Bulgarian indie band "hug or handshake" puts new spin on Ostava classic

What happens to a song when, instead of sounding in minor as originally recorded, it is played in major? That is what we hear in Hits with 1% Change, a charity campaign by the organisation One Percent Change.

The first song was Avenue duo’s “Escape”, this time in a new version by Molec. The second title in the series is Ostava’s “Fields of Sunflowers”, given a new interpretation by Bulgarian indie band “hug or handshake”. Both the charity idea and the opportunity to take on the iconic 1994 song immediately appealed to the young musicians, as Anton Georgiev of “hug or handshake” explains:

“For us to be making music at all, we already have to believe that it has an inexhaustible ability to help, to heal. And I saw this as yet another way in which we can make music help. Then there was the opportunity to cover not just one of our favourite Bulgarian bands, but our favourite Bulgarian band, so there really was nothing to think about.”

While working on the new version, Anton says he was worried that they had changed its sound by considerably more than 1%. He was told that this was exactly the idea – you start with 1%, but in the process it snowballs into much more.

That fits the philosophy of One Percent Change – encouraging people to set aside 1% of their income for causes that need support. And when this becomes a regular gesture for many people, it can lead to major change, as Irina Popova, Community and Communications Manager at One Percent Change, explains:

“The message of the campaign is that the key to doing lasting good is regular giving. And that we should stand together, united by a common cause, helping and changing things for the better.”

Editor: Desislava Semkovska