Unconditioned
The Bulgarian rock band Intelligent Music Project will release its seventh studio album entitled “Unconditioned” in July.
The legendary Simon Phillips (TOTO, Protocol) returns as percussionist and musical co-producer of the new album, while the lead vocalist on this release will again be one of the most popular names in rock music today: Ronnie Romero (Rainbow, MSG). This will be Romero’s third album with Intelligent Music Project, and for the first time the group has expanded its compositional approach: two of the songs are entirely the work of Ronnie, Biser Ivanov and Ivo Stefanov. For the first time on “Unconditioned,” the band’s lead singer shows off his skills as a lyricist, having penned the words to those two songs. All the other songs and lyrics are once again the creation of Intelligent Music Project’s founder and producer, Dr. Milen Vrabevski.
In honor of the tenth anniversary of the band’s first album, “The Power Of Mind,” the seventh album follows its format and also begins and ends with instrumental tracks written by Dr. Milen Vrabevski in collaboration with Biser Ivanov and Ivo Stefanov.
“Unconditioned” is an album dedicated to unconditional love as a deciding factor in normalizing our modern life. This love has to be focused above all on our children, because they are the future, while we are the ones who need to show them the way and teach them to make bold decisions and to live for the people around them. Only with more such people will the world become a better place” – Dr. Vrabevski about the new album
One hit track from “Unconditioned” is “Intention” – the song the band played as Bulgaria’s representative to Eurovision 2022 in Torino. Besides the Eurovision version, the album will also include the original, longer take, which sticks to Intelligent Music Project’s signature melodic progressive style, as well as a karaoke version.
“Intention” was the first single from Intelligent Music Project’s seventh album. At the moment, the song has more than one million views/listens on YouTube and Spotify. The song raises the question of every individual’s personal, internal battle with outdated models of belief and behavior that hold them back. Starting from the title itself, the author underscores the simple fact that it is never too late to start down the right path – the path of your own personal growth, of dignified existence and of life with a mission. The song calls us to turn away from our ego, selfishness and a consumerist attitude on life and instead to live for the people around us.
“Finding the right path, however, often turns into a battle with one’s self, so you need a serious intention to truly make a change!” Dr. Milen Vrabevski, the author of the music and lyrics of “Intention” notes.
The album’s second single, “New Hero,” came out in early May. The song was accompanied by a striking video that recreated a military atmosphere, where, in synch with the idea behind the album, the main characters were children. In the video’s narrative, it is precisely the children who turn out to be the brave heroes who bring about change.
“Effective action in the present, despite difficulties, is the key to progress. It is crucial for us to know that pretty words get us nowhere. It is easy to stand silently and do what you’re told. The harder but only effective thing is for a person to have their own opinion, their own method of resisting injustice, even if this means they often finds themselves alone and misunderstood,” Dr. Vrabevski explains.
In addition to Simon Phillips and Ronnie Romero, the album also includes Carl Sentance (Nazareth), Slavin Slavchev, Lina Nicole, and Borislav Mudolov-Kosatkata on backing vocals; Dimitar Sirakov on bass; Samuel Eftimov on piano; Ivo Stefanov on keyboards; and Biser Ivanov on guitar.
The album is released on July 27, the day of Ronnie Romero’s wedding to Romanian model Corina Minda, where Drs. Milen and Rossitsa Vrabevski serve as best man and maid of honor.
Pre-order the new album “Unconditional” at www.intelligent-music.com.
Lyrics and producer’s notes
And I can move on from here
How simple: life goes on
Humble – that’s how I feel
Sparking hot flames, holding on.
Vs2/ Younger days run so clear
Through my mind, replaying my crime
Tearing me up, spreading fear
Obsession in my own time.
Br/ What life’s taken away, I’m not missing
Will I sit back and sigh?
A thunder of thoughts, I’m dismissing
Too scared to even try…
Ch/ And in time I’ve always known
I’m never in the safety zone
I took the fight, but was I right?
They were sending me to war…
Vs3/ My intention is strong and real
Only power steels my will.
The illusion of safety’s surreal
Don’t let it go for the kill!
Br/ What life’s taken away, I’m not missing
Will I sit back and sigh?
A thunder of thoughts, I’m dismissing
Too scared to even try…
Ch/ And in time I’ve always known
I’m never in the safety zone
I took the fight, but was I right?
They were sending me to war…
Midpart/ I don’t want to take on the pain
So, I go seek inner signs, or a calling
The more freedom I gain
The less real life I’m recalling.
Ch/ And in time I’ve always known
I’m never in the safety zone
I took the fight, but was I right?
