Akcent

6 Golden and Platinum records, heaps of hits and thousands of concerts worldwide, Romanian group Akcent continue to push their mission of music without borders.

Their career started somehow on a left foot… broke; they couldn’t even afford a tram ticket (train, plane, any ticket), or so they said in their debut single. Fast forward to now and they really made it.

Their story begins early in 2002. There were four of them: Adrian, Marius, Mihai and Sorin. Their mission: MUSIC without borders! The stars were in a good mood that time of year and the planets perfectly aligned.

Team ready the first chapter of their mission started with the hit single “Ti-am promis” (the song with the ticket) and their debut album “In Culori”. It went gold in less than three weeks and platinum several months later in the process the boys becoming a national phenomenon and releasing several other singles:  Ti-am promis, Prima Iubire, In culori si Cel mai dulce cadou. The boys shared their success with composer Marius Moga, who wrote the whole album.

Next on the agenda 2003 brought the second album, technically titled 100 BPM. The hit that sent the boys back to the top of the charts was Buchet de trandafiri and they also won the Romanian fans over when they revealed the meaning behind the album’s title: it’s the beating of the heart during a passionate kiss.

A rougher image and a slight change of rhythm followed in 2004 when the boys put out “Poveste de viata”. The title track and Spune-mi (Hey Baby!) both charted and the change marked yet another colorful chapter in the band’s CV. Not really the silence before the storm as their national success was at high levels but what followed took everyone by surprise.

2005 was the year MUSIC without borders, the boys’ mission, came into being. The European door was finally slammed open by the boys’ first single from the new album SOS. Naming the single Kylie and adding some cheeky lyrics was one of the smartest moves of their career. It gradually took Europe by storm and charted almost all over the continent. The Romanian version of the song Dragoste de închiriat won for the boys the BEST GROUP award at The MTV Romanian Music Awards in 2006, the trophy being handed out by the girls from SUGABABES.

2006 also meant the release of their PRIMUL CAPITOL album which included the first songs 100% written and produced by the boys JoKero and 9 Mai. The European success continued and soon Akcent found themselves having more gigs abroad than in their native Romania. To keep the fire burning, “King of Disco” was released in 2007, a “tribute song and video” to Madonna. It stayed for weeks at the top of Romanian airplay and Europe followed shortly. “King of Disco” also gave name to the new album from which another pan European hit was released: “Let’s Just Talk About It” – a song about words unspoken and feelings not shared. Charts alight? You bet. And that summer heat caught the boys in Poland, Russia and Northern Europe doing what they do best – singing and dancing for the fans.

After so much success and hard work something was bound to go wrong. 6 Golden and Platinum records, heaps of hits all over the continent and beyond and thousands of concerts but finally the feeling of invincibility came to a halt for a moment as Marius decided to fulfill his long time desire of becoming a solo artist and left the band. As the four boys became close friends during their time in the band, Adi, Mihai and Sorin respected Marius’ decision and even supported him; from that point four became three.

In 2008 as fall approached the boys released their eagerly anticipated new single “Stay with me” produced and written in Adi’s own studio. It stayed four weeks at number one in Romania and charted in many other territories, reaching the top spot in charts of Poland, Russia, Greece, Azerbaijan, Kazahstan and more. It paved the way for the new album, the first as a trio, “Fara lacrimi” (“No Tears”) and a brand new single, the 2009 summer smash “That’s My Name” that became a true border breaker taking the Akcent name again on the top spot of the charts of Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Israel, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Brazil, India, Pakistan and many more.

As their weekends are full with shows all over the place from Moscow to Baku and Madrid to Bangalore the boys spend their weekdays writing their new material.

Meet the guys:

Adrian Sana

Aries, born April the 18th 1977 in Baia Mare, Adi is the embodiment of his sign: passionate and perseverant. He started out as a DJ in his native city and cites the music as having a major influence in his life. Not a day goes by without music for him. In the meantime he has studied acting and made professional singing his career.
Mihai Gruia

In 2001 Mihai was a freshman studying Journalism and Philosophy at a Bucharest University. His then cv read professional sports: swimming, judo and football but also modelling. Joining Akcent changed his priorities and music became his full time job although in the meantime he finished University with a diploma in journalism. Objectivity and communication are the pillars of his philosophy of life.

Sorin Brotnei

Born in Baia Mare, Sorin came to Bucharest as an art student. His career though really took off when he started modelling. One of the best models of his generation, he was the image of Radio 21, appeared in commercials for Sony or Orange and did a lot of catwalk work. His future as a model looked bright until he joined Akcent.  He’s very religious and reads the Bible every night. Asides from this music, movies, fashion and photography are high on his agenda.