Cezar on Romanian minimal: “No other cultural movement from Eastern Europe has achieved such global recognition”

How are you feeling about playing at this year’s UNTOLD Festival, do you have anything special planned?

This will be my second time attending UNTOLD Festival, following this year’s remarkable edition in Dubai. I view it as an excellent opportunity to present my musical vision. With each performance, I aim to create something unique, and this time will be no exception.

Who were your biggest influences when you started DJing, and which genres do you think most inspired Romanian minimal?

I was drawn to the creative and imaginative process of blending various tracks, genres, and sound aesthetics, crafting a unique new version of whatever I worked on. Developing my DJ skills and musical taste came naturally, but I have always been inspired by Praslea’s musicality, Rhadoo’s accuracy, Raresh’s vivacity, Luciano’s explosive energy, and Ricardo’s visionary approach.

Repetitive minimalism is a significant aspect of our artistic and cultural heritage. Romanian composers like Iancu Dumitrescu, Sorin Lerescu, Aurel Stroe, Horatiu Radulescu, Florian Nanu, Lucian Metianu, Doina Rotaru, Irina Hasnas and Yannis Xenakis have been benchmarks in the development of our genre.

Contemporary Romanian minimalism represents our unique approach to EDM, techno, and deep house, incorporating a distinctive blend of acoustic elements. It features orchestral, jazz, and traditional instruments that define our storytelling aesthetic.

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How do you think the global success of the genre impacts on Romanians’ sense of identity?

It’s strange that after the fall of communism, Romania was unable to produce a positive narrative that attracted international interest. No other cultural movement from Eastern Europe has achieved such global recognition. Yet, unlike in Berlin or London, where similar movements were supported by local authorities and helped foster a sense of identity, Romanian authorities showed no interest in offering opportunities or support for our communities to cultivate intergenerational relationships around our cultural movement. This progress was achieved solely through the efforts of artists, event organisers, club owners, booking agency’s and sponsors.

OurOwn vinyl has played a huge part in the rise of Ro-minimal as the only distributor of electronic music. It’s also nonprofit – talk me through that decision?

Since 2009, OurOwn distribution has been self-financed and operated on a nonprofit basis. All profits were reinvested to create various platforms for artists who were interested in our concept and had diverse interpretations of our sound aesthetics. The aim was to showcase our sound globally, alongside performances by Romanian DJs and unique events that garnered local and international attention from audiences.

After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1987-1989, local production capabilities in 1994 were practically nonexistent, and entering the vinyl market was challenging. Survival depended on outsourcing almost everything while remaining competitive. Our products, from mastering and design to pressing, were of the highest quality, leaving nothing to chance. We focused on small production batches and limited releases, creating truly special products for ourselves and our followers. Each release advanced our concept globally, from the U.S. to Japan, with Europe & UK as our primary markets.

In this very unwelcoming local environment, we managed to chart our journey, achieving over 100 releases across 15 different labels, with [a:rpia:r], Understand, Amphia, and Metereze embodying the essence of our concept. In 2017, the market shifted due to the rise of digital platforms and increasing vinyl production costs, forcing us to pause our initial concept. Creating a non-profit organisation to finance an underground musical movement was and remains a utopian ideal. Nonetheless, our distribution continues to operate on the principle of quality over quantity.