Ηρακλής Οικονόμου

Alternative Aristophanes: Tasos Karakatsanis – Dionysis Savvopoulos This week, we say “happy new year” with a tribute to Aristophanes and to music for his plays. The great comic playwright, also known as the “Father of Comedy”, and his masterpieces have been a constant source of inspiration...

Simon Shaheen dazzles listeners as he deftly leaps from traditional Arab sounds to jazz and Western classical styles. His soaring technique, melodic ingenuity, and unparalleled grace have earned him international acclaim as a virtuoso on the oud and violin. Palestinian oud player and composer, Adel...

Glykeria became the most loved Greek singer in Israel and a major part of Israel's cultural scene in the 1990s. Her special style captured the heart of the Israelis and her songs became all-time classics. She became a "household" name in Israel, an "honorary citizen", and a platinum and gold albums...

The band "Al Mahabba" ("love" in Arabic) was formed in September 2003 with the aim of researching and performing classical Arabic music from the Middle East and the Arabic-speaking countries of Africa. The group's repertoire includes classical songs and instrumental pieces from Syria, Lebanon, Egypt,...

This week is dedicated to GME’s Christmas wish: a ceasefire in Palestine and peace in the Middle East. To this end, we will be appreciating the music of the peoples of the region, as well as its multiple connections with Greek song. Today, we will be listening to Sephardic songs performed by Soly...

Giokarinis is a Greek rocker with his own very personal style involving rhythmic ballads with witty, playful lyrics. In terms of personal influences, Giokarinis often mentions classical rock bands such as Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, next to the 1950s. “Back then, you had to be really brave to play...

Costas Tournas is one of the pioneers of modern Greek rock. He is a singer and composer of many hits especially in the late ‘60s and '70s. and shaped Greek rock music both with his solo career and as a founding member of the Greek rock group Poll. Tournas, along with Robert Williams and Stavros Logarides,...

At the start of the 1970s, Kyttaro was something greater than a live music club – it was the birthplace of an entire counterculture, the rock revolution of the time. Despoina Glezou, Damon & Fidias, Dimitris Poulikakos & Exadaktylos, Dionysis Savvopoulos & Bourboulia, and Socrates Drank...

Dimitris Poulikakos represents a type of Greek rock that is intensely theatrical and contains messages of sharp social criticism. His art and overall personal style was were informed by his lengthy stay in the UK. Poulikakos is a multi-faceted artistic personality. The younger generation know him mostly...

When we refer to the rock side of pioneering singer-songwriter Thanasis Gaifyllias, we primarily encounter the album “Otostop” (Hitchhiking), released in 1971. The artist initially wanted to release a personal album with twelve of his own songs but the censors of the junta were not happy with the...

"Film music is the art of adaptation and the composer must love transformations. To transform the image, but also to transform himself, like a chameleon. He might need to write music for a scene in a jazz bar, for example. Or even a march, a song... Through the music of cinema we have the luxury of...

Acclaimed Cypriot pianist and composer, Stavros Lantsias, introduces the audience to the music universe of his beloved composer, Ennio Morricone, presenting some of the most unforgettable soundtracks of emblematic films such as Lolita, Cinema Paradiso, Once Upon a Time in the West, The Good, the Bad...

Sfetsas is one of Greece’s best avant-garde composers – a true pioneer who has excelled in merging jazz and rock with tradition. His works for films are indicative of his endless talent and capacity for improvisation and experimentation. Today, we are focusing on three soundtracks of his...

From the 1970s to the mid-1980s, Hatzinasios had gathered a wealth of experience in composing music for films, but those films had nothing to do with the atmosphere of Knock Out (Urge for Life), the 1986 Pavlos Tasios film whose soundtrack he was called upon to curate. Here everything is dark and direct...

We start our week-long tribute to Greek film for films with Stavros Xarhakos, a leading composer who has had a very fruitful connection with cinema, having written music for more than 30 films, documentaries and TV series. Our focus is on his melodies and songs for three films – The...

Villagers of Ioannina City, one of the leading Greek heavy rock bands, comes from the mountains of Epirus. They are deeply influenced by Greek nature and cosmic phenomena and infuse their unique brand of heavy psychedelic rock with folk instruments such as bagpipes, flutes and, didgeridoo....

Composer and ethnomusicologist Eleni Karaindrou writes the following about Giota Vei: “She was born in Platystomo, Lamia and has lived in Athens since she was seventeen years old. She was introduced to folk singing by her grandmother. In the years between then and her first public appearance,...

Liesbeth List was a Dutch singer who became very popular during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1966 Mikis Theodorakis met her in the Netherlands, and he was impressed by her voice. In 1967 they released an album titled: ‘Liebeth List sings Theodorakis’. The first part of the album contains the Mauthausen...