Long story short
Romanian musician and multi-award winning artist (composer, producer, DJ, performer, film score composer – Kult Studio owner and TV music producer for The Voice – Romania a.o.), Paul Ilea combines eclectic musical landscapes – both electronic and acoustic – with a theatrical, dramatic bent and an uncompromising attitude regarding his art.
Paul’s musical vibe includes a natural inclination towards engulfing various genres (from breaks & dnb to jazzy to ethnic to rock) infusing them with electronica to concoct a rich and textured blend of sounds that can only be described as out-of-the-box, highly original and definitely elevating audiophile experience.
Musical Formation
Paul Ilea began his musical career at the age of 10, when his voice got him a first taste of the stage, as Peter Pan in The Romanian Opera Cluj’s Povestea Micului Pan (The story of little Pan) for 2 seasons. He attended his first 12 years at Sigismund Toduta Music School (Cluj Napoca), and continued with Gheorghe Dima Music Academy, studying composition (violin, piano) and later music pedagogy.
Paul became a member of the famous contemporary music choir Antifonia ever since his first year at the academy. One of the most engaging moments from the period was singing under the direction of famed violinist and conductor Sir Yehudi Menuhin. During the last academic years, Paul became the keyboard player in the progressive rock band called IPSE, which literally took over the Romanian rock festivals scene in the following years.
Solo career
2023 – releasing Subliminal , a 45 minutes LP of deep house and techno music.
2022 releasing 1st solo album -ATLANTIS- a unique live electronic performance album by the Atlantic Ocean.
Also in 2022 -a Northern Tour- with some cool performances in
Akureyri and Rejkiavik (Iceland)
Helsinki (Finland)
Paul also released a lot of singles featuring artists like Taraf De Caliu, Dirty Shirt and many others.Check out the Release section for a complete list.
SENSOR
1999 Paul became the official composer for Hans ’n’ Feet, initially a body music group, which subsequently split into two groups, one of which was Sensor (with Paul as leader) – an artsy and MTV Awarded (see Awards) electro-acoustic music project.
Sensor came with an original show concept – as it relied on a whole new idea: a mix of electronic sounds and percussion on unconventional instruments. Their shows are unique, hard to categorize, at the crossroads between a stage performance, theater play and music show. Sensor was a big hit in Romania in the 2000s, playing on the same stage with names such as Prodigy, Faithless, Scorpions or Chicane. Sensor launched 4 albums (see Releases) ,latest one in 2019,called SUFFICIENT.
Theater & Film
The world of theater also embraced Paul’s fresh perspective on entertainment with Sakadat Extrasensorial in 2001, an unconventional percussion show which was performed at the Bulandra Theater and the National Theater. Paul scored the music, performed, was the stage-director and co-directed together with firm director Dan Chisu. His adventure with the big screen continued with the role of Onset Music Assistant for Universal Pictures production – Scorpion King 4. In 2013 Paul began a lasting and rich collaboration with world-renowned choreographer Gigi Caciuleanu. He composed the soundtrack for Folia, Shakespeare &Co., a dance-theatre show that was later transformed into a TV film which won him his first award in cinema – The National Cinema Union’s Best Score for a Motion Picture. He also composed the music for “Plansa” by Gh Andrei and “Chasing Rainbows” by Dan Chisu, both currently on Netflix.Un minut de Dans sau Uf! is the second show by Caciuleanu that involved Paul Ilea, this time not only as the soundtrack composer, but also as a live performer on stage (dance and live music). With this play Paul traveled across Europe and performed on some of the best-known stages in the theater/dance world. In 2015 Paul appeared as himself in Dan Chisu’s documentary YouTube Bazar, now on Netflix. A short musical appearence inthe first aromanian movie ever made “Nu Sunt Faimos Dar Sunt Aroman”
2019 brings a new theater show by Caciuleanu-On The Roof with music created by Paul Ilea
2021 ¨Kiritza sau jocul de-a….¨ at National Theater Bucharest
2022 ¨Scoala Femeilor Vs. Scoala Barbatilor¨at National Theater Timisoara
On the Screen
2014-2022 Paul Ilea was the Musical Producer and Head Of Band for Romanian TV station ProTV’s best talent shows for 8 years.The Voice Romania (Vocea Romaniei). The Voice Kids Romania (Vocea Romaniei Junior), Dancing with the Stars Romania (Uite Cine Danseaza), Romania’s Got Talent (Romanii au talent) and I can see your voice (Falsez pentru tine). Paul’s onscreen appearance is co-hosting alongside actor Marius Manole on George Enescu music festival’s Youtube channel 14 episodes educational project What do we hear when we listen to music? – a series of interviews and talks concerning the classical music and how we approach it.
Kult Studio
Paul Ilea is the founder of Kult Studio. Since its inception, Kult Studio produced music for theater, film and Paul’s personal projects – Sensor, Mongol, Mara&KSA (see Projects). The studio also produced a live web show – Joy la 9 – with Romania’s biggest stars of the moment as guests: A.G Weinberger, Smiley, Junkyard, Guess Who, Mara a.o. Nowadays Kult Studio handles all the musical production for the hit TV show – Vocea Romaniei – The Voice Romania (seasons 4-9) Romania”s Got Talent (4 seasons)
Style
Music Style: Electronica (dnb, tech,breaks, post dubstep,future bass), Ethnic Fusion, Soundtrack, Ambient
Sounds Like: Jon Hopkins, Aphex Twin, Bonobo, Four Tet
Influences: Prodigy, , Aphex Twin, Amon Tobin