"Vataff Project" is a mix of a electronic music basis, electronic beat and traditional bulgarian instruments and visual performance. The project has its own and specific sound although it contains elements of psychedelic-techno, triphop, ambient. Musicians explore by combining the acoustic sound of bagpipe, kaval, percussion, vocals with analogue synthesis, their common soundings and impacts. The music of "Vataff" leads to profound feelings of ecstasy, dance and ritual which come from the ancient times, the present and the future. The permanent development and evolution of sound, the search for states going beyond the field of matrix forms and images are basic tendencies set in the project's idea.

"Vataff Project" is initiated by Victor Marinov /Victor's Mob/ during the fall of 2001. Victor builds the compositions and the electronic basis of the music. Shtoni Kokoudev /bagpipe, horn/, Panayot Angelov /percussion/, Nikolai Dichev /sound maker/ are guest musicians. The debut is on 23.11.01 in "Club 7" in the city of Sofia. The play on festivals and in clubs. "FEM" - Sofia 2001 /together with "Asian Dub Foundation"/, French Cultural Institute, "SlunceLuna" - Trigrad 2002, "FEM" - Sofia 2002 /together with "Fundamental" and "Transformations"/, "O! Shipka" Club are some of them.
 
The name "Vataff" is a word which has an analogue in the steppe languages and in the Near East languages /vatekh, fatakh/. It means "leader", "guide". In bulgarian folklore the leader of kalushars /rusaliys/ is also called "vataff". They are considered a folklore relict (remnant) of an ancient elite society of warriors, whose leaders probably were initiated in religious cult, and had the ability to heal /to "free"/ through special music, together with respective rituals.

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During the 90's Victor composed the electronics of two unique formations, "Dve Kupeta" and "Band of mad women". Together with these projects he has puplished 5 albums up to now and played in different countries-Hungary, Czechs Republic, Austria. He made the music and visions for four musical performances. More over he writes also theatre and film music.

In the year 2002 he was invited in Berlin with "Vataff Project" by the advertisement company "Triggerhappyproductions". There he worked under advertisement with the Director Zoran Bichach and the camera man Robbi Mueller /who shoot most of the films of Wim Wenders/

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SHTONI KOKOUDEV Jura-bagpipe The Jura-bagpipe is traditional music instrument, which is typical for the bulgarian region and the whole Southeastern Europe. It consists of a chanter, a drone and a blowpipe, attached to a goat's skin-bag through elements made of horn. The presence of this instrument in these lands is evidenced in ancient Thrace /III century BC/ by the ancient greek historian Herodotus, who attends a wedding feast, where the tsar-priest Sevt II himself plays such an instrument /its archaic variation - "Salpinx Omoboea"/.   The use of this instrument in the ancient was sacral. Some define it as "mountain" instrument. It is considered that it sounded in ancient misteries /for example in the Dionysiac cult in the Rhodope mountains/, in rituals of union and transition, in elite /warrior/ societies of initiated, in sacrifices. Its timbre is quite close to those of human voice.

PANAYOT ANGELOV Percussion