Bulgaria: Intelligent Music Project's 'Intention' to rock!

02 May 2022 at 15:00 CEST

Bulgaria's Intelligent Music Project - WIDE EBU / Corinne Cumming

What happens when you take a Eurovision veteran drummer, an 'X-Factor' winner, a Chilean rocker, and wrap it all up with a driving beat and a positive message? Well, it’s the Intelligent Music Project and their song 'Intention', of course!

Behind the Scenes as Bulgaria’s Intelligent Music Project prepare to rehearse. EBU / Nathan Reinds

The band formed in 2011 and features a fluid lineup of members who’ve worked with an absolute cavalcade of rock legends over the years, from Rainbow to Toto to Asia to Black Sabbath. The current lineup includes Santiago-born lead singer Ronnie Romero, backing vocalist and rhythm guitarist Slavin Slavchev (who won Bulgaria’s edition of X-Factor in 2014), guitarist Bisser Ivanov, bassist Dimitar Sirakov, keyboard player Ivo Stefanov, and percussionist Stoyan Yankoulov. Ronnie puts it this way:

Intelligent Music Project was created as a Bulgarian band, but the creator of the project started bringing in musicians from all over the world. I’m from Chile, I’ve lived in Spain and Romania, and now I’m in Bulgaria…I’m like the spirit of the EU! For us, it’s something pretty normal and natural.

📺 Watch: Intelligent Music Project – Intention (Eurovision House Party)

One notable name on the band’s roster is Stoyan Yankoulov, who Eurovision fans might remember from his previous songs at the competition, 2007’s Water and 2013’s Samo Shampioni, both alongside vocalist Elitsa Todorova. According to him, Eurovision is evolving and changing, but it is always welcoming.

I’m so happy! I’m just an ordinary drummer in this fascinating band, and I’m so surprised and excited, since Eurovision keeps growing every year. There’s new music, new styles, new singers, and it’s great inspiration! It’s a traditional song contest, but it’s not just staying in one place. It’s getting better every year. I feel very comfortable at Eurovision…who knows, maybe I’ll come alone next time, just me and my drums!

The band has stayed busy, even throughout the pandemic. Between continuing to record new music and performing free concerts back in Bulgaria for medical professionals, the music has never stopped.

We felt the need to keep working, and that we have a responsibility as musicians to bring happiness and joy to people, even during difficult times. So we put on a number of shows, respecting restrictions of course, with free COVID testing at the venue’s entrances. We thought it would be a good idea to play for free as a way to give back for all the hard work that people have done.

Intelligent Music Project from Bulgaria rehearsed their song Intention for the first time at the PalaOlimpico EBU / Andres Putting

No matter who’s on the lineup, one thing remains constant at Intelligent Music Project: a message of positivity. It’s a theme that’s run through the band’s back catalogue, which includes a half-dozen albums released over the past decade.

With every song, we want to bring a little hope to people. The past few years have been hard for everyone, but we understand the responsibility that musicians have to bring happiness. We’re trying to tell people that everything’s going to be okay. We’re going to change the situation we’re living in, but we have to have the 'Intention’ to do it!