Mircea Florian (Romanian: [ˈmirt͡ʃe̯a floriˈan], also known as
Florian din Transilvania, M. A. N. Florian, FloriMAN; born December 5,
1949), is a Romanian multi-instrumentalist musician, multimedia artist
and computer scientist, based in Germany. Having started his musical
career as a folk rock singer, in the late 1960s, he developed a fusion
between Romanian folklore and Eastern music, especially Indian sound,
moving into psychedelic music. He founded Ceata Melopoică ensemble,
with whom he recorded a concept album. These and his solo acts earned
him a cult following among rebellious youth, establishing his
reputation as one of the most original contributors to Romanian pop
music. Florian was also an early member of Cenaclul Flacăra, a
traveling music and literature circle, but parted with it when it
became increasingly nationalistic.Before 1980, Florian was turning his
attention to electronic music and new wave. In parallel, like other
artists on the Romanian folk scene, he was pursuing his interest in
non-pop ventures, from experimental rock and minimal music to
biomusic, and exhibiting his installation art. In 1986, Florian
escaped Communist Romania, having by then been exposed to much
communist censorship, and took up cultural and scientific projects in
West Germany. Since the Romanian Revolution, he has made frequent
returns, playing at numerous festivals and composing film scores.Born
in Satu Mare, Mircea Florian began his musical education as a pianist
and saxophonist, before turning to guitar, blockflute, mandolin and
various other instruments. He first took classes at the Satu Mare Art
School, and first became interested in performing arts while an avid
spectator of the local Medrano Circus (the place where he also
witnessed the first concert by a rock band).Florian then studied at
the Eminescu High School, where he had musical appearances with the
band Zburătorii (1965). A while after, he also gave his first one-man
show, which included a dance routine. In parallel to state-run
education, he took private courses in music and visual arts. Florian
first came into contact with the burgeoning hippie movement of the
West, and met Romanians who, despite facing tight scrutiny from the
communist authorities, wanted to replicate it locally. In 2005, he
stated that the fundamental difference was in the drug culture, which
Romanians had little access to, adding: "In any case the manner in
which the artistic act was supposed to be carried out here was
different from what one could experience in the West. Romanian artists
created for a tighter circle, of (proper) connoisseurs." Elsewhere, he
also noted that hippie culture was essentially becoming more
accessible to Romanians by the end of the 1960s: "I remember that,
once a record came out, fresh off the Western market, no more than a
week would pass before it got to Romania, brought over by some sailor
or an acquaintance who had been visiting 'out on the outside', or
through heaven knows what channels..."
Florian din Transilvania, M. A. N. Florian, FloriMAN; born December 5,
1949), is a Romanian multi-instrumentalist musician, multimedia artist
and computer scientist, based in Germany. Having started his musical
career as a folk rock singer, in the late 1960s, he developed a fusion
between Romanian folklore and Eastern music, especially Indian sound,
moving into psychedelic music. He founded Ceata Melopoică ensemble,
with whom he recorded a concept album. These and his solo acts earned
him a cult following among rebellious youth, establishing his
reputation as one of the most original contributors to Romanian pop
music. Florian was also an early member of Cenaclul Flacăra, a
traveling music and literature circle, but parted with it when it
became increasingly nationalistic.Before 1980, Florian was turning his
attention to electronic music and new wave. In parallel, like other
artists on the Romanian folk scene, he was pursuing his interest in
non-pop ventures, from experimental rock and minimal music to
biomusic, and exhibiting his installation art. In 1986, Florian
escaped Communist Romania, having by then been exposed to much
communist censorship, and took up cultural and scientific projects in
West Germany. Since the Romanian Revolution, he has made frequent
returns, playing at numerous festivals and composing film scores.Born
in Satu Mare, Mircea Florian began his musical education as a pianist
and saxophonist, before turning to guitar, blockflute, mandolin and
various other instruments. He first took classes at the Satu Mare Art
School, and first became interested in performing arts while an avid
spectator of the local Medrano Circus (the place where he also
witnessed the first concert by a rock band).Florian then studied at
the Eminescu High School, where he had musical appearances with the
band Zburătorii (1965). A while after, he also gave his first one-man
show, which included a dance routine. In parallel to state-run
education, he took private courses in music and visual arts. Florian
first came into contact with the burgeoning hippie movement of the
West, and met Romanians who, despite facing tight scrutiny from the
communist authorities, wanted to replicate it locally. In 2005, he
stated that the fundamental difference was in the drug culture, which
Romanians had little access to, adding: "In any case the manner in
which the artistic act was supposed to be carried out here was
different from what one could experience in the West. Romanian artists
created for a tighter circle, of (proper) connoisseurs." Elsewhere, he
also noted that hippie culture was essentially becoming more
accessible to Romanians by the end of the 1960s: "I remember that,
once a record came out, fresh off the Western market, no more than a
week would pass before it got to Romania, brought over by some sailor
or an acquaintance who had been visiting 'out on the outside', or
through heaven knows what channels..."
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