I am taking a break from my usual photographic or food-related endeavors to serve you a post full of music that I've been compiling for quite some time now. After the new, a.k.a. "weird", Greek cinema we now have a Greek wave of English-language, indie, musical acts trying to break through into the international scene. The Swedes did it about 10-20 years ago, so why not the Greeks?
A few are using elements of Greek musical forms and tradition while others are vying for the "mainstream" part of the indie scene armed with lyrical melodies and lots of synthesizers. Some are trying, or have managed, to already garner some attention. Some music experts, like Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame voting member Yannis Petridis, claim that Greek singers will be seen / treated as something of an exotic fruit by international audiences with the expectation of some... Greekness in them. So, they either have to offer that, or be ready to relocate to some English-speaking country where they can become part of that local scene. Or both.
A few Athens radio stations and a local mobile network operator are supporting this musical movement and are helping to build a local base for these new Greek artists, providing air-time for their songs, usually without mentioning the country of origin, perhaps as a test of their popularity potential. Support them and this blog by buying their music through the Amazon links below.
Acid Baby Jesus
A warping, psychedelic sound that you feel compelled to surrender to. One of the biggest names in this list in terms of international acclaim. Here are a few articles about them:Shake Appeal (Pitchfork, 2014-09-08)
Greek psych band Acid Baby Jesus ready new LP (stream it) (Brooklyn Vegan, 2014-11-13)
Listen: Acid Baby Jesus – Selected Recordings (CMJ, 2014-11-14)
European tour planned for May-July 2015, including an Athens show on June 6.
Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk
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Amazon.fr
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Amazon.es,
Amazon.de
Baby Guru
You can read about this psychedelic-rock band on Wikipedia and on their own website. MTV Iggy hailed them as one of "our best 5 musical discoveries from CMJ 2014". Check them out for yourselves on YouTube and their SoundCloud.Amazon.com
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Amazon.co.uk,
Amazon.fr,
Amazon.es,
Amazon.de
Cayetano
DJ, freestyle jazz, trip-hop and all-around atmospheric music composer Cayetano has made a name for himself in European alternative circles after 19 years of music production, endless live shows and more than five albums. Check out his full biography and listen to his music at Soundcloud. Connect with him on Facebook and get his music at Amazon.co.uk.Here's a track from the collaboration record "Loopa Scava Meets Cayetano".
Amazon.com
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Amazon.co.uk,
Amazon.fr,
Amazon.es,
Amazon.de
Angelika Dusk
Angelika Dusk is already working her way up in the music industry and opened for Kovacs this week at an Athens concert. Her band's debut album, featuring single "Love on your own terms," was just released on iTunes and Spotify. Also, on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, and Amazon.fr.Katerine Duska
A deep, soulful voice best exemplified in what is already a small local hit:Here's her personal page at ReverbNation.
Amazon.com
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Amazon.co.uk,
Amazon.es,
Amazon.de
Imam Baildi
Remember that Greek element I talked about above? Imam Baildi give their own modern renditions of old (1950s, '60s) Greek songs in a way that obviously has significant local and international appeal. They were invited to play at the SXSW festival in Austin in 2013 and here's an article about them in Slug Magazine. Currently on a European and Greek tour (Athens: July 9 at Technopolis, Gazi). Here's their Facebook page.IMAM BAILDI LIVE @ VRAHON THEATRE || ATHENS JULY 14 2014 from Imam Baildi on Vimeo.
Buy on Amazon.com
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Amazon.co.uk,
Amazon.fr,
Amazon.es and
Amazon.de
Keep Shelly in Athens
A duo whose name is a wordplay on the Athens neighborhood of Kypseli, and often abbreviated as KSiA in international press. Lots of international coverage (right column here) for their airy compositions such as "Fractals".Singer Sarah P. left for new projects in 2014, replaced by a new singer caller Myrtha, featured in the new, 2015 album. Their music can be found on Amazon.com
, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.fr,
Amazon.es and
Amazon.de
Marsheaux
Greek electro-pop from a most melodic female duo. Here's their rendition of Billy Idol's "Eyes Without A Face":Amazon.com
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Amazon.co.uk,
Amazon.fr,
Amazon.es,
Amazon.de
Monika
A big local hit 6 years ago, with aid from Calexico in her
debut album "Avatar". Since then, she's moved on to writing music for theater plays and the like and has released two more full length albums. Ironically, even though her success has given a major boost to the local, English-language music scene, she's without much of an international presence yet. Focused in Greece, I think she has a voice and lyricism that
mostly appeals to Greeks, or maybe she just hasn't tried to move on yet. According to Wikipedia she gave her first N.Y. concert in December 2014. Listen to her songs on MySpace and see a video in her official site.
Amazon.com,
Amazon.co.uk,
Amazon.fr,
Amazon.es,
Amazon.de
Nteibint
An unholy, eye-blistering, alternative spelling of "David" but you do need to check him out nonetheless. Him being music producer George Bakalakos in real-life. Never Without You, his latest collaboration with Stella (see below) is becoming a 2015 local hit. Nice, 70's retro video as well!Amazon.com
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Amazon.co.uk,
Amazon.fr,
Amazon.es,
Amazon.dePrins Obi
Prins Obi is a member of the aforementioned Baby Guru who just came out with a solo album, which I like a lot. Read
and listen here. The dreamy,
Beatlesque Weekend Lovers is already becoming a small local hit and
you can listen to it on Spotify. Here's CMJ's presentation of his first solo EP Love Songs for Instant Success.
Sillyboy
Read about Sillyboy and his latest album at Klik Records and listen to his rhythmic, groovy Stalker, on YouTube. A... rather positive, yet slightly... politically correct review of his LP can be found on Planet Stereo.Amazon.com
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Amazon.co.uk,
Amazon.fr,
Amazon.es,
Amazon.de
Stella
Written as Σtella, if you can read the initial Greek Sigma, she's been around as a second act / collaborator in various music projects but the self-titled Stella is her first solo album. Read a presentation by CMJ and listen to the single Made to Attack.
Amazon.com,
Amazon.co.uk,
Amazon.fr,
Amazon.es,
Amazon.de
Irene Skylakaki
Two small hits and an album make for a rather promising debut. In the Light was her breakthrough song.Amazon.com
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Amazon.co.uk,
Amazon.fr,
Amazon.es,
Amazon.de
Sundayman
His catchy pop tune On the Run, featuring Sarah P, formerly of Keep Shelly in Athens, has been described as a mini-masterpiece by Under the Radar magazine. Sundayman (in real world Kyriakos Moustakas) has mostly been around as a music producer. His Cutty Sark theme song Now that i found you is another of his tunes that you might have listened to.Check out all his airy, ambient pop, retro-electronic tunes on SoundCloud:
Amazon.com
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Amazon.co.uk,
Amazon.fr,
Amazon.es,
Amazon.de
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