Hidden talents - music

Meet Radiostantsia

If you are ever in Sofia and look to spend a night out, hopping from bar to bar, there is quite a good chance that you meet our Head of Business Development, Niall Jones, and our brilliant Innovation Director, Barry Brand.

Not because they are avid and ubiquitous bar-goers or party animals, but because you could walk into a venue where they are at the heart of the action. Barry and Niall аre among our most passionate, artistic and talented colleagues, who moonlight as emerging musicians, part of a 4-man band that they started just over a year ago.

The guys decided to start their band during a dinner when they found about each other’s talents and passion for music. A friend’s studio became their practice ground and ever since Radiostantsia has been snowballing in both skill and fan base count.

Barry is the lead singer and Niall fires up the crowd playing rhythm guitar. The band is called Radiostantsia - a name that came as a random idea when Niall and Bob were arriving at one of Sofia’s metro stations after having a conversation about a Radiohead tune. That’s pretty much how all great ideas are born, aren’t they?

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The whole team at Technofy has been following their success and growing confidence as musicians, but most of all we love their passion (after all it’s one of our main values at Technofy). It does wonders for our team spirit and we can’t help but admire and support their dedication in any way we can.

Radiostantsia mainly plays rock covers from the ’60s and ’70s, with some of their top songs being Run by Snow Patrol, Hotel California by The Eagles and of course songs by Radiohead. They add their own spin to classic rock ballads, but lately they have been exploring louder and bolder musical pieces that everyone can sing along and move their feet to.

While Bob, Radiostantsia’s lead guitar, has played in front of thousands and is pretty much a veteran in the trade, Niall had never performed in front of audiences and had only played the guitar in the comfort of his bedroom. He even admits that he didn’t want to look up and make eye contact with the crowd during the band’s first gig. It nonetheless was a brilliant performance, which gave him the spark and courage he needed to become fluid and relaxed when playing in front of sizeable audiences.

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The band has not been shy to try out new songs and they now have more than 50 in their repertoire. In the span of just a few months, Barry and Niall have performed at more than 10 gigs and have no plans to stop.

As a proficient business developer, Niall is the one in the group who is in charge of finding new venues and setting up gigs. However, the priority is not so much to become professional top-shelf musicians and widely-known artists, but rather to continue to enjoy the high they get from sharing their art with music lovers.

Nonetheless, since we obviously do have a good eye for talent, we are most confident that their continuous success is beyond doubt capable of getting them into the realm of professional performers. The guys are planning to start producing their own songs in the near future and we just hope that the team at Technofy will always have the front rows reserved, as it is already becoming difficult to book a seat for their gigs.

You can follow the band and get information about future gigs here.