They were sending me to war…
Music and lyrics by Milen Vrabevski, MD
Arrangement: Milen Vrabevski, MD, Ivo Stefanov, Biser Ivanov
Vs1/
Anything you dream, everything you want
All the ways you walked, a purpose on their own…
Fill your mind with hope, fuel your heart with love
The key to open any door.
Ch/
Step on the bright side, fear’s a state of mind
Come down to Sunshine Boulevard
Follow the guiding light, I tell you it’ll be alright
Come down to Sunshine Boulevard.
Vs2/
Every step you take, leads you to the edge
Follow what you feel, it is no mistake
Passion is in our souls, turns on our inner glow
Magic will shine after all
Ch/
Step onto the bright side, fear’s a state of mind
Come down to Sunshine Boulevard
Follow the guiding light, I tell you it will be alright
Come down to Sunshine Boulevard.
Midpart/
And the love you carry inside, a treasure in your eyes,
Wherever you go …
Ch/
Step onto the bright side, fear’s a state of mind
Come down to Sunshine Boulevard
Follow the guiding light, I tell you it will be alright
Come down to Sunshine Boulevard.
Music by Biser Ivanov, Ivo Stefanov, Ronnie Romero
Lyrics: Ronnie Romero
Arrangement: Biser Ivanov, Ivo Stefanov, Ronnie Romero
Lyrics: Ronnie Romero
Vs 1/
Hey, how are you? Have you ever felt the morning silence,
Share what is true, what it tells about tomorrow
CH/
Here again your soul can borrow –
Any time will do.
A guilty heart keeps burning through that
Borrowed time for you…
Vs 2/
Say, is it true? Your own truth in troubled times is guidance
When it won’t do to forget about the sorrow…
CH/
Here again your soul can borrow –
Any time will do.
A guilty heart keeps burning through that
Borrowed time for you…
Mid-Part/ And you seem to notice, trying to find the real You,
Passion’s what you really promise to yourself, in anything you do.
And for you the bliss runs through, to show you’ve gone that far…
Yes, indeed, things are what they are.
Vs 3/ Hey, what to do? Your own life’s the place to make things happen
See me, see me through. An authentic life’s an arrow…
CH/
Here again your soul can borrow –
Any time will do.
A guilty heart keeps burning through that
Borrowed time for you…
Music and lyrics by Milen Vrabevski, MD
Arrangement: Milen Vrabevski, MD, Ivo Stefanov, Biser Ivanov
Vs1/
Trying to define my blue morning
Hoping it makes my whole day.
I’m looking to find a way, and without warning
Stories are losing their say.
Vs2/
And I am fine with restoring
My rights to face the bright sun.
The dark is the flip side of my life’s story
But light can be second to none.
Br/ You may know you’ve hit your prime
When you see the blues run over
Through senseless stretches of your time
All by ego’s orders.
Ch/ Slipping, rolling throughout a blue morning
Giving the feel of all day.
No more crawling, I’m facing my dawning
I’m bridging the gaps all the way.
Vs3/ I’ve tried showing off with my knowing
Trying to teach them what’s right
I embraced the warmth of two souls glowing
New meanings shine through in my sight.
Br/ You may know you’ve hit your prime
When you see the blues run over
Through senseless stretches of your time
All by ego’s orders.
Ch/ Slipping, rolling throughout a blue morning
Giving the feel of all day.
No more crawling, I’m facing my dawning
I’m bridging the gaps all the way.
Midpart1/ A thrill, tonight, I feel it take me over
The wheel of life
It stays and casts a spell on me
Midpart2/ There’s this kind of singalong in it
On the edge, no fear, just sky
Мake your move, don’t waste any minute
It may be your chance to fly
Ch/ Slipping, rolling throughout a blue morning
Giving the feel of all day.
No more crawling, I’m facing my dawning
I’m bridging the gaps all the way.
Music and lyrics by Milen Vrabevski, MD
Arrangement: Milen Vrabevski, MD, Ivo Stefanov, Biser Ivanov
Pr1/
So, I opened my eyes and knew
My mind is set on you
What I expect, what I figure is true
So, I opened my eyes for you…
Pr2/
You’ve really moved on. The fear’s gone.
Memories in time come back to you.
The melody is strong, as you play it now
Like it was your own.
Vs 1/
You just needed this time to define
You were led down ahead through this moment
When you feel you’re away / with no reason to stay
And you find it hard to comment…
Ch/
Life is so concise, you see the price
That you’re bound to pay each & every minute
But deep within your eyes, you grow and rise
The closure of an oath, the fiction, as you see it now.
