This week, here at GME, we have been focusing on the poetry of Nobel laureate George Seferis set to music. Today, we will be witnessing a highly sophisticated aspect of the story, as reflected by the work of Argyris Kounadis and a 1988 album of his (Songs for voice and piano) where he set six Seferis...
Today, we will be listening to excerpts from two albums by composer Elias Andriopoulos: The 1976 Seferis Cycle and the 1998 Argonauts – both based on poems by Seferis. The crème-de-la-crème of Greek vocalists will be keeping us company: Alkistis Protopsalti, Nikos Xylouris, Nena Venetsanou, Manolis Mit...
This week, GME will be focusing on the poetry of George Seferis set to music. The occasion? He died on September 20, 1971, i.e. this Friday it is going to be the 53rd anniversary of his death. Seferis was not only one of most important Greek poets of the 20th century and a Nobel laureate, but also a...
We spent the entire week singing songs about Piraeus, its neighborhoods, its streets, its people, the beautiful district of Kokkinia, its rebetiko anthems, and so much more. Today, we will be concluding our tribute with songs containing to the suburbs of Piraeus – places such as Tambouria, Amfiali, K...
Piraeotis is the guy from Piraeus and Piraeotissa is the lady from Piraeus. These are its residents, its people, the heroes of life and of song, brave and bold, disciplined and hard-working but also playful and autonomous. Stamatis Kokotas, Doukissa, Babis Goles and Mario will be narrating for us the...
Rebetiko song is the name of the Greek urban folk song that appeared at the end of the 19th century and acquired its familiar form, approximately by the third decade of the 20th century. It developed in the port cities where the working class lived, such as Piraeus and Thessaloniki, and then moved to...
Rebetiko song is the name of the Greek urban folk song that appeared at the end of the 19th century and acquired its familiar form, approximately by the third decade of the 20th century. It developed in the port cities where the working class lived, such as Piraeus and Thessaloniki, and then moved to...
Piraeus has been sung by the greatest singers, from Flery Ntantonaki to Nana Mouskouri and from Lakis Halkias to Giannis Kalantzis. It has been hailed by the greatest composers, from Manos Hadjidakis to Giannis Markopoulos and Christos Nikolopoulos. Today’s track list is full of Piraeus-related classics, e...
Songs of resurrection
This week here at GME is dedicated to some notable attempts to rejuvenate the massive heritage of rebetiko song and today we will celebrating the contribution of three great music artists. Popular songwriter Giorgos Mouflouzelis, was born in 1912 in Mytilini, in a poor family. His father forced him...
Voula Savvidi, a living legend of Greek song and a precious friend of mine, appeared in the discography in 1971 alongside composer Christos Leontis, performing two songs on the album "5 to 12". In 1974, her voice met Manos Hadjidaki's look at rebetiko with the album "Ta Perix". Hadjidakis himself based...
Songs of resurrection
The bouzouki ensemble "Dromos" appeared in the discography in 2004, with an album of the same name, with covers of old folk songs and instrumentals. This was followed, in 2007, by the second album of "Dromos", entitled "A song for Kokkinia", with the live recording of the band's concert at the Municipal...
Singer-songwriter Dimitris Verionis has the island of Naxos as a key source of inspiration. Naxos, in fact, forms the background of the love story described in the album "Photographs from Naxos". However, it is not just a background, he explains. I have an experiential relationship with the island,...
His website reads: Monsieur Minimal is a musician and producer from Greece. His musical style could come from any era and it is indeed hard to guess when his albums were released. Monsieur Minimal’s dreamy slices of the 60s and 70s nostalgia come across like Serge Gainsbourg jamming with Demis Roussos. O...
Renowned music critic Liana Malandrenioti writes the following in a review of Maridakis’ third album: “Leonidas Maridakis practices the painful personal test of competing in the modern Greek musical arena of demanding composition. Given the mastered consistency of his musical style, this is perhaps the...
The main problem that an observer faces when assessing today’s music landscape in Greece is the massive creative package of the past. It is very easy to fall into the trap of regarding contemporary music production as secondary when compared with the glory of the past. However, we should keep in mind t...
Born in London, UK to Greek parents, Leon of Athens learned to play the piano and classical guitar from an early age and soon went on to form his first band – Mimosa’s Dream. He has been reviewed by such major international press outlets as the Guardian, the New York Times, the BBC, Q Magazine, and...
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