Romania

Alexandrina Hristov is a Moldavia-born, Bucharest-based artist who’s been around for a decade already, so you should assume that anything she’s doing – she’s doing for a reason.

So if for “Viberi Menya” (“Выбери меня”), meaning “Choose Me”, she chose to sing a) in Russian b) nothing as catchy as she got us used to, Alexandrina must have had a good reason for it and whatever it was exactly you have to admit – it works.

As this 6-minute synth leviathan is gradually unveiling itself, it’s easy to imagine you’re watching her play in some Moscow club, right next to Kedr Livanskiy. Wouldn’t it be cool?

Alexandrina on Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud, Bandcamp.

Their first full-length album (“Disappearer”), their second ever music video, simply a mix of footage from half a dozen concerts around the country. But do you need more?

Not quite a stoner rock band, Constanta-based Cardinal represents the new generation of artists who have listened to tons of music from all over the rock spectrum, and who spent thousands of hours in their bedrooms / basements / garages with the instruments in their hands until their fingers fell off. And only then they felt ready enough to hit the road.

As the result, Cardinal is one of those bands in Romania right now how best represent the essence of rock. And this single “Not From Around” has all the distortion you’ll ever need in your life.

Cardinal on Facebook, Bandcamp, Instagram.

It was weird Golan released their first full-length record “Intro” only last year. Why weird? Because they are already ahead, in terms of quality music and consistancy, of some of these other Romanian bands with a ton of material out.

And they did it with just a few songs out. That’s quite impressive. But I guess it’s not really that surprising if you know their output. If you don’t, well, you’re just missing out. You can start right now with “Zenith”.

This track is bliss. There’s no other word to describe it. You could talk about the different aspects of this track. You could say a few things about the haunting voice, the odd drum patterns, the beautiful melodies and how they all tie-in together. But there’s really no need for that here.

Golan on Soundcloud, YouTube, Facebook.

When was the last time you heard a really good pop record? Doesn’t matter. You still have to check this new single by Helen, a very talented singer-songwriter that’s making waves in her home country and also abroad.

With a high potential for mainstream appeal, while being loved by the underground, Helen is really opening doors for a lot of Romanian artists. And I’m not just talking about women artists. I’m talking about the guys as well.

Because apart from sounding amazing, her music also sends a clear message: you don’t have to sell out to get the exposure and the recognition you deserve. You only need an incredible amount of talent. Helen’s got it.

Helen on Facebook, Instagram, Soundcloud, www.

Not sure if this will come as a surprise to anyone, but the Romanian synth-pop scene is almost non-existent. There is, however, the mighty Omelette, and that’s all I need to be honest.

This trio from Bucharest is hands down one of my favorite live acts in the country right now. Dez, the lead singer, who dresses like David Bowie in his prime, but weirder, oozes charisma. Her two collegues have a similar sense of fashion, although their clothes are not so painted on, thank God.

Oh, yeah, they are also pretty fuckin great in the studio as well. Listen to “Sadie”, a song about an amoeba who doesn’t have sex, if you don’t believe me.

Never has a track about a type of cell or organism which has the ability to alter its shape, primarily by extending and retracting pseudopods sounded so good.

Omelette on Facebook, Bandcamp, YouTube, www.

In this day and age, when new trends appear almost daily, and dissapear just as fast, it’s quite hard to remain relevant. Remember when trence was the shit? Yeah, barely, I know, since it got trampled by dubstep, who in turn got mauled by EDM. Everything dies in electronic music.

In this context, a modern electronic music producer should be able to work in a variety of styles and with a lot of different sounds. It’s safe to say that Silent Strike does just that. The man has been at the center of Romanian electronic music for well over ten years. And he’s been producing everything from IDM, filmscore, hip-hop and downtempo.

Is there anything this guy can’t do? Hard to say, especially if you listen to this single. And it’s not just because of him. The fact that he’s got EM, a very talented young singer from Timisoara, helping him out with the whole singing part makes it even more amazing.

Silent Strike on Bandcamp, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter.

The band has been spotlighted three times on beehype, and I’m willing to bet this won’t be the last time you’re going to hear about them. It’s well-deserved, to be honest, and the fact that they still manage to come up with new and exciting sounds is a testament to how talented they really are.

“Burn The Waters” is a fantastic song about I-don’t-know-what. But the message really doesn’t matter here. And this comes from someone who usually likes to dig around for deeper meanings even when there aren’t any. We all do this, let’s be honest.

Fortunetly, this track is the definition of letting go of all the desire to look for something more. You just enjoy it the way it is. It activates our primal appreciation for something that’s just really good. The same can be said about their new EP. It is called “Void”, and you can listen to it here.

Temple Invisible on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, www.

Led by Bosinceanu brothers, the Cluj-Napoca-based group led Theory of Mind have been mixing dream pop, psychedelia, and 90s-inspired songwriting in their very own way for quite a while and with some great results.

As you might guess from the title, “I Can Only Be Myself” is about the complicated issue of self-acceptance through the perspective of a girl who relies on a superhero to save her from shit.

It’s not an adult approach – better accept yourself and move on – but it sounds easy only in theory, especially when you got to manage half a dozen digital identities out there (out here).

Theory of Mind on Facebook, Twitter.

It’s easiest to describe the constantly evolving project Thy Veils by the instruments they employ at the moment. Electronics, drums, trumpet – and that’s kind of it, except for Alira Mun’s eerie, highly reverbed vocals.

Headed by Daniel Dorobantu, Thy Veils released their latest album “Neoradiant” just before the end of 2017 and “In Brightness” is a pefrect example of their electro-ambient sound that, at least in the local scene, is as original as possible,

But still it seems Daniel’s always looking for something different and we are kind of witnesses to all these experiments. Maybe in the future we’ll know better what he’s aiming at, but right now, we’re happy to remain “In Brightness”.

Thy Veils on Facebook, Twitter, www.

You might already know this Bucharest-based group from our Best of 2016, where they appeared with “Do It Again”, a memorable piece that had just the right amount of weird electronic sounds to balance out the catchy side of the track.

Their last year’s single “Spaceships” keeps some of this weirdness, but it’s more about the flow and the atmosphere. The latter aspect gets an extra boost by the black-and-white video filmed in the woods, with YellLow wlaking with sunglasses on their faces. But of course there’s also that immediate refrain.

With all its directness, YellLow is not a project that could be defined very easily by standard genre names, so it’s better to appreciate their work without putting it into any categories. “Would you wanna know if we’ll survive, before you breath in?“

YellLow on Facebook, YouTube.