BIO
QRU - Singer/Song Writer
Dear visitor,
Thanks for stopping by my website. Time is in short supply and information is in abundance, hence I have tried to be "short and sweet" with my story. Should you like a taste of my songs please go to the MUSIC page for song samples of my releases.
BIO
Born and educated in Romania, a country in Eastern Europe, unfortunately still known more for the inaccurate Dracula stories, communism post-distress disorder (or capitalism acclimatisation demi-failure) and some gymnasts of international fame in the 70's. But believe me, we had a ball (especially in the student years) until we left for Australia (early 90s), where we still happily reside.
MUSIC - the Beginning
Not much to mention until my teenage years, when I started listening to everything that came across my ears: 60's rock'n'roll & blues, 70's progressive & disco, 80's new wave & hard rock, etc. I recall the first albums to take notice of were "In The Court" by King Crimson and "Wish You Were Here". In my student years, I was lucky to live with a group of mates who had started following the jazz festivals circuit (yes, we had those in the old country) and I got easily sucked in (rather appealing to go away for a few days to a place with music and lots of drinks). Weather Report's "Heavy Weather" is the record that blew my mind and made me cross the "border" to fusion (and great to "sing" Birdland at parties!). Got into some hip-hop (Jurassic 5, Hilltop Hoods), clubhouse (St Germain, Dimitri from Paris), DJ fusion electronica (DJ Shadow), etc.
MUSICAL TRAINING
Started violin lessons at 7 however dropped it after a few years. Some musical theory was left dormant until I started songwriting however I am not ready to conduct any ensemble in a hurry. A musical milestone was completing the School of Audio Engineering in Melbourne, which gave me a taste of music production. Also, it made me look for recording and production techniques in my favourite albums.
I started to get some MIDI gear together however everything was still very clunky in the 90s, so I gave it up for a good while. This all changed when I bought Logic Pro: I put together a song in the first three hours of opening the software, wow! Spent a few good years working on Logic and making songs out of samples and loops.
Then, I realised that while I could do without real instruments, it would be much harder to write songs without real vocals. I "volunteered" to be the singer, so I took up vocal coaching. Lucky to have had a great vocal coach (Sarah, thank you), who had the patience to give me a good foundation (diaphragm, what is it good for?) and confidence. I still have some of the open mics footage on my YouTube channel.
I plan to learn some guitar and/ or piano when I drop off full-time work (one got to pay the bills, eh?).
SONG WRITING
I will never forget the feeling of finishing the first song! I had some adrenalin like I was doing a Wembley gig!
How do I get started?
Most of the time I come up with a melody, either verse, bridge or chorus. I hum it on my phone then add it to a library of ideas. Then, I pick one of the ideas "when the time is right" and start to build around it. One of the things that I love about songwriting is that the process can take me somewhere totally different from the original idea I had when I started. Sometimes, I stumble over a riff or a beat that sparks another song...
OTHER INTERESTS
FILM: Picked up a "movie watching" habit while at uni, which has remained one of my favourite "couch" activities. My favourite director would be a blend of Tarkovsky, Fellini, Greenaway, etc. (probably forgot to mention a few others).
DRAWING: Used to draw "comic book-like" heaps when I was very young and only in pen. I never quite managed colours well hence my inclination towards real painting was remote. I wish I could draw a comic book or even a cartoon with some of my music as a score. We'll see...
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