Hello, reader! Would you like to know more about me? Here are some good highlights (I left the bad stuff out).
I came to this world in Sofia, Bulgaria. eager at almost a month early! When you grow up in a family of musicians (all bass players) it’s hard not to become one; grandpa was a professor, grandma was the first woman to play bass in the opera, and a hip mom who worked in the local TV station. I started piano lessons early and I must have had something going because they accepted me into the prestigious Lyubomir Pipkov music school. It was great times there; lovely teachers, amazing friends, and lots of laughter!
There I joined my first band, “Street Boys”. Yes, we started busking on the streets, mostly for the attention but quickly ended up playing sold out shows in the National Culture Palace. The last show we played before I moved to Canada was for two thousand people! Quite the transition from performing on the streets!
I left home with only a bag of clothes and Rhodes keyboard, but fate took me to the University Of Toronto where I was presented with the gift of studying with William Aide (Glen Gould bud). Being an arrogant teenager, I told him that I wasn’t interested in becoming a classical pianist and that I was switching to Jazz and Composition. I did end up playing jazz and composing my own music but after a few lessons, I wanted to absorb as much as possible from this man and did the full four years with him! He was a true master. You could work a lifetime and never achieve his skill.
I think it was my second day on campus when I met Dominic Salole (the now famous Mocky) at a vending machine. He took me under his wing and I joined “The D.O.M.”. Live, improv, hip hop act. He played bass and I played the aforementioned Rhodes. We had a rotating crew of rappers and drummers like Phatt Al, Sugar B, Skitz, Nick Frazer and others. Dom’s place was the jam heaven where he also worked with his other band, “The Shit” (now Gonzales, Peaches and Feist). I remember Jason bringing a sampler. It was the first time I had seen it but we played the “you have 5 mins to make a beat” game forever. Someone, somewhere, must have those cassette tapes.
Anyhow, later on those guys moved to Berlin and I ended up playing with a ton of bands and touring the world! Some highlights were playing with Lou Reed at Sydney Opera House, drinking Champagne on the streets of Paris with Emily Haines, van tours across America with Small Sins, the amazing feeling of writing new songs with Major Maker.
After a while, my girlfriend and friends bought me an old, beaten upright piano. I missed playing and had to do something! I cooked brunch and played classical music for them every Sunday. Putting my very expensive education to good use, I told them stories about the composers and why they wrote those pieces. The effect of this experience inspired me to write some of my own piano pieces based on navigating my own life. I called the album “Pop Music” because I wanted the audience to feel at home and not intimidated by classical music.
And then came film. At this point I had already scored a ton of TV commercials so the step up was natural. Thanks to Craigslist I scored my first feature and it all grew from there. After meeting Robert Messinger in LA, I followed his advice and worked hard to develop my musical voice. You know, the one that is the invisible character in the movie, tapping into the deepest emotions and purpose of the story told, striving for excellence, always!
-T
P.S. My dog Hugo is my biggest inspiration so no need to ask me that question!