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ABOUT

hug or handshake is an indie-rock/pop duo consisting of Petar Trifonov and Anton Georgiev. They formed the band on a cold December night in 2019 when they found out they listened to the same kind of music and their minds spoke the same language.

 

Soon after their first meeting, they were ready with a demo, and a month later their debut single “Molten Dreams“ was already a fact. It came out on March 12, the day before the first lockdown in Bulgaria. After the release of “Molten Dreams“ hug or handshake were dubbed as a bold, extremely professional and modern project, defined by its high level and great taste.

Due to the Covid epidemic, they were not able to appear on stage for more than a year, but this gave them the opportunity to work together with their music producer Simeon Lozanov – Monyx and finalize their second extremely successful video single “Blaze of Sorry“, while also recording their debut album “ONCE UPON A PINK SEDAN“. The album contains 8 compositions and came out to all digital platforms on 17.05.202.

As soon as it was released, “ONCE UPON A PINK SEDAN“ impressed the music critics in Bulgaria, who described it as "a beautiful, emotional and uncompromising journey from a musical and technical standpoint." The praise didn‘t stop there - "The sound is rich, warm and detailed, and the mix impresses with its depth and space. For me, this album is a reference and should be a point of comparison for any artist who makes modern pop music, especially here in Bulgaria. " ONCE UPON A PINK SEDAN " is an impressive debut that excites me greatly as a listener and an artist. Each song radiates a love of music and a painfully charming lack of pretension and ego. "- writes the non-commercial and independent media" Under the Bridge ".

In May 2021 hug or handshake received 3 nominations for the annual music awards "Golden Ducks", and in June they made their live debut on the big stage of Sofia Live Festival. In the following year the band played a series of local shows and festivals.

hug or handshake's latest single 'Slowboy' was released in March 2023.

Currently, the band is actively gigging with a full lineup completed by Viktor Ivanov on bass and Nick Nikolaev on drums. Meanwhile, they are also working on new songs for their second album. 

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BAND:

hugorhandshake@gmail.com

PRESS & BOOKING:

Mila Panayotova | +359 88 885 4839 | m.panayotova@gmail.com

CONTACT

MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

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WHAT THE MEDIA SAY

‘Once Upon a Pink Sedan’ is a triumph of love and good music.' - PodMosta.bg

'The 8-track album is an adventure for the senses and should be experienced in a single listening.' - Z-Rock Radio

'Molten Dreams is a dreamy, sympathetic and radiophonic that would fit any indie music playlist.' - BOYSCOUT Magazine

‘The band’s first single is a strong step towards both local and international acclaim.’ - Actualno.com

hug or handshake - Slowboy (Official Video)
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hug or handshake - Slowboy (Official Video)

Official music video for 'Slowboy' by hug or handshake. Listen & Download: https://ffm.to/slowboy Director and DoP: Nicola Atanasov https://www.instagram.com/nicola.atanasov/ Music producer: Monyx (Simeon Lozanov) Recording and mixing: Monyx (Simeon Lozanov) https://www.instagram.com/monyxmusic Mastering: Sterling Sound - Calbi/Fallone MUA / PA: Magdalina Dianova Gaffer: Stoyan Nikolaev BTS: Hristo Lazarov, Mihail Mishev Featuring: Petar Bachvarov Adrian Stoykov Special thanks to Anamorph Studio. Follow hug or handshake: https://www.facebook.com/hugorhandshake/ https://www.instagram.com/hugorhandshake https://twitter.com/hugorhandshake Press and contact: +359 88 885 4839 | m.panayotova@gmail.com __________________________________________________________________ Lyrics: Slowboy living in slow motion No joy, drove into the ocean He came about when there was no one else around Good heart, bad at making breakfast Slow start, he finished dead last He's no Molière but in the end he'll get you there Some people call him lazy Always the last to know The boy will drive you crazy If you don't mind slow Slowboy, you don't need a reason Rob Roy, served it with some cheese on top She's on the floor but you're not thirsty anymore They say you're in it for the money I say wrap you up in honey Some people call him lazy Always the last to know (the last to know) The boy will drive you crazy (drive you crazy) If you don't mind slow Some people say he's lazy Always the last to know (the last to know) The boy will drive you crazy (drive you crazy) If you don't mind slow Slow Boy Some people call him lazy Always the last to know The boy will drive you crazy If you don't mind slow Some people call him lazy (oh, some people say) Always the last to know (the last to know) The boy will drive you crazy (a-drive you crazy) If you don't mind slow Ah-ah slow -- Slowboy was created with the financial support of Musicautor.
hug or handshake - Jacuzzi Heart (Official Video | Episode 3)
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hug or handshake - Jacuzzi Heart (Official Video | Episode 3)