Vs 2/
You were bleeding, but you were alive
Aiming to learn falling down is no failure,
Being hurt is no reason, through the dirt and the treason
To assume this is your life’s trailer…
Ch/
Life is so concise, you see the price
That you’re bound to pay each & every minute
But deep within your eyes, you grow and rise
The closure of an oath, the fiction, as you see it now.
Midpart (Pr.1 Reprise)/
So, I opened my eyes and knew
My mind is set on you
What I expect, what I figure is true
So, I opened my eyes for you…
Ch/
Life is so concise, you see the price
That you’re bound to pay each & every minute
But deep within your eyes, you grow and rise
The closure of an oath, the fiction, as you see it now.
Music and lyrics by Milen Vrabevski, MD
Arrangement: Milen Vrabevski, MD, Ivo Stefanov, Biser Ivanov
Vs1/
I gotta face it, oh, Lord, I gotta face it
The trickiest plunder of all
Yes, indeed, I rob myself, I get it…
I don’t like confessions at all.
Vs2/
The light in tunnels, oh, calls me like a beacon
My happiness is the control
Over my desires, and makes me weaken,
With no expectations at all…
Br/
See how it looks, plans go down again
Look how we fill in the sight
Then I check out all the noisy big names
They’re no longer my ride.
Ch/
Yes, I try to make it work
Try again, fix it, then deliver it
And throughout that crazy blur
My so-called faith is at the heart of it
Vs3/
And I see it, oh, and I try to take it
The long ride to happiness shows
Hopes and fears ain’t the present, get it
I’m focused on that simple prose
Br/
See how it looks, plans go down again
Look how we fill in the sight
Then I check out all the noisy big names
They’re no longer my ride.
Ch/
Yes, I try to make it work
Try again, fix it, then deliver it
And throughout that crazy blur
My so-called faith is at the heart of it
Midpart/
Ah, take me down to a profane profile
Ah, take me straight to the best-laid plans now.
And I will head down to that real long ride
Playing fair … That’s my share.
Br/
See how it looks, plans go down again
Look how we fill in the sight
Then I check out all the noisy big names
They’re no longer my ride.
Ch/
Yes, I try to make it work
Try again, fix it, then deliver it
And throughout that crazy blur
My so-called faith is at the heart of it
Music and lyrics by Milen Vrabevski, MD
Arrangement: Milen Vrabevski, MD, Ivo Stefanov, Biser Ivanov
Vs1/
If you can’t go ahead, can’t get it out of your head,
And the rest is silence…
And you can’t see a sign, and you’re out of your mind
There’s this truth you find…
Vs2/
If you stand in their shoes, problems stay on the lоose
See the way you’re driven.
You are left with the scraps of your trampled-on pride.
But that’s just one side…
Br/
So, you’re longing to pray, trying to save the tears
You were hoping to say: ‘I’m here to cease all fears…’
Ch/ And you can do something
In this state of mind. Any time you can hear this call
It’s getting easy to find
This little piece of madness in your eyes up here…
Casting smiles through all your fears.
Vs3/
If up against the ropes, you won’t give up your hopes
But you can’t express them.
While what others might hear when their comfort is clear
Is what will impress them…!
Br/
So, you’re longing to pray, trying to save the tears
You were hoping to say: ‘I’m here to cease all fears…’
Ch/ And you can do something
In this state of mind. Any time you can hear this call
It’s getting easy to find
This little piece of madness in your eyes up here…
Casting smiles through all your fears.
Midpart I/
I’ve made up my mind. Although it’s hard to decide, I won’t linger.
The meanings I find beyond what I can touch with my fingers…
Midpart II/
Trying to feel the love that is so inviting…
Looking at the stars I was thinking of.
Yeah, they are so far, yet their light is guiding
And you’re guided from above…
Br/
So, you’re longing to pray, trying to save the tears
You were hoping to say: ‘I’m here to cease all fears…’
Ch/ And you can do something
In this state of mind. Any time you can hear this call
It’s getting easy to find
This little piece of madness in your eyes up here…
Casting smiles through all your fears.
You’ve been trying through all those years
Music and lyrics by Milen Vrabevski, MD
Arrangement: Milen Vrabevski, MD, Ivo Stefanov, Biser Ivanov
Vs1/
I am a dreamer, nobody told me I was wrong.
Need to believe it, then I move on (I can’t fly alone).
Br/
Always looking for your love,
With no fear of failing.
Life is more than just one try, what if you fly?
