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DIMITAR NALBANTOV
Biography
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Dimitar Nalbantov
Biography |
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Born in Asenovgrad, Bulgaria in 1976, Dimitar Nalbantov lives
and works there today as an art teacher. His free time however, is devoted to
his true passion - the guitar.
Dimi (as his friends call him) displayed an interest in art
and music at a young age, but it was art that was chosen to be the focus of
his formal education. That focus began to shift in his high school years when
one day in 1993, he picked up an electric guitar for the first time. Outside
of his art studies, the next seven years found Dimi teaching himself to play,
studying the music of such guitar greats as Jimi
Hendrix, Joe Satriani and Steve Vai and playing in local bands.
While he was pursuing his art degree at South-West University,
the guitar continued to play an important alternative role for creative expression.
In his senior year, it became somewhat of a lifesaver. Prior to graduation in
2000, a deceitful arts promoter stole 17 paintings from Dimi - all his work
of the past four years. He was devastated.
Unable to pick up a brush, he turned to his guitar and began
to study music composition and arranging. He also began to teach himself the
English language to understand the vast amount of digital music technology information
available on the Internet, written mostly in English. Not long after, he won
the Internet "Guitar Player 2000" Contest in the genre of alternative
music, sponsored by www.guitar.ru.
In the years since, Dimi has recorded studio tracks for several
band projects, also serving as audio engineer. He has recorded numerous demo
tracks for the AMT Electronics Company, gaining him many fans and friends around
the world. Adept at guitar, he has become a good keyboard player as well. All
this culminated in the making of "Universe", Dimitar's solo debut
album, released on November 30, 2006.
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Album - "Universe" |
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"Universe" was originally conceived by Dimitar Nalbantov
in 2004, as a totally solo project. It developed into much more, as Dimitar
gained the support of four others over the next two and a half years. The evolution
began when Dimitar met John Mayes online, in the Spring of 2004. John, a fan
of melodic rock guitar music, became an instant fan of Dimitar's music and the
two quickly became good friends. Dimitar shared with John, his vision for "Universe"
- an album which musically represented his feelings and views of the world around
and beyond him.
Dimitar received John’s pledge of full support for the
project. By the Spring of 2005, Dimitar had chosen and recorded most of the
album's 11 songs in his home studio, playing all the parts himself. He was not
satisfied with the sound or feel after mixing and unwilling to settle for less,
began to upgrade his studio gear. After the upgrade and recording of new parts,
Dimitar still felt his drum programming on nine songs did not have the life
he wanted, so the search for a real drummer began.
In the Fall of 2005, session drummer, John Wooten, was hired
to provide drum tracks for nine songs. He and Dimitar worked together over the
next nine months and exchanged studio tracks via email and airmail. Since John's
drum tracks provided a new feel to the songs, Dimitar recorded new tracks to
enhance that feel. By the Summer of 2006, they finished tracking and Dimitar
began mixing the album with the help and feedback of friend, Peter Konstantinov
from Sofia, Bulgaria. Near the end of the mixing process, the decision was made
to approach well-known mastering engineer, Fc Bester. Fc was in the final stage
of mastering Neil Zaza's latest release and agreed to take on the project. Dimitar
and Fc worked together on the album's final details for several weeks and on
November 30, 2006, Dimitar’s birthday, "Universe" was officially
released.
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