'Jacuzzi Heart' is the third episode of an interactive music video series, developed by handplayed productions for hug or handshake's album 'Once Upon a Pink Sedan'. Watch the interactive version of the video: https://www.hugorhandshake.com/interactive Watch episode 1 of the series: https://youtu.be/2MmbGjDt_bY Watch episode 2 of the series: https://youtu.be/X-WS4s0V-zs Listen to the full album: https://ffm.to/onceuponapinksedan Music producer: Monyx (Simeon Lozanov) Recording and mixing: Monyx (Simeon Lozanov) Mastering: Sterling Sound - Greg Calbi Cast: Anton Georgiev, Petar Trifonov, Maria Koleff, Yoji Sato, Evtim Todorov, Todor Sheinov, Mario Gyurov, Teodora Nikolova Director: Angel Ivanov Co-Director: Ivan Botev DoP: Nikola Atanasov Editing and color grading: Dimitar Stafidov Production Designer: Vanya Ivanova Art Director: Velichka Djambazova Art Department Assistants: Tsveta Dimova, Hristo Angelov, Evtim Evtimov Stylists: Mirela Vassileva, Katrin Dimitrova First AD: Krasimira Krysteva, Bozhidar Peychev Second AD / Script Supervisor: Leda Dragieva Camera Assistants: Petar Tuhchiev, Radostin Lazarov Underwater Operator: Dragomir Dimchev Underwater Assistant Operator: Rosen Savkov CGI: Lyubomir Todorov Casting: handplayed Producers: Virginia Venkova, Angel Ivanov Special thanks to: Septemvri Hut The project is realized with the financial support of National Cultural Fund Follow hug or handshake: https://www.instagram.com/hugorhandshake https://www.facebook.com/hugorhandshake/ https://twitter.com/hugorhandshake https://www.hugorhandshake.com/ https://sptfy.com/hugorhandshake Press and contact: +359 88 885 4839 | m.panayotova@gmail.com
hug or handshake - Love Me Like You Do (Official Video | Episode 5)
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hug or handshake - Love Me Like You Do (Official Video | Episode 5)

'Love Me Like You Do' is the fifth episode of an interactive music video series, developed by handplayed productions for hug or handshake's album 'Once Upon a Pink Sedan'. Watch the interactive version of the video: https://www.hugorhandshake.com/interactive Watch episode 1: https://youtu.be/2MmbGjDt_bY Watch episode 2: https://youtu.be/X-WS4s0V-zs Watch episode 3: https://youtu.be/NZZzAJ2KANA Watch episode 4: https://youtu.be/NulQsIa7OFY Listen to the full album: https://ffm.to/onceuponapinksedan Music producer: Monyx (Simeon Lozanov) Recording and mixing: Monyx (Simeon Lozanov) Mastering: Sterling Sound - Greg Calbi Cast: Anton Georgiev, Petar Trifonov, Teodora Nikolova, Bozhidar Popov, Boris Vasev Director: Viktor Ivanov DoP: Dimitar Tenev Editing and color grading: Viktor Ivanov Production Designer: Tsveta Dimova Stylists: Mirela Vassileva, Katrin Dimitrova First AD: Bozhidar Peychev Second AD / Script Supervisor: Leda Dragieva Camera Assistant: Petar Tuhchiev Underwater Operator: Dragomir Dimchev Underwater Assistant Operator: Rosen Savkov Casting: handplayed Producers: Virginia Venkova, Angel Ivanov Special thanks to: Bikearea Chatama The project is realized with the financial support of National Cultural Fund Follow hug or handshake: https://www.instagram.com/hugorhandshake https://www.facebook.com/hugorhandshake/ https://twitter.com/hugorhandshake https://www.hugorhandshake.com/ https://sptfy.com/hugorhandshake Press and contact: +359 88 885 4839 | m.panayotova@gmail.com

MUSIC VIDEOS

PHOTOS

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