The appearance of ТЕ may be associated with the so called new wave of pop music in Bulgaria, which swept the country in the first two years of the new century. As part of the genre, ТЕ is a bright phenomenon contributing to Bulgarian pop culture via its music and mix of funk, dance, fusion, R&B, soul and jazz. The synthesis of styles, the positive charge, and the abundance of groove and improvisation in their performance have made TE a leading band with a strong following in the field of modern Bulgarian music.

ТЕ made their debut in June 2000 in the Mr. Punch club in Sofia in the then traditional Monday Mobikom Jazz & Blues Sessions. Almost strangers to one another in the beginning, the musicians interpreted with unique talent and academic training their own variations of Sting, Tower of Power, Prince, Lenny Kravitz, George Michael, Curiosity Killed the Cat, ToTo, Incognito, Freak Power, Richard Marx, James Brown, Mike Stern, etc. After several successive gigs Ivaylo, Venko, Yassen and Lyubo attracted their own audience. The synergy between them is already a magic reality the creative power of which they can feel better after every performance.

When on 15th August 2000, on the stage of Mr. Punch, the band played in a jam session with the legendary musicians of the world-famous band from California ТоТо – Steve Lukather and Simon Philips, they finally decided to form the TE band and play together in the future. For the first time then the band’s repertoire included their own compositions which were released in December 2000 on a Demo CD. It contained the first versions of the homonymous funk-fusion Te(Тhey), the acoustic versions of Tia(She) and Ti(You), two ballad remakes of Roxanne of Police and I belong to you of Lenny Kravitz, as well as I feel good of James Brown.

In the spring of 2001, Ivaylo, Yassen, Lyubo and Venko were taken to Sylvia Music – Milcho Katsarov’s studio to record Kaji i ti(Say you too) (a cover of Yassen’s instrumental piece Letishte(Airport), released in 1993 as part of the debut album Zashto(Why) of the Bulgarian big band fusion formation AKAGA, the original and perhaps best version of Umoreni(Tired), as well as the studio version of Te(Тhey). With Milcho’s help, the musicians shot the video clip of Tia(She), which was previously arranged as a dance piece and included Teddie Katsarova’s backing vocals.

In May TЕ signed a contract with the official licensee of Sony Music for Bulgaria Vitosha Entertainment, and Bulgarian radio stations and TV channels aired the first hit-single of the band – Tia(She).

While the smashing dance pop of Tia(She) was climbing to the top of the charts in Bulgaria, in September ТЕ recorded their debut album in Studio 33. There the band remade the pieces produced in Sylvia Music, recorded Mislia Pak(Think Again) with the backing vocals of Vasil Naidenov and Mariana Popova, Ima li cvetia(Have You Got Flowers) with the backing vocal of Maria Ilieva, All Right in duet with her, the R&B ballads of Ti(You) and Kak(How), the second version of Umoreni(Tired), and also re-mixed into dance style the original version of Te(They).

A year after their formation, in October 2001, the ТЕ band received its first unofficial recognition, when it was invited to play at the sixth jazz festival Music Jam Sofia 2001, sharing the stage with the USA headliners , Victor Bailey Band (Victor Bailey, Poogie Bell, Bennie Maupin, Jim Beard, Dean Brown), Planet X (Derek Sherinian, Tony McAlpine, Virgil Donati, Dave Larue), etc. Within Music Jam Sofia 2001 and separately from ТЕ’s performance, Yassen, Ivaylo and Venko played in the Frank Itt Yamaha Band on the stage of the National Palace of Culture together with the virtuoso - the German bass guitarist Frank Itt, known for his work with Jeniffer Rush and Terence Trent D’Arby.

On 29th November 2001, in the Quo Vadis club in Sofia, ТЕ officially presented their first album – Mestoimenia(Pronominals). It contained a total of 10 multi-style compositions - funk, fusion, dance-pop, soul and R&В. The response both from the audience and the critics was equally positive, and without discovering pop music with Mestoimenia(Pronominals), ТЕ confirmed the unwritten rule that the most significant examples in the mainstream were created by musicians of profound knowledge, skills and experience in less commercial music genres.

Immediately after the album was promoted, a video clip was shot with the song Ima li cvetia(Have You Got Flowers), which at the end of January 2002, shortly after its debut as a single, was number one in the listing of the most frequently broadcast Bulgarian songs, with Tia(She) behind in third place.
The instant success of Mestoimenia(Pronominals) and its two pilot singles were naturally followed by a number of deserved nominations and awards for the talented quartet:
• ТЕ was acknowledged as number one debutant band for 2001 by the specialist music show of Bulgarian National Television - MeloTVmania;
• The band won the Stalker Holding prize for Application of High Standards as one of the nominations for active existence in the high voltage area between business and art;
• In February ТЕ were nominated in the yearly chart of the Bulgarian analogue of MTV, ММ Television, for Debut of the Year and Best Album. A few weeks later BG Radio, which broadcasts only Bulgarian music, selected Yassen on keyboards, Ivaylo on bass guitar, and Lyubo as vocalist to be members of the Superband of Bulgaria, which recorded the song and video clip version of Ako niakoga(If Ever).
• On 16th April 2002 the video clip chart of Bulgarian National Television – Forte – the Bulgarian Top 100 nominated the band in six categories of the annual music awards (Debut of the Year, Song of the Year- for Ima li cvetia(Have You Got Flowers), Album of the Year – for Pronominals, Best Band/Duet, Musician of the Year, Best Rock Musician), and ultimately TE won the most prestigious award - Best Band/Duet.

