Toronto based composer-producer-pianist Todor Kobakov has one foot planted in the centre of Canada’s indie-rock pantheon and the other placed deep within the world of classical music. In a city full of talented young musicians, Kobakov is widely recognized as the cream of the crop, or as Metric’s Emily Haines affectionately calls him, “Toronto’s most talented Bulgarian”.
Todor was born in Sofia, Bulgaria into a family of classical musicians. His grandmother was a famous pianist who played in the opera for forty years. His mother was a producer at a music television channel. Training at the piano bench began at just four years old, followed by ten years at the rigorous Sofia School of Music. At age sixteen, Kobakov moved to Canada, graduating from the University of Toronto with a Degree in Performance Piano.
A key “behind the scenes” player in Toronto’s world-famous indie music scene, Kobakov created the transcendent string arrangements for StarsSet Yourself on Fire album and helped flesh out the haunting songs on Emily Haines’ Knives Don’t Have Your Back. Other notable collaborations include string arrangements for Sarah Slean, Dan Mangan, Jason Collett and Sam Goldberg (of Broken Social Scene).
Kobakov’s tour resume includes keyboard duties for Luke Doucet, Small Sins, Emily Haines, and his own band Major Maker. Fittingly, in 2007, Kobakov was named “Toronto’s Best Keyboardist” by Now Magazine.
As in-house composer for three years at Toronto’s Krystal Music & Sound Design, Kobakov created vivid soundtracks for scores of Canadian commercials. More recently, his work has hit the international radar including 60” adverts for Vodafone (Europe), Macy’s (U.S.) and Robinsons (UK). His impressive scores for the documentaries Mega Heist and High Impact aired on The History Channel and Discovery Channel, respectively.
Kobakov is an increasingly in-demand film composer. His first feature, the hipster-comedy Young People Fucking, was a hit at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival. Next came Sympathy, a grindhouse/thriller for which Kobakov’s minimal, dark, and effective score garnered rave reviews. This was followed by Pinkville, a psychological drama for which Todor combined prepared piano technique and electronic wizardry to create a truly mesmerizing soundtrack. Todor is currently working on his fourth feature, Hit List, a dark comedy featuring Joey Lawrence.
A missionary of genius gadgetry, Kobakov has produced dance remixes for Emily Haines and Major Maker in addition to releasing two albums of brooding beats under the moniker Cy Scobie and producing critically acclaimed albums for Major Maker and Small Sins.
In 2009, Kobakov released his solo piano debut, Pop Music, to glowing accolades. The mostly instrumental album features vocal collaborations with Haines and Tunde Adebimpe of TV On The Radio.
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Bio
Toronto based composer-producer-pianist Todor Kobakov has one foot planted in the centre of Canada’s indie-rock pantheon and the other placed deep within the world of classical music. In a city full of talented young musicians, Kobakov is widely recognized as the cream of the crop, or as Metric’s Emily Haines affectionately calls him, “Toronto’s most talented Bulgarian”.
Todor was born in Sofia, Bulgaria into a family of classical musicians. His grandmother was a famous pianist who played in the opera for forty years. His mother was a producer at a music television channel. Training at the piano bench began at just four years old, followed by ten years at the rigorous Sofia School of Music. At age sixteen, Kobakov moved to Canada, graduating from the University of Toronto with a Degree in Performance Piano.
A key “behind the scenes” player in Toronto’s world-famous indie music scene, Kobakov created the transcendent string arrangements for Stars Set Yourself on Fire album and helped flesh out the haunting songs on Emily Haines’ Knives Don’t Have Your Back. Other notable collaborations include string arrangements for Sarah Slean, Dan Mangan, Jason Collett and Sam Goldberg (of Broken Social Scene).
Kobakov’s tour resume includes keyboard duties for Luke Doucet, Small Sins, Emily Haines, and his own band Major Maker. Fittingly, in 2007, Kobakov was named “Toronto’s Best Keyboardist” by Now Magazine.
As in-house composer for three years at Toronto’s Krystal Music & Sound Design, Kobakov created vivid soundtracks for scores of Canadian commercials. More recently, his work has hit the international radar including 60” adverts for Vodafone (Europe), Macy’s (U.S.) and Robinsons (UK). His impressive scores for the documentaries Mega Heist and High Impact aired on The History Channel and Discovery Channel, respectively.
Kobakov is an increasingly in-demand film composer. His first feature, the hipster-comedy Young People Fucking, was a hit at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival. Next came Sympathy, a grindhouse/thriller for which Kobakov’s minimal, dark, and effective score garnered rave reviews. This was followed by Pinkville, a psychological drama for which Todor combined prepared piano technique and electronic wizardry to create a truly mesmerizing soundtrack. Todor is currently working on his fourth feature, Hit List, a dark comedy featuring Joey Lawrence.
A missionary of genius gadgetry, Kobakov has produced dance remixes for Emily Haines and Major Maker in addition to releasing two albums of brooding beats under the moniker Cy Scobie and producing critically acclaimed albums for Major Maker and Small Sins.
In 2009, Kobakov released his solo piano debut, Pop Music, to glowing accolades. The mostly instrumental album features vocal collaborations with Haines and Tunde Adebimpe of TV On The Radio.