Our dear friends at Unexplained Sounds Group in Italy continue to delight us at MYNTH! This is yet another collection of the best of ambient music from around the world – this time concentrating in Greece. Artists such as Costis Drygianakis, Savvas Metaxas and adarcah lead the way, but every artist in this comp contribute to avant-garde music mightily, and it is again that we thank our friend Raffaele Pezzella for bringing us such amazing and challenging music from all corners of the Earth.
It’s quite a rare thing for music titles, especially instrumental tracks, to actually match the music produced. A case in point was a four-album noise release whose name I happily forgot trying to reference a classic of literature. No need to embarrass the artist or the writer, but it seemed that the choice of subject wasn’t appropriate for the music (at least to my humble ears). This is not such a case. Ophtalmologist is the artistic name of Theodoros Hernandez, a Greek-Mexican composer who might be working out of France. He specializes in what I would assume is ambient drone,…
Greek experimental composer Savvas Metaxas has scored music for a choreography project that sounds more like a very relaxed version of electroacoustic music. It’s sumptuous headphone listening, I have to say. From his record label Noise Below’s Bandcamp site: “Savvas Metaxas’s music for the choreography/action ‘who knows where time goes – potential destination #1’, slightly modified for this release without losing the sense of experiencing its first steps and its ongoing development, making the listener feel like they are participating in the action. With a cover photo from Sofia Tolika’s amazing ‘mundus’ photobook, that toys with stasis/motion, and artwork by…
Vangelis has passed away in Paris at the age of 79. His reputation needs no introduction to connoisseurs of music, especially those into soundtracks. For my money, Blade Runner was the jewel in his crown. May he Rest In Peace.
Much respect to Mississippi Records out of Chicago, Illinois for releasing this magnificent artifact! The back story is explained in great detail on the label’s Bandcamp site: Marika “Politissa” Frantzeskopoulou was a Greek singer from Constantinople, reknowned for her precise, fluid and graceful performances and depth of feeling. Backed by some of the best musicians of the era on lyra, violin, oud, kanonaki and guitar, Marika’s repertoire and techniques drew from Byzantine and Ottoman musical traditions. She possessed an ability to devastate her audience through her expressions of grief, exile, and tragic love, running the gamut of cafe aman, torch…
Ian Nagoski’s stunningly and consistently impressive Canary Records releases a giant collection of songs from immigrants of the, by then, collapsing Ottoman Empire. These songs span the time period between the First World War and the Great Depression, and are lovingly transferred and curated by Nagoski, whom you can hear in tracks 54, 55 and 56. Be they Christian, Muslim or Jew, the sons and daughters of the Empire brought so much incredibly good music to America’s shores. It’s a blessing to have these works preserved.
Sad news from Greece today. The legendary composer, lyricist and politician Mikis Theodorakis, known for so many pop songs, but forever associated with the song Zorba The Greek passed away today in Athens. He was 96 years old.
Imagine if Django Reinhardt and Vassilis Tsitsanis were to form a band together, combining the best elements of gypsy jazz and rebetiko. This is what Gadjo Dilo offer. The musicianship is superb, the recording is crisp, and these young Greek lads have a punchy, authentic sound that will get you grooving.
This was a punchy and fun release to come home to. Imam Baildi are brothers Lysandros and Orestis Falireas backed by a band who manage to blend laïkó, rebetiko , hip-hop and alternative music into a high-energy take on Greek and Balkan fusion.
Dead Can Dance singer and multi-instrumentalist Brendan Perry is absolutely enamored with Greek culture, and it’s obvious because a lot of DCD’s work has an affinity towards it. Perry is especially appreciative of rebetiko, the local variant of the blues in Greek culture. This album is his paean to his adoration of rebetiko, and is perhaps the first time some of these ballads have been recorded in English. This disc is a labor of love.