Ηρακλής Οικονόμου

Today, we are celebrating the Greek-French connections established through the songs of wonderful Edith Piaf, who was born on this day, December 19, 1915. From Nana Mouskouri to Tania Tsanaklidou and from Milva to Liesbeth List, numerous world-class vocalists honoured the French star’s repertoire. O...

Today, we are celebrating the soundtracks written for the films of a renowned film and theatre director, producer and writer, born on this day, December 18, 1911, who also maintained multiple meaningful connections with Greece. Hadjidakis and Theodorakis, in particular, wrote some of their most popular...

Today, we are celebrating the talent and expressiveness of a world music star from Cape Verde who passed away on this day, December 17, 2011. Her songs were often devoted to themes of love, homesickness, nostalgia, and the history of the Cape Verdean people. Our destination: Cesaria Evora. Αγάπη, νοστ...

Today, we turn to a pioneering writer who passed away exactly 51 years ago, on December 16, 1974. Specifically, we are listening to mostly recent recordings of his songs set to music by bands such as Active Member, Winter Swimmers, Gymna Kalodia and Horis Refren, as well by artists such as Loukas Thanos...

Today, we are celebrating the legacy of a true folk master, a composer and lyricist who shaped Greek song for the centuries to come, an exceptional artist born on this day, December 15, 1933. Our destination: Akis Panou, the genius. Άκης Πάνου: Η ιδιοφυΐα Σήμερα, γιορτάζουμε την κληρονομιά ενός πραγματικού λα...

From Sotiria Bellou to Mario and from Tzeni Vanou to Giannis Kalantzis, countless folk vocalists have sang about komboloi, this tool of relaxation that has acquired multiple symbolisms in the context of Greek song. Komboloi is a symbol of friendship but also of abandonment when its holder plays with...

Today, we begin a 2-day mini tribute to a typically Greek object that has inspired numerous Greek songs. Worry beads (or “komboloi”) are a string of beads manipulated with one or two hands and, apart from entertaining and relaxing multiple generations of Greeks, they have inspired numerous folk son...

The cities of Greek song – foreign and desolate, lonely or for two, with love or with darkness. The cities of Polyxeni Karakoglou and Katerina Kyrmizi, of Victoria Tagouli and Rita Antonopoulou and Elli Paspala, of Kostas Thomaidis and Kostas Mantzios. “In this city, you left me alone / and I am a t...

Today, here at GME, we are celebrating lyricist Lefteris Papadopoulos’ 90 years of life, creativity and endless contribution to Greek song. And we are doing that by highlighting his more erotic side, a side replete with powerful images of love, loss and devotion. A moon kissing with the stars, an e...

There are many things that one can say about lyricist, writer and film director Alekos Sakellarios, and we will indeed be saying many things about him and his contribution aboard today’s GME. But for me, Sakellarios is, above all, the one who wrote the lyrics of my favourite song: “In life there are...

This week, we have been celebrating five important poets and lyricists who have left a notable mark on Greek song and today we turn to my number one, the poet whom I consider the greatest not only in Greece but globally, a true master situated at the crossroads of political vision and existential despair....

This week, we have been celebrating five important poets and lyricists who have left a notable mark on Greek song and today we turn to my number one, the poet whom I consider the greatest not only in Greece but globally, a true master situated at the crossroads of political vision and existential despair....

French poet Arthur Rimbaud, who passed away on this day, November 10, 1891, is considered a leading figure of world poetry. Literary critics have pointed to his pioneering role in promoting a variety of aesthetic currents, including symbolism and surrealism. Naturally, Rimbaud has been present in this...

Our week-long journey across the fields of “entechno” (art) song ends today with yet another overdose of emotion, lyricism and sensitivity – this time from albums recorded in 1994. Indicatively, Anastasia Moutsatsou sings the words of Giorgos Andreou: “If love is a light in the darkness / you are my ...

Musically, the early 1990s are a period replete with surprises and originality; in 1993, indicatively, we come across the deeply emotional ballads of Alexandros Dimas, the lyrical songs of Notis Mavroudis, the playful masterpieces of Nena Venetsanou and the folk robustness of Vangelis Korakakis. These...

Rhythms drawn from Greek tradition, sophisticated melodies, modern musical instruments, lyrics of a highly poetic quality. Art song creatively assimilated the folk and rebetiko tradition, while remaining open to a selective incorporation of contemporary elements and currents. The 1990s form the spring...

Does it exist or not? Is it alive or dead? A vibrant artistic movement or a construction of record labels? This is the famous debate over the art song and its existence. The questions are not only of philological but also of practical importance, as they concern a large volume of current musical production....

Throughout the week that starts today, we shall be exploring the first half of the 1990s and how the discography of these years shaped Greek song with the advent of “entechno”, art song. Today’s destination? My favourite songs from year 1990. Expect masterpieces performed by the “usual suspects” of art so...