INTERVIEW BY PETAR PETROV

Collaborating with some of your favourite rock musicians, on your own music, turning these collaboration into proper albums, hearing those albums played in front of thousands of fans, and in doing so contributing to a meaningful charitable cause – that’s the stuff the dreams of most hobby musicians, and even musicians period., are made of; dreams so wild most wouldn’t ever dare say out loud.

Well, for Milen Vrabevski M.D. those dreams have become a reality 5 times, and they’re about to materialize once more, in the 6th album of Intelligent Music Project – a floating all-star rock band, which musicians like John Lawton from Uriah Heep, Joseph Williams from Toto, John Payne from Asia, renowned session guitarist Tim Pierce, Ronnie Romero from Rainbow, Simon Phillips from Toto who is a regular and the co-producer, and more, have been a part for.

Vrabevski not only gets to feel this monstrous rock power first-hand from behind the production wheel, but he’s also the one behind all of the music itself, as well as the charitable purpose of the whole venture - supporting talented kids in Bulgaria, the country he’s from and whose cultural life and heritage he continuously fuels and champion through various endeavours.

We sit down to talk with him about how an actual doctor gets to work with and produce some of the biggest names in classic rock, the intricacies of their collaborative processes, the inspiration behind the timeless messages of his albums, and more.

Intelligent Music Project are playing a free online concert on May 12, which you can learn more about here.

I started playing the guitar not so early, around 15. I was a frontman guitar player, and in the 11th grade (when he was around 18), I started playing the piano as well. I was in love with it. But we just played for fun, we participated in a few festivals, we were happy to write a few songs and just see how it goes, nothing really serious.

But later on, when my kids were born, something happened, and all of a sudden, I started having a lot of ideas that I needed to share, they had to be materialized somehow and turn into professionally produced songs. I recorded the guitar and the piano parts and all the vocals myself and then turned to professionals to perform them at the desired level.

How did you establish connections with such famous musicians – first with John Walton from Uriah Heep, and then all the others?

John Walton was playing with a Bulgarian band, a member of which gave me his contact. He listened to the album, liked the material, and agreed to participate. So did Simon Phillips, who I was introduced to by my PR agency. The owner of the PR company knew him personally and gave me his email. I sent him the demo, and after 2 days, he replied, saying he liked it. In December 2013, I was already in Los Angeles, recording in Phillips’s studio, and throughout our work on the other albums, he introduced me to most of the other musicians.

What does it feel like, working with such legends? Do you allow yourself to get starstruck, is there a sense of awe? Or there’s no room for that when you’re producing and communicating your vision so that they can recreate it in the best possible way?

Indeed. They were working very closely with me, and I had to explain my vision, so that they understand the essence of the message first, and then to be able to prepare it for the audience, based on their musical expertise.

Since it was an all-star band, and everyone was at the height of their career development, sometimes it wasn’t that easy to persuade them that my vision and approach would be better than the one they had at first. They had a reading of the whole album that I didn’t always agree with. So, my role was to make them believe that as an author of those songs, my opinion matters as well, and my point of view should be applied, whenever possible, 100%.

And would you usually meet in the middle, or were there cases when one side prevailed?

A few times, but it was for good.  Some sections I had to play myself, just to make sure they were recorded in the right manner. I didn’t allow myself to sing because I didn’t take myself that seriously. However, playing a few parts after months of rehearsal – like I said, I’m not really a musician – was so that certain parts were recorded in the final version of the track through my own prism

When you write music, do you write it with certain musicians in mind? For example, do you write a certain part for the guitar that you might not be able to play to technical perfection, but other professional guitarists who have devoted their lives to the craft will?

Not really. This is a very sincere sharing of ideas with the audience. What comes first is the thing I have t say – I have to say what I have to say, no matter what the end product is. Then when it’s ready as a demo, I decide who the most suitable guy to work on this product or track is. My style develops with the years, and this is why sometimes the vocal blend is very important as it makes the message more convincing, and I have to make sure I find the right vocalist for this particular message.

