Viktor Benev

Viktor Benev is a musician, composer and producer working predominantly in the field of electroacoustic music. He's known for his multi-instrumental practice and the usage of sound synthesis and field recordings in a live performance setting.

For benev being a musician isn't possessing a mere virtuosic instrumental technique, it is first and foremost, an obligation to be constantly aware of the world around. It is as much learning all the theoretical aspects of music, as it is navigating the obtained knowledge through a prism of personal sensibility. A life-long journey of recurring self-questioning in the pursuit of understanding the complex language of music and ultimately forming simple, yet meaningful works.

Benev has started his carrer at the age of 6 with exhaustive classical percussion studies. At the age of 17, the bulgarian pianist Momchil Atanasoff introduced Benev to jazz and improvisation, genre already drawing his utmost attention for its freedom. This was a life-changing event that opened up a whole new world of possibilities. The medium to express oneself has finally came about. Ever since, improvisation has occupied a major place in his works and creation process.

Benev's most consistent body of work is within Crystal sound project, a band formed through the initiative of the visual artist bilyana furnadzhieva in 2017. Ever since, the group has played on many acclaimed european stages and has grown to perform and record with a wide array of international collaborators. The eponymous debut album of the project was released in 2018 and has marked the foundation of a conceptually-driven project combining sculptures in porcelain and electroacoustic music. Confronting Silence (named after the writings of the japanese composer Toru Takemitsu) is the project's second album, which was released on the 23th of september 2023 and will be followed by a third album in 2024 with songs based on original lyrics and poems in collaboration with the swedish artist Aͤsa Öhrn.

Aside his stage activities, Benev spends most of his time in his recording studio, a place for experimentation, research and production. In 2021 he released his third solo studio album Architextures, preceded by Aeon (2020) and Motions in Circuits (2019).

In 2019, Benev started the independent label enovae records and is presently in charge of its activities.

Benev has recorded for radio stations, has been commissioned to compose works for dance, art installations, repertoire for students and chamber ensembles.

He has numerous awards from international percussion competitions and has received a number of private and public foundations' grants for his studies and productions.