We were lucky to catch up with Dimitri Kovachev recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dimitri, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

As we mostly know, happiness is a state of mind. On TV we’ve seen the happy faces of tribal uneducated people in remote places from remote locations and at the same time we know unhappy people, who by the contemporary standards have everything on a silver plate. I have been through different occupations, but creative work is one of the best ways for me to say who I am. People can see your face, but through your work of art can see your soul. For me creating music has always been the way I can express myself.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I started playing violin when I was 5-6 years old. Though I did not understand the deep beauty of music, I felt that there is more than meets the eye. As any young man during that time of my life I was fascinated by the music of the Beatles and somewhat the classical music started to feel as DÉJÀ VU. Soon after my mother bought me a guitar, I started to avoid violin lessons and to self educate myself on guitar and later on piano. The fact that I was educated on violin certainly did not immediately teach me how to play guitar. At this time of my life I was also involved in sports and within a few years, I was able to set a swimming national record in the 200 m. butterfly. When it came time for college, I again pursued another avenue, this time civil engineering. Later on the whole circle again came back to music and I started to write songs. I was very successful in it and soon some of the best known singers in my original country Bulgaria were performing them. While on the top of my career as a composer, song writer, sports person and engineer at the beginning of 1990 when the iron curtain failed, with my family we decided to relocate to the USA. Some new long years had to pass while I was trying to adjust to my new life in the new continent pursuing even a new career avenue for a while, the financial business. Finally at the end of the 90s I felt comfortable back in the music business. Since then I wrote a musical Under Manhattan Skyline based on the real life story of my former boss Val Ivanov, a fellow Bulgarian. The music captured Val’s inspiring rags to riches story from a small Bulgarian village to serving in the U.S. Army and eventually becoming a triumphant managing partner in a Manhattan Fortune 50 company, as profiled here by New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/25/nyregion/from-bulgaria-to-new-york-via-the-army.html

The music was recorded for a new album – “An Immigrant in New York.” in 2023.
I enjoy recording music with musicians around me: John Valeri, Alvin L. Giles, Jamie Strefeler, Ema Koi, Jochy Rodriguez, Konstantin Dimitrov etc. but also from another states: Rob Mullins, David Fogel, Alex Hahn from California, Van Galen Washington DC, and other foreign countries: Lyia Meta – Malasia, Martin Trotman – UK, Ivan Kyurkchiev – Germany etc.
Five years ago I started as a host of a one hour radio show. It came as an invitation from a radio station that was broadcasting my contemporary instrumental music, more on the side of fusion and smooth jazz. They asked for a one hour show reflecting on colleagues musicians, and the show ended up on more than 20 radio stations around the world. One just has to Google the name of the show “Lite Lounge with Dimitri K.” to find it on numerous digital networks such as Spotify, YouTube, iHeart, Apple Music and many more along with the radio broadcasts.

For the last 5 years I also became a Grammy Voting Member. Grammy is presented each year in the United States by either the National Academy of Recording Arts & Science. They are meant to recognize spectacular work in the music industry. I am proud to be part of the process.
My music and activities may be found via my site:
https://dimitrik.com

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

There is a saying out there, create your own life then go out and live it. Sounds trivial, but to a large extent it is true. My creativity, my music and songs express who I am. You do not need to know the people out there but via their reaction you understand what is the perception , approval or disapproval for what you do. Peoples reaction is the greatest barometer reflection on one’s creativity.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In my early years, just like any musician, composer, songwriter, I was very keen to have my music on the radio. Certainly I was interested to have one of the big performers at the time to sing my song. I was able to find the phone number and call the one I wanted most. The person on the other site said that he is a friend and the singer was not there but asked me what the reason for my call was. The calls that time were analogue and I was able to figure out that the person on the other side was not a friend of the singer, but the singer himself. Nevertheless I said that I am a new composer and have a great song for the singer to offer to perform. The person on the other side asked is the lyrics good and I read it over the phone, then he said is the song any good and asked me to perform over the phone which I did, At the end he said that was a great song and that he is not a friend of the singer, but the singer himself, invited me to meet in person at his home. As a result he took this song and a few others, recorded them and placed them in his upcoming LP and as a result they became one of the most popular songs in the 80s in my native country Bulgaria. It seems when you are prepared an opportunity can knock on the door or is a phone call away.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dimitrik.com
• Instagram: @dimitrik777
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dimitri.kovachev
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/
• Twitter: @DimitriK777
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL240eFG6LacR_A-8obho14RwZqKzyZKoG
• Other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgGG1iszRfk&list=PL240eFG6LacRTBkwoukZNI-a-J2rIiZA7&index=33

Image Credits

Photo credits by Dimitri Kovachev