CLOSING 2023
ARTmania 2023 was a great edition, held together by a selection of incredible partners, ranging from public institutions to NGOs and private companies, all of whom share our team’s passion for heavy guitars, and edgy sonic journeys in general.
Together with our partners and our wonderful audience, we achieved some incredible results, which we’d like to celebrate with you. As such, everyone’s invited for 2023’s final merrymaking, on 19th October, 2023, at 18:00, in Quantic Club, Bucharest.
We’ll celebrate the festival, the people, bands old and new, aided and abetted by the criminally delicious foodstuffs and drinks in Quantic Club’s menu.
5 lucky bands
During CLOSING 2023, on 19th October 2023, 5 slots have been given to 5 Romanian bands competing in the showcase for a position in ARTmania’s 2024 lineup.
Registration has been open to all Romanian bands with original songs between 5th October – 11th October 2023.
A jury picked the 5 lucky bands, factoring in how many votes they also amassed from their respective audiences.
MEET THE BANDS
AWAKE THE DEMONS
Awake The Demons (ATD) is a metal band from Constanța, whose foundations were laid as far back as 2016. Focusing on music and unity, the band aims to captivate the audience at every concert with songs full of energy, emotion, and expressiveness.
The members of Awake The Demons are:
Claudiu Ciorbaru – Vocals
Ioana Pîrvu – Guitar
Rareș Ungureanu – Guitar
David Bălan – Drums
Ștefan Parască – Bass
ALPHA Q
Alpha Q is a lady fronted rock band, with a fiery passion for music. They’re not afraid to break the mold by avoiding labels and subgenres in the rock/metal world. Why choose between genres, when you can have it
all? This band’s unique blend of is Alternative Multi-Metal- a testament to their diverse musical influences and styles. Each member brings their own distinct sound to the table, making for an electrifying musical experience that transcends any one genre. With Alpha Q, expect the unexpected and prepare to have your mind blown!
MeeRah- vocals
Madalin Muntean- drums
Daniel Fracea- guitar
Bogdan Stoican- solo guitar
Mihai Ciobotaru- bass guitar
WARHYMN
Warhymn is an occult black metal band that delivers an atmospheric sound, while approaching themes of gnosticism and different philosophical perspectives on topics such as self-consciousness, the origin of sin, and the foundation of the world we live in.
Shavy – Guitars/Vocals/Keyboards
Rizea – Guitars/Vocals
Hex – BassGuitar
Philip – Drums/Percussion
AXIS
Raw, strong and bold – AXiS is a Serbian Romanian power trio, founded in 2012 by
Silviu Dan Iliescu and Dejan Kotarcic, in the midst of no man’s land, between Serbia
and Romania.
Musically speaking AXiS is part of the new wave of classic rock revival, similar to bands
like Greta Van Fleet, Rival Sons or Wolfmother, with influences from iconic groups like
Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple or The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
A unique presence in the national music scene, AXiS were Romania’s ambassadors at
the European Blues Challenge in 2018 and have been touring rock and blues festivals
and clubs ever since, promoting a combination of strategic show flow and on the spot
improvisations giving their audience every time a unique experience from concert to
concert.
Ranko Varga – drums
Dejan Kotarčić – bass
Silviu Dan Iliescu – guitas/vocals
JUNE TURNS BLACK
June Turns Black is a band where the conveyed emotion lies at the center of their artistic expression. In 2023, they took the stage in Bucharest with “Hurt Me,” which contains all the key elements of their sound: aggressive, downtuned guitars, powerful and fierce vocals, massive hooks, electronic elements, all wrapped around incredibly personal and vulnerable lyrics. Their second single, “We Kill What We Love,” continued the experiment, fusing metalcore and screamo with drum & bass, while their latest release, “BRNDNC,” incorporates elements of pop, trance, and djent. Their creativity and DIY spirit shine through in their audio and video production, with each member being involved in every stage of creating their songs and music videos.
Dan Niculescu – Guitarist/Producer
Rach Alaji – Vocalist/Creative Director
Cezar Stamate – Bass
David Alin – Drums
COME SEE THEM!
Remember the audience will be able to vote during their performances as well and the audience’s votes will also be factored in by the jury, when the winner is chosen.