Vs2/
Destiny is calling, are you prepared to walk that way?
taking our chances, this is our time.
Br/
Searching for a reason why,
But it was there,
Just to face it and look up, the brighter sky.
Ch/
And the stars never fall, they keep shining for you
Do you want to know how we can get that far?
Cause it’s our destiny, it’s the only way for us
Just believe this is our chance…and the stars never fall.
Solo
Ch/
And the stars never fall, they keep shining for you
Do you want to know how we can get that far?
Cause it’s our destiny, it’s the only way for us
Just believe this is our chance…and the stars never fall.
Music by Biser Ivanov, Ivo Stefanov, Ronnie Romero
Lyrics: Ronnie Romero
Arrangement: Biser Ivanov, Ivo Stefanov, Ronnie Romero
Lyrics: Ronnie Romero
Vs1/
Do we need ‘before’ to last a lifetime?
Would I ask for more in a better world?
I kept my flags unfurled.
My ship was blown ashore, by a siren’s song,
To my next compromise…,
Just a conformist, with another set of lies.
Ch/
I hide my spirit away. Am I hiding myself at all?
Was there so much to say, while praying? A confession to free my soul…
Vs2/
Did I love myself the one I seemed to be
As time was passing by I found my pride
Would put me on my knees.
It turns me upside down. Would I agree?
I hoped you all could see
my concept of life… I’m alive!
Ch/
I hide my spirit away. Am I hiding myself at all?
Was there so much to say, while praying? A confession to free my soul…
Midpart/
‘Boring’, so I was thinking. ‘I’m feeding my demons’ soul’.
Yet, it is hope I’m bringing, and the demons look so small…
Ch/
I hide my spirit away. Am I hiding myself at all?
Was there so much to say, while praying? A confession to free my soul…
Music and lyrics by Milen Vrabevski, MD
Arrangement: Milen Vrabevski, MD, Ivo Stefanov, Biser Ivanov
Preamble/
The night’s voices enlighten me…
The right choices to let me be…
Vs1/
In the course of time something’s always striking me…
What I’ve got to prove lies there in my sight.
Holding back its meaning my life’s no jeopardy.
And again I’m blown by winds of the night.
Ch/
Late in the night the Inner Me is calling…
Late in the night a chance to set me free.
Nothing feels right until my life’s recalling
The love that created me…
Vs2/
Deeper into life, my pulse keeps directing me
It reveals my own truth my own birthright…
A dominating falsehood has always affected me
Yet, I find my way through late every night.
Ch/
Late in the night the Inner Me is calling…
Late in the night a chance to set me free.
Nothing feels right until my life’s recalling
The love that created me…
MidPart/
It’s my magic at night, when I’m still on the run
Chasing doubts, I see beauty can’t be undone.
A desire to explore, with no fear of heights
That’s what I get all night!
Solo
The night’s voices enlighten me…
The right choices to let me be…
Ch/
Late in the night the Inner Me is calling…
Late in the night a chance to set me free.
Nothing feels right until my life’s recalling
The love that created me…
Music and lyrics by Milen Vrabevski, MD
Arrangement: Milen Vrabevski, MD, Ivo Stefanov, Biser Ivanov
Vs1/
Always the captain on board
Trying to fix every wasted hour
Counting up what you scored
But often the taste is so sour.
Vs2/
Accustomed to life in a box
Tryin’ to enjoy every single flower
You rush with the winds in your locks
Climbing the playground towers…
Ch/
You can play the brand-new hero,
Doubts can make your dreams be gone,
You can taste the bitterness of sorrow
But your dignity has won.
You may be missing all the answers,
But as time goes by, you know,
That the words may be an inspiration
But the action makes the show.
Vs3/
Your goal is to master your views.
It’s easy to stand with the crowd, in silence…
The art’s in the state that you choose:
Standing alone there for hours…
Ch/
You can play the brand-new hero,
Doubts can make your dreams be gone,
You can taste the bitterness of sorrow
But your dignity has won.
You may be missing all the answers,
But as time goes by, you know,
That the words may be an inspiration
But the action makes the show.
Midpart/
Heaven’s untouched. Although they tried…
Life is no better by chance, but by change, is it right?
Ch/
You can play the brand-new hero,
Doubts can make your dreams be gone,
You can taste the bitterness of sorrow
But your dignity has won.
You may be missing all the answers,
But as time goes by, you know,
That the words may be an inspiration
But the action makes the show.
Music and lyrics by Milen Vrabevski, MD
Arrangement: Milen Vrabevski, MD, Ivo Stefanov, Biser Ivanov