The popularity of ТЕ grew with their concerts attracting more and more fans. On May 6th the band played a spectacular concert in the central square in Rousse in front of 20 000 people, for the town holiday festivities.
In June, an invitation followed for participation in the international music forum for new and promising bands and musicians in the town of Zielona in Poland. During the preparation for the festival, the percussionist of the band, Venko, broke his leg in an absurd car crash and their participation in Zielona was thwarted. Fortunately, Venko recovered quickly and still with the bandage on joined Ivaylo, Lyubo and Yassen in the shooting of the video clip of their third single from Mestoimenia(Pronominals) – All Right. A month later All Right reached the top of the Bulgarian music charts, stayed for 13 weeks at the top of Forte – the Bulgarian Top 100 to become indisputably the dance hit for the summer of 2002.

In June 2002 the band signed a contract with Yamaha Musical Instruments and became an advertising image for one of the world’s leading producers of musical instruments and equipment.

Between August 13th and 22nd, together with other famous Bulgarian artists, TE went on the national Sport Against Drugs tour to support the Bulgarian society’s opposition to drugs and drug use by youngsters.

The annual festival of art and culture Apolonia, held by the sea in the Bulgarian town of Sozopol, brought new recognition to ТЕ and also an invitation to play as a supporting band for the English jazz-funk phenomenon Incognito at their concert organised by Jazz FM Radio in Sofia on 17th September 2002.

After the concert in the National Palace of Culture, the bands met again on September 15th and 16th in impromptu jam sessions in the Backstage and Swinging Hall clubs in Sofia – unforgettable times for the four musicians of TE and the numerous music connoisseurs in Bulgaria.

In October 2002, Venko, with the help of Ivaylo and Yassen, produced his own project Valeto Sessions, named after of the manufacturer of the drum sticks used by Venko. The project had an advertising and educational purpose and included three instrumental compositions recorded in two versions – with and without drums.

New ideas, developed while working on Valeto Sessions, prompted the band to return to Studio 33 in January 2003 and record their second album with the sponsorship of Jim Beam. Meanwhile, their video clip for the pilot single Razlichen(Different) was released before the album appeared on the market. In the first week of May 2003, with its first appearance, Razlichen(Different) ranked fourth in the Bulgarian Top 100 and BTV, which set a record for best new song in the listing ever, and only a week later the single hit the top of the charts.

The concert promoting the new album Razlichen(Different) was held in the Military Club in Sofia on May 19th 2003. Like Mestoimenia(Pronominals), it contains ten compositions. The difference, however, is that it is improved in terms of music, concept and performance. The overall eclectic sound of Razlichen(Different) is a reflection of pop and fusion elements, mixed in funk pulsation which in this case relies on the precisely composed and unostentatiously pronounced bass lines, the dynamic and harmonious keyboard parts, the soft and voluminous groove in the triplet, quaver and semi-quaver rhythm of drums, the well selected simple loops, the programming potential of the Yamaha keyboard, and also the warm, soulful and energetic vocals. Razlichen(Different) contains dance and pop songs like Razlichen(Different), Teb shte sreshtne(To meet you), Shte te nameria(I’ll find you). Like Mislia pak(Think again) from the first album Mestoimenia(Pronominals), the third piece Kudeto si ti(Where you are) resembles the jazz-funk styles of Brand New Heavies and Incognito, from the mid 90ies. It is followed by the ballad Drugoto za men(Something else for me), the end of which is an amazing R&B fade, decorated with high vocal modulations and breathtaking bass line played with Zvetano Fretless. To somebody is the fusion instrumental piece Before we go known from Valeto Sessions, which apart from having a new arrangement is also completed with a vocal refrain. The only remake in the Razlichen(Different) album is that of the funky hit Name & Number from the Getahead album of the remarkable British band Curiosity Killed The Cat, produced in 1989. It was followed by the jazz version of the blues song Iskam(I want), prompted by the aesthetic key intro Predi(Before) to sense the explosion at the end of the album of the memorable classical fusion Eject, inspired by the famous drummer Billy Cobham.

The album Razlichen(Different) was produced by TE Music Ltd., and distribution was entrusted to Harbour Island Records.

To be continued.