Their names will go in a poll on ARTmania’s Facebook page.
MEET THE JURY
FAQ - CLOSING 2023
As of 11th October 2023, showcase registrations are no longer open.
Registration was possible by filling in a form on this page, with various information about your band. If you missed this opportunity, don’t worry. There will be others. 🙂
Bands who registered have received a confirmation email from one of our colleagues. Due to the high number of registrations, there was a bit of delay between the bands’ sending the information and the confirmation email. All data the bands had submitted, had to be checked and that took time. We hope you will forgive us.
If you registered, but still didn’t receive a confirmation email, please write to [email protected] directly.
1: Bands who registered have received a confirmation email. Please check you have it. If you still don’t have this confirmation email, please email [email protected] directly.
2: After the confirmation email, you make a post on Facebook, or Instagram (or both, or whatever platform you use for communication), where you ask the audience to vote for you. Please send us the link to your post as a reply to the confirmation email. We’ll count all your likes from all your platforms. More platforms, more chances to win. You may advertise the post, but please do not use bot traffic. Make sure your posts haven’t been liked by fake profiles. Both Meta and Google provide options to check this aspect, but you may also choose to use a third-party app or software for such verifications.
3: The audience votes their favorite. Remember. Real people, not bot traffic. 🙂
4: The original rule for the initial selection was that if your band was in the top 5 audience favorites, you would be given a slot during the showcase on CLOSING 2023. This rule has currently been updated. Due to complications, the public’s vote will count for a smaller percentage of the slot allocation decisions. Your audience votes will still be taken into account, but the final decision for slot allocation will belong to the jury.
5: Once you’re selected for one of the 5 slots, our team will get in touch with you to establish details for soundcheck, lighting, protocol, etc.
1: You will play your best 15-minute program.
2: A jury will evaluate your performance after all bands have played.
3: Your fans can vote on-location, casting their vote in the provided urn.
You will be celebrated as the up-and-coming rockstar you are and given a slot on ARTmania’s 2024 lineup.
Our team will get in touch with you in the following weeks for contract details.
All is not lost, because you will be on our shortlist, and there’s always next year. Footage of your showcase program will be made available to you after the event.
At the show and after the show, the public’s vote counts for 50% of the decision. The jury’s vote counts for the remaining 50%. Due to a considerable amount of negative feedback and requests against the Facebook poll, we have updated the voting policy to only take place in person at the event.
Your backline, instruments, and your sound engineer. If you don’t have a sound engineer, Quantic’s super team will help.
WHAT's ON
In 2023, ARTmania had the opportunity to be part of an incredible network of metal events, together with
- Inferno Metal Festival & Conference, and
- Midgardsblot Metal Festival,
initiating and developing the “Musical Bridges Through Cultural Entrepreneurship” with huge help from
- EEA Grants,
- the Romanian Ministry of Culture , and
- UMP – Project Management Unit.
Our project spanned almost a year, and we did so much more beyond the festival. Come celebrate what we achieved together!
During CLOSING 2023, on 19th October 2023, 5 slots are open for 5 Romanian bands competing in the showcase for a position in ARTmania’s 2024 lineup.
Registration is now closed. Check out the showcase concert schedule below:
19:15 – June Turns Black
19.40- Alpha Q
20:05- Warhymn
20:30- AWAKE the Demons
20:55 – AXiS
21:15 – Winner announcement
At the event, ARTmania festival passes with special prices will be available to those who vote.
Right after the showcase, we’ll make the first artist announcement. From that moment on, price tickets go up on all our online platforms.
LOCATION
Quantic Club is located in Bucharest, about half an hour away from the city center.
Quantic Club can easily be reached by bike, public transport or car.
By Bus
Buses that stop close to or next to Quantic Club
105, 136, 139, 336
Bus stations next to or close to Quantic Club Bucharest:
- Podul Grozavesti, 4 min walking distance
- Economu Atanase Stoicescu, 4 min walking distance
- Universitatea Politehnica, 10 min walking distance
- Piata Leul, 10 min walking distance
By SUBWAY
M1 – Politehnica stop
M3 – Grozăvești stop
