Romanian trio, Premiesku, pride themselves on pushing the boundaries of electronic live music performance. Indeed, the trio designed three unique, custom made hardware consoles, consisting of parts of various machines that have been completely rewired, modified and re-patched; creating their one of a kind set up, which allows them to play live without any computers. Hailing from Bucharest, their widespread influence on the flourishing underground scene is no secret, with their dynamic DJ sets, innovative live performances, and constant flow of cutting edge productions making them the key leaders in the Romanian scene. The trio have enjoyed recent releases on labels 20:20 Vision, and most recently Vakant, with no signs of slowing down. We invited them to curate a local mix and guide on their lesser known Eastern European city, of Bucharest.
Premise’s latest release, Last Man on Moon EP is forthcoming on All Inn Records.
Check out the map above and interview below for Premiesku’s favourite spots, while you listen to a 100% Bucharest mix.
Favourite place to buy records?
Misbits record shop, best selection in town. Also it’s unique atmosphere sends you in a special mood, it’s very cozy and nice.
Favourite live music venue?
There are so many, but the places i ended up lately are Green Hours and Control, let’s say both are cool venues but different from each other. One is concentrating more on live Jazz and the other one is more alternative.
Best soundsystem / favourite club?
Well, it’s difficult here because lately there are so many parties thrown in unconventional places. But if i have to choose a club I would definitely say Guest House and it’s Funktion one system its perfectly balanced for the room setup, the sound its just great there.
Best party in the city?
As I was saying, this you have to chase depending on the night. Usually there are so many new parties in nonstandard locations, you can always find the events on Resident Advisor and here. There is also a very useful app called: Katch app.
Best view of the city?
Definitely from my friend Ipa’s new apartment, there you have the perfect panoramic view, i’ll provide a contact :). In case you don’t find the guy home or something, you can try different sky bars like: Upstairs Rooftop or pura vida sky bar. Definitely not a frequent attendee of this kind of places and i can say, many times, Bucharest is more about the street view rather than panoramic top of the rock sights.
Best spot for a picnic?
Well, you can try Herastrau park, beautiful place to be in the summer.
Favourite Cafe’s and Restaurants?
If we’re talking about lunch let’s say you can have some great dishes at Frudisiac or Arome and then you can have a coffee break at Origo Cafe – really high quality coffee.
What are the best local dishes or street food?
Difficult to escape here from the pretzel/kebab world which is very common for Bucharest and it’s not a joke, basically you can grab a good quality pretzel mostly from any corner and if you want a kebab wrap you can find good ones at Calif and not only. If you want to escape from shawarma You can try Burger Van or Flying pig for a nice Burger or amazing Pork sandwich. if you want to grab a slice of pizza, try Buoni e Bravi in heart of the city at Rosetti plaza.
Is there somewhere you like going to escape the hustle and bustle and take some time away for yourself?
This you can do only away from the city and its a common thing for me. Usually I plan bike rides with my friends more far away. Usually we like to do “Drumul vinului” – The wine road or transfagarasan road. If you are not in the mood for hi effort you can enjoy the same thing with the car, the scenery it’s incredible.
Best place to experience something unique to Bucharest?
You can discover some urban and street art here in the city, there are many places, definitely something to check out.
First thing you miss after leaving Bucharest?
Going out with the bike and meeting best friends in Eden Garden. favourite place for summer evenings.
Best place to see another medium of art other than music?
You can always try some art galleries, it’s easy to find out the classic places and museums and if you are into this, there are definitely many places including MNAC. But i would suggest some different ones and here you can find a selection with independent contemporary galleries the you might find it quite interesting.
What are your favourites shops for things other than music?
I love books and I like to spend time in a library, there are many libraries in the city, here’s one of them.
Are there any markets in your city worth checking out?
So I would say that this depends on the time of the year. There are many food festivals in the summer that you can find it online and also some clothes fairs with local designers, one of them is called detox + market. There are a few flea markets if someone is into this.
If we had to buy one local thing from your city to take back, what would it be?
Definitely a bottle of Romania wine, which reborn after the long communism period that killed the local specific and the taste for the quality. Now i am proud to say you can taste amazing wine here. I recommend a local grape that comes originally from Burgundy, it’s called Aligote. So, for example you can try this one. Don’t forget to buy also a bottle of Tzuica – which is a Romanian Schnaps.
Where will you find the friendliest, most interesting locals to have a chat with?
Actually if you go to all these places mentioned until now, the bars and the libraries, art galleries – you can have a cool chat that’s for sure, people are quite friendly here.
What’s the best and worst thing about living in Bucharest?
I am born here so, I love my city and I can say the cultural as well as the lifestyle here it’s pretty cool, one thing that is missing is some important infrastructure for travelling without a car. I love biking so i would say, can be tricky at some point to move from a to b if you don’t live in the centre, but things are getting better, let’s hope for a radical change :)). Btw i totally recommend to try the bike if you are around the centre area, the best way to discover the city.
Who are some of your favourite up-and-coming DJs/producers/ musicians bubbling up in Bucharest right now?
For sure, please check all of this artists that are emerging now: g76 , Mp, Lizz si Cosmijn, Vicentiulian, Crihan, Zefzeed & Direkt, Cally and Sublee.
Could you tell us about the mix you’ve made for us?
We have a track selection from early 80’s till late 90’s including some from 2000’s. It’s a story. The concept is that all these tracks are part of a mash up mix, and all the music that will be mixed are edits and bootlegs done by us. This was decided in order to obtain a coherent flow. It’s a chronological mix and the flavour is the old Romanian electronic music on fresh beats.
Where and how did you record it, what was the idea behind it and are there?
We recorded it long time ago, it’s a lost tape. It’s a Premiesku lost tape that we found after many years :))
And finally, what’s on the horizon for you in terms of live dates or releases we should look out for?
We do have upcoming releases on All Inn Records and Mulen and some cool gigs that we looking forward to like: New York @ Brooklyn Mirage, Paris @ Nuits Fauves and Lucien Festival – Rouen.
Tracklist
Adrian Enescu – Autostrada (Premiesku Edit)
Adrian Enescu – Cuvinte incrucisate (Premiesku Edit)
Charlie – Spacer Woman
Premiesku – Interact + Cindy Cat – La Sovata (Bootleg)
DJ Vasile – Sa Dansam (Premiesku Reinterpretation)
Grupul Stereo – Frumoasa-i Vecina Noastra (Premiesku Edit)
Grupul Stereo – In Vis (Premiesku Edit)
Grupul Stereo un vis sublim (Premiesku Edit)
Adrian Enescu – Tema Muzicala (Premiesku Edit)
Livio & Roby – Srecs + Suie Paprude – La mare (Bootleg)
Livio & Roby – Buchlesque
Suie Paparude – Salvarea (Interlude)
Shukar Collective – Malademna (Livio & Roby Edit)
