about the artist

 PAUL ILEA

     biography

 Romanian musician and multi-award winning artist (composer, producer, DJ, performer, film score composer –  currently owner at Kult Studio Records and music producer for The Voice-Romania), Paul Ilea emerged early in his musical character and has remained essentially constant throughout his career: he is an artist with eclectic musical interests, a theatrical, dramatic bent, and most certainly  an uncompromising attitude toward his art.

Paul began his musical training at the age of 6 when he started studying violin, though his first contact with a musical instrument had begun at 3 when he received a guitar as a gift from his grandmother. Later on at the age of 11 he began to teach himself guitar, bass guitar and percussion. He studied his first 12 years at the Sigismund Toduta Music School from Cluj Napoca and then the “Gheorghe Dima” Music Academy, studying composition and later pedagogical music classes. However, the academic character that most influenced Paul throughout his artistic preparation was composer, professor  and conductor Constantin Ripa,  Paul being a proud member of  the famous contemporary music choir Antifonia ever since his first year at the Academy. There, he met Cosmin Gherghinoiu (Ipse, Sensor, Moonlight Breakfast) which invited Paul to be a keyboard player in his progressive rock band called IPSE, which literally took over the Romanian rock festivals scene in the following years.

In his last year at the Academy Paul became the official composer for Hans’n’Feet, initially a “body music” group, which subsequently changed its name into Sensor, a group which revolutionized the Romanian showbizz industry ,  as it relied on a whole new idea: a mix of electronica sounds and percussion on unconventional instruments. Winning the CD Radio Award for Most Original Group Sensor in 1999,  and later on the MTV Award for No. 1 Single „Help Yourself” in 2005, Best Sound Award at Romanian Music Awards in 2009, VIP Music Award for Best Group in 2011 and nominee to Best Electronica Artist at AIM Music Awards California, US in 2013. 

Sensor became a dance-electronica innovative phenomenon, exploring many genres and arts and performing throughout Europe in many different venues. As a band leader, Paul composed the music for all Sensor albums, starting with the very first „Lands”, the only Romanian world-fusion album, in a show planned together with director Tudor Giurgiu at the National Opera in Bucharest, followed by 5 further albums, among which the latest „U.S.B. – Urban Symphonik Beats” was released in late 2013.

The world of theater also embraced Paul’s fresh perspective on entertainment with Sakadat Extrasensorial in 2001, an unconventional percussion show which had 2 seasons at the Bulandra Theater and one at the National Theater and for which Paul entirely composed the music, performed, was the stage-director and co-directed together with Dan Chisu, which brought them the VIP Magazine Award for the Most Original Show in 2001.  In 2013 , Paul made the soundtrack for Folia, Shakespeare &Co., a dance-theatre show signed by the renowned coreographer Gigi Caciuleanu.

With such a producer and composer exciting career and also a very long list of live performing events in which he shared the stage with the world’s famous artists, Paul founded Kult Studio in 2008, an umbrella company meant to engage an array of talented artists, a Production company with artists collaborators such as Mara, Sensor, Mongol (this electronic artist is actually Paul’s alter-ego /solo project), Mono, Lennox Buppy Brown, Ioana Marchidan, Ioana Macarie, Judith State and also engaging in the show production and in the film area.  In this later area he  composed several original soundtracks in Romanian Motion movies such as  Deaf Sounds (short film), Chasing Rainbows (“Si Caii Sunt Verzi Pe Pereti”) –nomination at the Gopo Awards in 2013 for Best Soundtrack , Plansa (It Takes 2 TO Fence) and his music was featured in movies like : Milionari De Weekend , Web Site Story, Cu Un Pas Inainte, I’m Not Famous But I’m Aromanian, Youtube Bazzar etc.In 2013 he was the music supervisor for Universal Pictures production – “Scorpion King 4”.

Furthermore, Paul has actively been involved in the advertising area both in audio productions (for brands like: Heineken Romania, Seat, Mol, Coca-Cola, Orange, Dakino, Finlandia, Marlboro, Pall Mall, Vodafone, Renault etc.) and video adds & music supervision (for campaigns such as J&B City Remix 2011, Ciuc SUMMER 2010 etc).Paul ILEA also collaborated with fashion brands or artists , composing original music for shows like Fashion Week Paris – Jolidon 2004, 2005, Fashion Week Budapest 2001,Touareg Collection by Liza Panait, Pantha Rhei Collection by Florin Dobre, Laura8 and others

In 2014 Paul Ilea is starting his collaboration with Protv as a Music Producer and Head Of The Band for:

  “The Voice”-Romania,season 4-7 (now preparing season 8)   

The Voice Kids Romania (Vocea Junior) 2 seasons.

Dancing With The Stars -Romania (Uite Cine Danseaza)-1st season

music producer for  best tv show in  Romania, Romania”s Got Talent -season 7 and the finals in season 6

Awards and nominations:

2016- member of the jury @ UCIN AWARDS  -Premiile Uniunii Cineastilor 

2015 – UCIN AWARD -best original score in a motion picture  for PLANSA and Folia By & By Gigi Caciuleanu

2013 -nominee at Gopo Awards for best original score in a motion picture with “Si Caii Sunt Verzi Pe Pereti”

2013- nominee at AIMM Awards , Hollywood, Los Angeles – for best electronica independent artist 

2012-VIP Magazin award for best music group -SENSOR

2009 – Romanian Music Awards – BEST SOUND Award with Sensor2005 – MTV Award for best video single -Sensor -“Help YOurself”

2003-VIP Magazine Award for the most original show of the year -Sakadat

Releases, Discography:

2018-Mculture -Ched de Chef (Cat Music)

2015 : Mara   – “Ma Bike ” single (RotonMusic)

2014 :Touareg Dream – Music for Liza Panait fashion show

2014: Sensor – Figure Out (Skillz Records)

2014  Mongol – “You Got It” & “The Stairz” singles – Kult Studio Records

2014 PLANSA- original soundtrack

2013 – Sensor – U.S.B.  Urban Symphonik Beats – album (KULT STUDIO Records)

2013- Mongol – “Da Roots” single , “ August” LP KS Records

2013 – Si Caii Sunt Verzi Pe Pereti – Original soundtrack

2012 – Mara – In Love with Love – album producer and composer (KULT STUDIO Records)

2011- How Do You Know Remix for Gaoler’s Daughter UK

2009 – Sensor –Best, Unreleased album

2008 – Sensor – Sensuous Moods – 40 min mix

2008 – Sensor Club Mix – promo, club music

2005 – Sensor – Help Yourself – single no.1 at MTV Romanian top 40

2004 – Sensor – 5 Minute single (feat. Mono)

2004 – Sensor – E-volution – album (EMI Romania)

2002 – Sensor – Lands – album (A&A Records)

1997- Ipse promo  album

Artists collaborators : Yehudi Menuhin, Gigi Caciuleanu, Inna, Coolio, Haddaway, Damian Draghici, Dan Chisu, Loredana Groza, Smiley, Gaoler’s Daughter, Marius Mihalache, Lora, Mandinga, Tudor Giurgiu, Ioana Marchidan, Paul Di Franco, Freedom Williams, Lennox Buppy Brown, Mc Bean, Junkyard, Mara, Mc Tina, 7th Flower, and many more.