On that note, is it a little harder to produce musicians that aren’t a band themselves? Some of them have worked together in the past, but overall, they don’t play together as a band.  Does that make it harder to unite them around your vision, or does it have its benefits, like perhaps adding more layers and unpredictability to the final product?

They often don’t even need to work together and work only with me. They do their best to comply with my expectations and feel obliged to share the best of their expertise and provide the full creative input to the whole project. This is generally an exception in their career, and they don’t view me so much as a musician, but a sort of an international authority, an institution they work with.

I also believe it’s the nature of the albums’ messages that makes them easy to unite around, especially when you view them in the context of today’s often banal music and how contrasting they are.

In that sense, the way in films a director is the uniting force between the different niche specialists like editors, sound designers, cameramen, etc., are you basically the director in these projects?

I think so, although I don’t take myself that seriously, I’m just very passionate about what I  do, and I want to see my inspiration materialize. To me, the final result is precisely the most important. The thing that matters most is the process that I’m witnessing. From an idea to a final product, together with those great guys.

You touched on the nature of the albums’ messages – they revolve around positivity, love, the power of the mind, the spark of divinity in all of us – in other words, big things in life. You also mentioned that the desire to materialize your ideas started with the birth of your children, that was what uncorked this spring of creativity. Are the two connected, does the music stream from your children, and are they one of the inspirations behind the charitable cause of these projects?

It matters who you live with. My wife, for one, is a great inspiration. Second, God gives a chance understand how to live a life with a mission by giving us the opportunity to have kids, and understand what unconditional love is. The difference between vegetation and meaningful living is very easy to understand when kids look into your eyes and you see they depend on you, your attitude and human responsibility. So when my children came into this world, I think they became a key factor to understand all that, and the rest of the ideas, it was like opening the Pandora Box, but instead of something evil, there was good inside.

Simon Phillips mentioned that music is often influenced by the folklore which the author has grown up with, even unconsciously. What do you think about that?

There might be some cosmic influence in this particular direction, because the stars I’ve been working with have told quite a few times I have a different vision for musical arrangement in comparison to theirs. My approach is probably based on what is programmed in my genes, even when I play rock.

Besides the charitable cause and the specific messages you’re looking to express, is the Intelligent Music Project a tribute to rock, and classic rock in particular, as well? Is it a way to sustain it, keep it alive, give it a new life, pass it on to new generations?

This is true. It’s a great pleasure first of all. Secondly, it’s kind of an alternative to the styles that now dominate the modern musical landscape. I would like my children to grow up with the ideas I share in my albums, and instead of teaching them lectures about those ideas, I use the language of music, which is very universal and easy to understand.

Old-school rockers generally epitomize the idea of a bad boy, but at the same time, they sound like real professionals and even perfectionists when it comes to their craft and projects they are genuinely passionate about. What was your experience like working with such old-school rockers?

I was very happy to work with them and the fact we shared similar ideas about music and its meaning. They were very compliant, even though some of them might have been “bad boys” in the past. What matters to me is relaying the right messages to the audience.

Have you thought about venturing out into neighbouring sub-genres like alternative rock, for example

Not really. I’m writing the music that I love. There’s also a lack of classic rock in the market at the moment, so I think it also comes at the right time.

What about your upcoming 6th album, what behind the scenes’ information can you give us?

It is about to become a very interesting project. Based on my experience so far, and on a good few members of the all-star band already being on board, ready to start working together with me again.

I imagine Simon Phillips is on board?

Yes, absolutely.

Anybody else that you’re willing to mention?

Let’s leave it as a surprise, an expectation. I want to audience to be surprised.

Is there a tentative release date?

Around June/July next year.

Anything else you’d like to share?

Just that I’m very happy to have the opportunity to share my thoughts and plans with your readers. I’d like to wish them all the best and share the willingness of the whole band to provide them as much joy as possible.