He is handsome and ugly. Fascinating and frightening. Angelic and menacing. Commercial and underground. His concerts surprise. Provoke. Destabilize. And he’s a real star at home… in Bulgaria.
The improbable Ivo Dimchev, who performs Monday and Tuesday at the MAI in Montreal, is definitely not a singer like the others. His performances, openly queer, remain fundamentally unpredictable. And if his songs seem harmless at first glance, they undoubtedly convey their share of danger.
PHOTO FROM THE ARTIST’S FACEBOOK PAGE
Ivo Dimchev in one of his performances
It is therefore impossible to put it in a precise box. The artist defies labels. We can evoke Freddie Mercury (for the mustache), Lady Gaga (for the exuberance) and Antony and the Johnsons (for the voice), with an additional layer of radicality and “bulgarity”.
But when asked to explain more clearly who he is, Ivo Dimchev, 42, simply replies that he is an “unconventional songwriter” and that it is impossible for him to sum up in a few sentences the contradictions of his character.
“I would probably use the word ‘complicated’,” he says. Yes, that’s it, I’m a complicated artist,” he laughs.
My work does not go in one direction. I like to set things up and then pervert them. I like to serve a concept and then betray it. I like to glorify the idea of love and then laugh about it. Valuing the beautiful and the precious, before going into the trashthe ugly and the cheapto make it beautiful and sell it.
Ivo Dimchev
This ambiguity is disturbing. Ivo Dimchev is a subversive artist. No wonder his reputation has long been limited to the contemporary art circuit, whether at home or internationally. He was invited to galleries, museums, performance and avant-garde evenings.
But his sweet voice and his strange melodies ended up going beyond the strict circle of initiates, to reach the general public.
In 2018, Ivo Dimchev had a funny consecration, being invited to the British show The X-Factor. Her performance wowed the judges (including singer Robbie Williams and concept designer Simon Cowell) despite the unmistakable quirkiness of the song performed. Looking back, he qualifies the experience as “precious”, because it allowed him to experiment in another context, much more commercial.
The artist also made a name for himself during COVID-19, giving personalized shows in people’s kitchens, bathrooms and living rooms, in defiance of the rules of confinement. He was a hit in Bulgaria, before exporting the concept to Istanbul, New York and Los Angeles, where his “Korona kush kush” concerts were the subject of a documentary.
“Many of my colleagues have continued to practice their art on digital platforms. I wanted to meet a real audience. It was important to continue practicing as a songwriter. It was no problem to do it in front of one or two people. I gave 400 concerts this way”, he says.
Raising awareness in Bulgaria
Today, Ivo Dimchev has become a real pop star in Bulgaria. His songs are on the radio, his very polished clips are seen thousands of times and he is regularly invited to television sets. “For two or three years, there has not been a Bulgarian who does not know his name”, assures Lilly Dragoeva, general director of the Bulgarian LGBTQ + association BIlitis.
This notoriety is indeed surprising, given the sulphurous character of the character, openly gay and HIV-positive, who claims his sexuality without complexes.
You should know that Bulgaria is still very conservative in terms of morals and that the rights of LGBTQ+ people are far from a given. While homosexuality was decriminalized as early as 1968, hate crimes persist and the existence of same-sex couples is still not recognized by law. “Here, it’s: don’t say it and you won’t be asked”, simply sums up Mme Dragoeva.
PHOTO FROM THE ARTIST’S FACEBOOK PAGE
Ivo Dimchev
But Ivo Dimchev managed to reach the masses despite his “difference”. “It proves that ultimately, what you do is more important than the person you sleep with,” he quips.
Not insignificant: its success also allows it to raise awareness in Bulgarian opinion around these still very delicate social issues. “When I announced that I was HIV positive in 2006, I had a lot of interviews in the media. It allowed me to start a conversation. As a popular singer, it seemed important to me to talk about it, because this disease is still taboo in our country. So much so that people leave the country when they learn that they are positive, ”he says.
Ivo Dimchev has already performed in Montreal, in 2007 and 2010. His new show, Halal, will be largely inspired by his performance during COVID-19. The artist promises a mixture of strange songs and quirky questions/answers with the public. We can expect another of his destabilizing and paradoxical performances. “Like the world we live in,” he concludes.
Ivo Dimchev, in concert at the MAI as part of the Queer Performance Camp festival, 3680, rue Jeanne-Mance, Monday, February 6, at 7:30 p.m., and Tuesday, February 7, at 7:30 p.m.