Hotel FM

Hotel FM was a Romanian band, established in April 2005 by British expatriate David Bryan, Gabriel Băruţa, and Alex Szűz. Initially, they performed concerts across various cities in Romania and Germany, debuting a promotional CD in the spring of 2006.

David Bryan, a founding member and the lead vocalist, hails from Newton Aycliffe in North East England. Before moving to Romania, he worked as a binman in his native town.

The inception of Hotel FM dates back to 2005, sparked by Romanian composer Gabriel Băruţa. He gathered several musicians from Oradea, his hometown, to forge a new musical direction, focusing on a modern pop-rock genre that emphasized melody and innovation, hallmarks of Băruţa’s compositions.

Over time, the band’s lineup featured Nicolae Vedinaş (vocals, flute), Berek Szilard (vocals), Marius Pop (guitar), Vlady Săteanu (bass), Gabi Drăgan (drums), and Sanyi Zakar (guitar). They continued to perform in Romania and Germany, celebrating the release of their promotional CD in 2006.

In the realm of Eurovision, Hotel FM made a significant impact. They achieved 4th place in the Eurovision 2010 national selection final with the song “Come As One”. The lineup for this event included David Bryan (vocals), Gabriel Băruţa (guitar and backing vocals), Vicky Sava (backing vocals), Darius Neagu (drums, backing vocals), and dancers Mihuţ “Levi” Lennon and Diana Mărmăreanu.

Their Eurovision journey continued in 2011 with the track “Change” (composed by Gabriel Băruţa, with lyrics by Alexandra Ivan and Băruţa). Winning the national final with 22 points, they earned the privilege to represent Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. They progressed from the second semifinal on May 12th and participated in the final on May 14th, securing the 17th position.

Around the Eurovision participation, Hotel FM released several songs, like “The gathering”, “Living it up tonight” and “The letter”, but after that, it remained silent around the band.

Gabriel Băruţa wrote and produced several songs for Romanian national selections: “Feel the same” for his band Mosquito in 2013 and “Hearts collide” for Anca Florescu. Băruţa is active as a producer at Mosquito Productions and plays in a band called Mustang.