Check Out Milen Kirov’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Milen Kirov.

Hi Milen, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born and raised in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, in a family of musicians. My parents are performers and teachers of traditional Bulgarian music. My father was a professor, musicologist, ethnomusicologist, performer, composer. My mom was an educator and singer. Now they are retired.

So they influenced me a lot in my musical life and musical career. They started me on music very early and they were my first teachers. I started learning solfege, ear training and piano when I was about three. I think I even learned how to read music about the same time as learning how to read.

I graduated from a high school of music in my hometown. And then in 1998, I moved to the United States. First I moved to Las Vegas with just two suitcases. Went to school there briefly, also played all over town. got some great experience playing with all kinds of formations and genres – from solo piano, through jazz piano trio, to a high-energy 14-piece show band. And in 2000, I moved to Los Angeles, moved here to finish my schooling and continue my career. So I got my bachelor’s in piano performance from CalArts. Then I got my master’s in composition from Cal State Northridge. Then I got my doctorate in piano and composition from CalArts. And all throughout this time, I kept making music and working on my career – performing, recording, composing. I’ve toured the United States with a rocktronic band. I had music on some charts. I’ve toured Europe and I’ve toured all over North America. I’ve worked on music for film, for theater. I’ve played church music in different churches, I have worked on contemporary classical music, on music theater productions. I was always hungry to learn new things in music, to experience something new, to learn something new, to meet new people. But I always retained my musical voice and center. My music
is based on three traditions – the Western classical tradition, on traditional Bulgarian music, and on American jazz and blues.
Throughout my time in Los Angeles, I established myself as a musician here in Southern California. Started teaching at higher ed institutions such as Cal State Northridge, Chapman University, Colburn School.

Since 2016, I’m a professor of music at LACC College, where I teach piano, composition and theory.

I’ve recorded multiple albums as a soloist, as a bandleader. I’ve recorded also as a sideman. All of this has made me. the musician and the person I am today. And Los Angeles gave me all of these opportunities to create new music, to learn new music traditions, to meet new people. It’s a cliche, but it’s true. It’s a melting pot. It’s a multicultural city, which I love. And I’m proud of the fact that I managed to establish myself and create a solid career in this highly competitive environment, in this huge city where one can easily get lost.

That’s my last 25 years. I am still very closely connected to Europe and to my roots in Bulgaria. I spend a lot of time in Bulgaria. So I feel like in my latter years, I’m firmly standing with one foot in California and the other in Europe or specifically Bulgaria where I’m from. I have family there, close friends, musicians that I work with. So that’s my life in a nutshell.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t know who has a smooth road in front of them. Most people that I know have not had a smooth road. But that’s just part of life. That’s how we become better humans, how we learn, how we fall and stand back up and overcome and keep going. Music really, is about the journey, not the destination

In my view, there’s no destination in music if we just speak about career or art in general. As musicians, we learn constantly, we constantly expand, we constantly improve, we constantly move forward. So it’s about the journey, not the destination. And the journey is never smooth. And that’s how we become better musicians, artists and humans.

What are some of the struggles I have faced? I I moved to a new country alone with a couple of hundred bucks in my pocket and two suitcases, not knowing anybody. I remember some of my first months were rough. My first summer, I remember eating Wonder Bread and mayo from 7-Eleven. Didn’t have money for anything else. I’ve had physical injuries that prevented me from playing and kind of even made me question if I would be able to continue to play at the same level.

You know, being away from family, from close friends. It’s just, the usual things that any young person moving to a new place, not knowing anybody can probably face. Maybe being in places that they didn’t want to be. I’ve been lucky in a way that I’ve worked in music all my life. I’ve never had to do another job. I cannot imagine myself doing anything else just because who I am and what I can do. I was born to be an artist and musician and educator in music. So in that sense, I’m lucky. But of course I’ve had jobs that maybe didn’t enjoy as much or weren’t meant for me at the time but I got through them, learned something new, gave my all, gave my best.

These ups and downs and difficulties of having times where you don’t have money, you don’t know where the next paycheck is gonna come from, they just make you more resilient, more imaginative and trusting in your own abilities . And I have a great family and created a good circle of friends in my new home. And I’m happy and lucky in this way.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a pianist, composer, educator, producer, creator, artist.

I grew up as a classical pianist. I’ve done piano competitions, I’ve won some awards. In the same time, I grew up in a musical family where traditional Bulgarian music was played and taught at all times. So that influenced me a lot in my own musical language and my career. And in the same time when I was a kid, my early teens, I discovered American jazz and blues and started playing in bands, learning songs, transcribing piano parts, organ parts, writing music, improvising. So my musical identity is based on these three distinct music traditions – the Western European classical tradition, traditional Bulgarian music, and traditional American music, which is jazz and blues.

I do have a unique artistic voice because of this mixture and that’s what I’m known for. Whether I write music for film or for stage as in contemporary classical music, or music for solo piano, or for a piano trio or for a jazz quartet or a quintet, or for my 11-piece funk band Orkestar Meze, or for others, people can recognize my music because it fuses those sounds and those traditions. There’s a Bulgarian flavor with odd meters and modes that come from Bulgaria, and the Balkan and Middle Eastern tradition. But there’s also counterpoint and structures and harmonies that come from the Western European musical tradition. And then there’s the groove, there’s the funk, the swing, the improvisational freedom, the harmonic language of American jazz. And all of this finds a way in my music.

So that’s what I would say sets me apart from others and I’ve decided to forge my own path long time ago and not just be a sideman and play other people’s music. I just felt that I have too much to say as a musician and as a composer, to hold it back.

I have released solo piano music. I’ve toured as a solo pianist and I still do. And I also lead different ensembles, an 11-piece peasant funk band, a fusion quintet, a piano trio. I have multiple alter egos in music. But it’s always me and people know when it’s my sound, when it’s my music.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I am a pretty private person, so the people close to me know me best. Everyone knows my musical persona, and pretty much everyone also knows that I am an avid sports, and especially futbol fan. I love playing futbol, on a team in a amateur league here in LA. If there is something surprising that people don’t know about me, I’d prefer it stays known only to my closest people.

Pricing:

• Promo code MAY for 10% off my newest double LP release “SPATIUM” https://www.milenkirov.net/product-page/spatium-double-lp

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.milenkirov.net/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milen__kirov/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/milenkirov
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milenkirov/
• Twitter: https://www.x.com/milenkirov
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/milenkirov
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/milenkirov
• Other: https://www.milenkirov.net/shop

Image Credits
Hannah Arista, Irina Logra, Rumen Kurtev, Walter Schimon