COCORI |4.26
* VISATORI CU PLUMB IN OCHI |3.41
* AVION |3.57
* NU E NIMENI VINOVAT |3.52
* COLUMB |3.10

The first sigle from the album is 'Femeia Nordica' and the second one is rumoured to be 'Ploile nu vin'(likely to be released in Autumn 2007). The sounding of the new album is claimed to be somewhat different from the music Alternosfera were writing earlier. First, because the new songs sound more mild, and, second, because all of them (unlike on Oraşul 511) are in Romanian.

References

* [http://www.aLlternosfera.com Official website] Accessed June 2006

External links

* [http://www.alternosfera.com Official website]
* [http://alternosfera.com/forum/ Official Message Board]