In my previous blog, I was so excited about being asked to document my experience that I might have jumped all over the place trying to paint a complete picture. Luckily, I was asked to write a follow-up blog detailing my journey towards Queen's and the motivations behind all the changes I made over the years. So, this is it - stick around and you’ll find out how luck and momentum add up to create the picture-perfect life I have envisioned since I was a kid.

In this blog, I will take you back and give you a glimpse into the experiences that made me develop a true passion for sound.

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The early years

I did not experience communism in Romania but I have interacted with people who lived through it - I was born three months after the regime fell. Art was not on peoples' minds and patience was hard to find; growing up with an interest in music was hard, there was discouragement at every step, no proper equipment or knowledge accessible anywhere; and people were very territorial and arrogant about the little accomplishments they would make.

In my early years, I played with a starter keyboard and sang to myself but my parents did not see any talent in me, and I was definitely not allowed to sing or play instruments loudly in the house until sometime in my 20s. I also remember being constantly criticised by my band mates (some of who are my best friends), as well as other musicians being mean and unappreciative of each other’s work all the time.

National Theatre Bucharest

So, the atmosphere sucked for everyone, not only me, but despite this the scene was growing, skills were improving, the audience grew, and bands began to diversify and bring new elements. I was part of the TNB (Bucharest’s National Theatre) generation, which was the Bucharest punk movement version.

Basically, a lot of 80s-90s kids were in their early adulthood trying to define their personalities, play a role, be someone, make a change, all that. Metal was already kind of established when I started poking into the scene, with punk was becoming the new thing.

Discovering my passion

Being around 14 years old, in my first year of high school, I felt like I had discovered a gold mine when my classmate asked me to come hang out in front of the theatre. I had an older brother who was also going out a lot, so my parents allowed me enough freedom to be out late almost every day.

Naturally, I became a regular visitor to the big marble steps in front of the theatre where occasionally I would meet some of the best people, some who are still close friends now. At some point some of the TNB enthusiasts started picking up instruments and playing loud rebellious music and when I found out about it, naturally I did not want to miss out on the fun!

I begged my parents for an electric guitar and about a year later I got it! I then almost immediately started playing with my friends and we were all learning, hanging out, criticising each other, drinking beer and having fun. They would say I sucked at playing because I made a lot of mistakes while performing but then again, I was writing most of the music and lyrics we would play, so I guess I had my use.

Playing in local blues band Dust Broomers

I definitely did not see it at the time but I was going through a mix of imposter syndrome combined with a fear of missing out, thinking I’m not good enough to take the attention of crowds while at the same time not wanting to miss out on the chance to be on stage.

I played in local venues with the blues band 'Dust Broomers' for around 18 months, we played blues rock covers of 'Muddy Waters' and the like and had some original tracks too.

That eventually fell apart because of stress and the fact that we were not really blues rock fans, not all of us. I was always drawn more towards the melodic, interconnected aspect of sound. I started turning towards psychedelic rock and began listening to The Beatles and The Doors then later to bands like Kyuss, Truckfighters, 100Mods, etc.

University studies in Romania and discovering Psytrance

At the same time, high school was finished and my father told me I could go to university if I want to but I needed to start earning money. My parents paid for the first semester of the first year of my undergraduate studies and I got a scholarship for the last year of my master’s degree, but all the rest was paid from my own salary as a video game tester at EA Games for a brief period, then Ubisoft for about four years and working nights at Hard Rock Café and Amber Studios (a Romanian video game studio).

I was working, studying and rehearsing with my friends as often as possible. Most of us were living similarly busy lives, so we did not think much of it, we kept going. Now two of my friends are doctors, one an architect, a programmer and a stage and costume designer. Most also kept some connection to music and their instruments.

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Around the time I was wrapping up my master studies on Psychotherapy, I realised how much money I would need to launch myself as a psychologist in Romania. Around that same time, I got really drawn into electronic music, I started with chill out Bonobo style music and then eventually, at Waha Festival’s 1st edition in 2012, I experienced Psytrance in the forest, and I instantly fell in love with it.

At first, it’s a fast and scary electronic music environment with funky dressed people. But if you stay for a bit, you will realise it opens a world of sonic possibilities, which for sound design and funky fast groove enthusiasts is an absolute delight to listen and dance to.

Music was still on the 3rd spot for most of the time, I would work as a quality assurance engineer, testing serious software and making money to buy music festival tickets and instruments I would barely end up playing at all.

I then got accepted on an Erasmus programme in Norway at 27 years old, where I realised that if I wanted to keep trying my luck at living a life where I get to play around with sounds most of the time, it would have to be abroad in a place with possibilities.

The move to Belfast

One friend gave me an opportunity to start a life in Belfast and I took it, he showed me around and hosted me until I got my first job in Marks & Spencer and then I was off to a new start in a new world, eager to try out new possibilities.

It took around two years to stabilise myself in Belfast, to rent my own house, meet my soon be to wife and continue to build my IT career of now around 10 years overall, with some breaks in between. I worked a lot and saved money, got to meet people from the scenes I was interested in and tried to get involved in as many music projects as I could.

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The situation is different in Belfast than in Bucharest, the economy is way better, people have access to good equipment and they are properly trained, knowledge is accessible, audiences are way more accepting, and musicians encourage and support each other… miles different to what I was used to at home!

I met the Psytrance community in Belfast and they welcomed me, I’ve learned a lot about producing music, mainly Psytrance, and about how to DJ and organise events. I’ve been part of the United Tribes Festival crew, now in its 3rd edition, from day one. I got to DJ at multiple events and experience various roles around the festival period. It feels like I am part of a big family, meeting loads of inspiring emerging artists on the underground scene feels again like I struck a gold mine.

Together with my wife we made a clear target of savings and, one year later than anticipated, about four overall, we bought our first home, we were still able to afford one person working part time as we do not have any kids, so it was a now or never deal.

"I truly feel I currently live the picture-perfect life as I become more and more confident in my audio manipulation skills and finally have the time and equipment to allow my passion to manifest and grow. This is what I always wanted!"

My journey at Queen's

Before beginning to study at Queen's around one year ago, I was just growing my SoundCloud page by playing a few gigs a year and home brewing psytrance. Now, I do the same but more: I am collaborating on a few tracks with different artists, I have several of my own tracks in the works and have created way more, I launched “Dissecting the Artist” show on Queen's Radio, ended my school year with amazing grades and am still very much part of the Psytrance community, helping with the final touches before our United Tribes Festival at the end of June.

I truly feel I currently live the picture-perfect life as I become more and more confident in my audio manipulation skills and finally have the time and equipment to allow my passion to manifest and grow. This is what I always wanted!

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The cocktail of doubt and not wanting to be left out is still there and it’s both an obstacle and a driving force, it keeps me active and invested, and at times quite terrified of performing.

To conclude, after many attempts to quit this idea of music and sound, I realised that I cannot quit even if I try. As soon as get any piece of spare time, I come back to sound and it is only now, after many years of struggles, that my creations are becoming more and more satisfying to build and listen to. It’s truly exciting!

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Sonic Arts Research Centre at Queen's

Romania: Admissions Guide

George Manea   Music and Sound Design | Undergraduate Student | Romania I am currently in a career break after more than 10 years of software testing. I have taken a leap of faith and began studying my long-life passion for sound manipulation and music production. Wish me luck!