This new series under the name “The Story After” is where we’re going to be coming together and sharing the stories of the events that changed our lives.
What the heck happened last night, who did we run into, what was the highlight of the whole experience, were our outfits on point, and every other sweet little detail we cannot wait to tell our friends or flatmates the day after.
The list of people we’ve been eyeing for an interview is getting longer and longer, and you can also be a part of it! This is a space for anyone who’s ever attended an event (whether that’s a digital conference, a yoga retreat, a techno festival, or… you name it!) and has something to say about it.
How did it change your life? What did you learn? Who did you meet? What did you feel? Let’s talk about the connections we’ve made while we continue building new ones and co-create a memory book full of recollections we’d like to keep forever.
Who is Victor Valora?
My name is Viktor. I am a 26-year-old Bulgarian and I go by the stage name of Victor Valora. My music path started in my early teenage years when I was playing bass in a couple of local bands.
I started DJ-ing around the age of 18 and soon after became a resident of a local promoter called Under_Construction where I gained the needed experience behind the decks. Since then I’ve played at almost all relevant to my genre clubs and venues in the country, including top 100 (according to DJ Mag) “Yalta Club” and “Cacao Beach”. I was also a resident of a couple more local promoters and clubs. Currently, I am associated with the local promoter MusicRow owned by a couple of my best friends.
Outside of music, I enjoy snowboarding, wakeboarding, hiking, and playing Call of Duty.
You’ve been recognized as one of the top 25 participants from almost 4000 artists at the Elrow competition! Tell us about that experience.
When I first learned about the challenge from the Instagram page of Elrow’s Bulgarian partners “EXE”, I decided to participate just for the fun of it and did not have any expectations. I had already forgotten about it and was quite surprised to hear I was chosen from 4000 people to be one of the 250 to continue to round two.
For that round, I recorded a set for them, and for the next one, I did a track in the style of their label. At that point, there were only 25 of us left in the semi-final. For this stage, I had to record a 20-minute video of a DJ set. I found this part to be the most challenging one as a selection of only 5 tracks was not an easy job. Also, there was a lot of preparation for the video which I decided to film on the roof of my apartment building in Sofia. Getting the DJ table on the roof was an unexpectedly hard task as it didn’t fit through the entrance, and so we had to pull it in using a rope. By popular demand, I decided to upload the video to YouTube.
I was a bit disappointed to find out I didn’t pass to the final round but am overall very proud of myself for making it this far and for being the last person from the Balkan region left in the competition.
You were playing quite a lot during the summer. Which was your favorite gig?
This summer I had a lot of gigs at the seaside but my most frequent venue was one of my favorite clubs, Cacao Beach, which is legendary for the Bulgarian club scene.
Without a doubt, I can rate the season-opening party of that club to be my favorite gig. It was packed and the vibes were amazing, the crowd was going wild, and I played alongside some of my best friends in the industry: Peter Petkov, Alessio Bianchi, and Pacho. I can’t really find the words to describe how good it felt.
What have you always wanted to say to your community?
A big thanks to all my friends and fans who have been supporting my work throughout my musical journey! And to those who are still not convinced I kick *ss in the booth, I’d like to invite you to one of my gigs, and let’s talk after you hear me play.
What are some festivals you dream of playing at?
Well, I would lie if I told you I haven’t dreamt about playing at Elrow’s parties since getting into the competition.
Another goal of mine is the Music On festival as I’ve been a huge fan of their work and music. Playing at Ibiza venues like Ushuaïa and Amnesia is also on my bucket list. These are the top clubs and event organizations for my style of music.
Share a track you’ve been dancing to non-stop these days.
This is the hardest question of them all. It’s nearly impossible to choose just one track, so I’ll share one of my all-time favorite collaborations with my man Peter Hatman which always hits the crowd just right:
Peter and I have been making music together since the very beginning when we used to be a duo. He is, by far, my number one person to collaborate with and we do so quite often.
If you like it, check out what else I have on my channel!
Follow Victor everywhere: Facebook, SoundCloud, Spotify, Instagram
