Ηρακλής Οικονόμου

Kostas VarnalisA poet whose pioneering work renews not only the linguistic but also the ideological models and contexts of Greek poetry. Varnalis was sent to internal exile for his ideas, took part in the resistance movement against the German Occupation and was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize in...

Dimitris Papadimitriou’s Cavafy With his album “An Alexandrian on an Alexandrian”, Dimitris Papadimitriou delivered a colossal work of 18 songs and six instrumentals inspired by the poetry of Constantine P. Cavafy. The encounter of Papadimitriou with Cavafy is hardly surprising, since...

Constantine P. Cavafy x 3 According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, Cavafy is “one of the most important figures not only in Greek poetry but in Western poetry as well”. Naturally, he has been a favourite among Greek composers too, who have turned to his poetry multiple times in search of inspiration....

Ikaria During the summer, all Ikarian villages host feasts to mark various religious and non-religious holidays. Traditional dishes, Ikarian wine, live music and lots of fun, with locals and tourists alike dancing the traditional Ikariotikos tune, singing along and partying till the...

The sun-kissed instrumentals of Giannis Spanos In our quest for the eternal Greek summer, we turn to Giannis Spanos, this beloved composer who coloured our memories with his special melodies. In particular, we turn to a relatively unknown collection of his instrumentals titled “Deep blue...

Summertime songs Listening to Greek summertime songs at the start of October is our very own way of fighting the autumn …blues and the nostalgia for the Greek summer. From Locomondo to Eleni Dimou and from Dimitra Galani to Katsimiha brothers, we remind ourselves of the images, scents...

Οι «Κυκλάδες» του Βασίλη Δημητρίου “Vassilis Dimitriou is well aware of the course and schools of Greek singing and thus he can express his melodic quests in different ways, using the form of the anonymous traditional song or the ‘roads’ of rebetiko or...

Katie HomataAn incredibly tender singer who became one of the leading representatives of the “Neo Kyma” – New Wave genre and a popular performer in the Athens boite scene. Homata collaborated with top-class performers, including Giannis Spanos, Giorgos Kontogiorgos and Michalis Terzis....

SamosThe island of Samos is not part of the Dodecanese but it could not be absent from our tribute, given its geographical proximity and wealth of music tradition. The 2000 collection “Games and gamers”, based on research by Dimitris Zahariou, highlights the songs and melodies that traditional...

Leros “Songs of Leros”: A unique panorama of the music of Leros island curated by leading ethnomusicologists Markos Dragoumis and Thanasis Moraitis. This is essentially the first organised attempt to introduce the special colours of the island’s music tradition to a broader audience, through...

Karpathos An initiation to the musical heritage of Karpathos through the album “Karpathian Music and Song – Traditional Musical Memories. Karpathians engage in poetic-musical dialogues for hours in social gatherings and parties. The main ‘tool’ of this interaction is ‘mantinathas’...

Vangelis Konitopoulos Traditional songs from all around the Dodecanese, performed by Vangelis Konitopoulos, prominent member of a family of musicians that has marked the development of island music. The “king of nisiotika” has included the musical tradition of the Dodecanese in his vast...

Approaches to the DodecaneseMusic for the islanders is a way of life, an integral part of their daily routine, and it is through songs that they tend to express their love, joy or grief. Today, we will be listening to representative songs from the music tradition of each island of the Dodecanese, performed...

Notis Mavroudis, part 5 From 1975 onwards, Notis Mavroudis permanently settled in Athens and started teaching classical guitar at the National Conservatory. In 1978 he took part in the international Festival of Political Song in East Berlin and in the 11th World Youth Festival in Havana, Cuba. As...

Notis Mavroudis, part 4 Notis Mavroudis collaborated with renowned poets such as Odysseas Elytis, as well as with renowned lyricists including Tasos Samartzis, Akos Daskalopoulos and Ilias Katsoulis. He also worked with outstanding Greek performers, from Glykeria to George Dalaras and from Elli Paspala...

Notis Mavroudis, part 3 Notis Mavroudis’ discography is huge, yet consistent in terms of quality. In 1976, the album ‘Paintings by Theofilos’ with lyrics by Akos Daskalopoulos was released. In 1977, he set poems by Manos Hadjidakis to music on the album ‘Child of the Earth’. In 1985, the...

Notis Mavroudis, part 2 Notis Mavroudis was born in Athens in 1945. He spent the first two years of his life in prison with his mother, who was a political prisoner after the Greek Civil War. In 1958 he started classical guitar lessons at the National Conservatory of...

Notis Mavroudis, part 1 Greek composer Notis Mavroudis died in January 2023 after a horrific accident at his home at Mount Pelion, at the age of 77. Mavroudis was a songwriter, guitarist, columnist, and radio producer. He worked with many distinguished musicians and was honored with international...