Bosquito

Bosquito
Bosquito performing in Bucharest, 2014.
Background information
Origin	Brașov, Romania
Genres	Pop rock, Latin rock,
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Roton
Members	Radu Almășan Austin Jesse Mitchell Ciprian Pascal Dorin Țapu

Bosquito (Pronunciation: ʙᴏsᴋɪːᴛᴏ) is a Romanian rock band formed in Brașov in the year 1999. The group's current line-up consists of vocalist/guitarist Radu Almășan, drummer Dorin Țapu, guitarist Ciprian Pascal, and bassist Austin Jesse Mitchell. The band is well known for infusing their songs with diverse influences, including Gypsy music, Latin, balkan, punk, and elements of symphonic music. The group has released 5 albums to date with several top-charting singles including "Pepita", "Marcela", "Bosquito", "Hopa Hopa", and the ballad "Două Mâini", which reached #1 in the Romanian Top 100 and remains one of the most celebrated love songs in Romanian music. In 2005, the band entered a hiatus on the Romanian market while relocating to the United States; the original line-up disbanded shortly thereafter. In 2011 Radu Almășan made a comeback as Bosquito with a brand-new lineup launching their first single in 6 years: "Când Îngerii Pleacă", and releasing a new album, Babylon in 2014.

Bosquito was formed in Brașov at the initiative of singer Radu Almășan, who dropped out of college in his freshman year to completely dedicate himself to the new band. The first lineup consisted of Victor "Solo" Solomon on guitar, Victor "Vichi" Stephanovici on bass, Mișu Constantinescu on keyboards, and Darius Neagu on drums. Their first demo, containing an early version of the song "Spune Da!" (a song that would later be included on their self-titled debut album), was pitched to MediaPro Music.

The label requested a second demo, which included an early version of "Pas cu Pas", a song that would go on to become their first single and music video. By May 2000, Bosquito played their first show at the Propaganda Pro FM festival, the biggest concert in Romania at the time. They were subsequently signed to Mediapro Music. Their self-titled debut album was recorded in Bucharest and released on September 1, 2000.