Who we are?
Still Awake is a Melodic Metal band from Munich, Germany that combines progressive guitar riffs and juicy Heavy Metal parts with a strong female voice. Their musical and cultural diversity is reflected by their style - no song is either hard or soft, but they span a wide spectrum to which the audience may dance, cry and bang their heads.
Albert and Alex played in another band before Still Awake was formed. They met Timea on the Metal Meets Classic 2013 festival in Munich, Germany. Two years later Alex's and Albert's band split up, but they wanted to continue making music together and invited Timea, who also just departed from her band and was happy to join them for some jam sessions. They all soon realised that they musically complement each other and after a few songs were written and recorded at Albert Studios, they played their first concert on his birthday without a bass player. Albert who was already helping out at the Servus Transilvania 2016, managed to get a slot at the festival for the band, which was still missing a name and bassist.
Benni was one of the few bassists who was ready and able to learn the whole set of the band and quickly won over their hearts. In the very long night leading to the day when they had to send the final documents to the festival’s organisation, they discussed possible band names for many hours and finally settled on Still Awake.
TÍMEA GÖGHOVA
Vocals
My parents got to know each other in a choir. My mom fell in love in the deep baritone of my dad and my dad in the deep decoltee of my mum. LOL So I guess singing was put in my cradle.
I have always been an energy bundle, much for the unluck of my parents. I am someone, who needs permanent action and can hardly come to rest. I love music with power, screams and lots of guitar solos, but I also love nice melodies touching your soul. So in writing music I have the carrot and stick approach. I grew up with The Wall; Emerson, Lake and Palmer and Iron Maiden among others. At the moment I love progressive music but also oriental influences: Dream Theater, Panzerballett, Myrath.
For me the music of still Awake unites pretty much everything I love in music.
ALBERT MATHE
Lead Guitar
The Romanian guitar player taught himself how to play at a young age. As not being able to afford strings he had to take them from old, unused guitars.
After a few years he moved to Germany and started as a bass player for several Metal bands (e.g. Pike`s Edge, Herzparasit) as he had not played the guitar for a while and felt that he was not good enough to be a guitar player in a band. But soon he missed his favorite instrument so he started practicing intensively again and began to write songs together with Timéa to found their new band Still Awake.
Albert`s dedication, his ability to focus on his goals and to dream big is driving the band every time again.
ALEX SCHULZ
Drums
My fascination with the drums ignited in my earliest childhood, more precisely when I was two years old. It was my cousin's drum set that sparked an indelible passion within me. Every time we visited my aunt and uncle, I was magically drawn to the basement, where I would eagerly play on the instrument. This fascination was sealed on a Christmas morning when I received my first drum set – a Mickey Mouse drum set, but for me, it marked the beginning of a lifelong love. Contrary to my parents' expectations that this interest might be just a fleeting whim, my passion for the drums has only deepened over more than three decades.
Playing the drums is more than just music to me; it is a form of liberation. Behind the drums, I can completely let go and find my true self. It gives me a sense of completeness and being fully immersed in the moment, which is irreplaceable by anything else. Sharing this inner joy and energy that I feel while playing with others brings me the greatest pleasure.
MICK KUHNERT
Bass
Although i was raised in a non-musical family, i have always been a huge fan of Heavy Metal music. Linkin Park and In Flames were the first bands i admired. As I became older, my taste in music shifted to more progressive styles of metal like Tool or Dream Theater.
The beautiful and complex rhythms were the sparks which got me to buy my first electric bassguitar. I made the mistake and learned everything by myself, which is why i have a lot of flaws in my technique. But that won't hold me back on stage or in the studio.
Because I am almost always inspired to write songs, i also picked up the acoustic guitar.
Since then I have written dozens of songs for my former band and I am looking forward to present you more with Still Awake.
VLADIMIR MOSKVA
Guitar
My musical journey began as a child, discovering the piano at the age of five. For over a decade, I immersed myself in its world, mastering its intricacies and finding solace in the melodies that flowed from my fingertips. Yet, upon graduating from music school, a new path beckoned – the raw power and expressive freedom of the electric guitar.
Now, as a metal guitarist, I draw inspiration from the rich harmonies and complex structures of progressive metal, while the discipline and melodic sensibilities of my classical roots continue to shape my sound.
Albert and Alex played in another band before Still Awake was formed. They met Timea on the Metal Meets Classic 2013 festival in Munich, Germany. Two years later Alex's and Albert's band split up, but they wanted to continue making music together and invited Timea, who also just departed from her band and was happy to join them for some jam sessions.
They all soon realised that they musically complement each other and after a few songs were written and recorded at Albert Studios, they played their first concert on his birthday without a bass player. Albert who was already helping out at the Servus Transilvania 2016, managed to get a slot at the festival for the band, which was still missing a name and bassist.
Benni was one of the few bassists who was ready and able to learn the whole set of the band and quickly won over their hearts. In the very long night leading to the day when they had to send the final documents to the festival’s organisation, they discussed possible band names for many hours and finally settled on Still Awake.