Greek Music Express

The week that starts today is dedicated to the presence of the Byzantine empire in Greek music and song. We start our week-long journey to Byzantium with modern songs that have lyrics containing references to it – to the days, the galleys and the faces of Byzantium. Nikos Androulakis, Costas Mantzios, M...

A big part of the Greek song can be categorised as ‘protest song’, i.e. as a type of song informed by political critique and vision. From Giannis Markopoulos to Nikolas Asimos and from Thanos Mikroutsikos to the Katsimiha brothers, countless composers and creators connected their work with the dem...

Mikis Theodorakis was not only a superb composer but also a deeply political leader and intellectual. His assessment of the situation after the coup d'état of April 21, 1967, was broadly as follows: “The dictatorship of the colonels was in the long run a great mistake on the part of the Americans. It...

The protest songs of Manos Loizos The political character of composer Manos Loizos’ art comes out effortlessly through his songs, from "The Leader" to "World War III" and from "The Tree" to "The Soldier". Today's walk through his creations, which are replete with humanism and militancy, is based o...

Music critic Ilan Solomon writes: “Panos is the birth of a generation of giving, a generation of hardship and struggle for freedom. He endured until the end of his life without protest, having poetry and song as the balm of his soul”. Today, we will be appreciating the songwriting art of Panos Tzavellas, fue...

This week is dedicated to the 1973 uprising of the Athens Polytechnic School against the dictatorship and to the anti-fascist struggle today. Our track list today is based on a collection of anti-fascist songs titled “Fascism will not die on its own – kill it!”, which was released in 2014. As the p...

We conclude our week-long tribute to Ritsos with two works that are representative of the sound of the 1970s and the political song that prevailed in the …long second half of that decade. Marios Tokas’ songs are based on ten previously unreleased poems of Yannis Ritsos while Giorgos Kotsonis sets to ...

The setting to music of Ritsos’ Blackened Clay Pot by Christos Leontis is definitely one of the greatest moments in the history of Greek song. This is an album of immense emotional power, through which the political-humanist messages of the poet are revealed in their fullest, universal form. Blackened C...

From Mikis Theodorakis’ rich and long engagement with Ritsos’ poetry, we choose to focus on Epitafios, a poem that Ritsos wrote in 1936 and that Theodorakis set to music in 1960. Today, we will be appreciating a 2000 live recording of this historic work, orchestrated and curated by maestro Stavros Xar...

The encounter of Thanos Mikroutsikos with Ritsos led to the Cantata for Makronisos, a collection of songs and avant-garde sounds that remains as pioneering as it was when it was released in 1976. In the poetry of Ritsos, composer Mikroutsikos found a fertile ground for experimentation, including an...

A big part of the Greek song can be categorised as ‘protest song’, i.e. as a type of song informed by political critique and vision. From Giannis Markopoulos to Nikolas Asimos and from Thanos Mikroutsikos to the Katsimiha brothers, countless composers and creators connected their work with the dem...

Panos Falaras is the lyricist of endless hits performed by some of the country’s greatest folk voices, from Marinella to Mary Marandi and from Antonis Vardis to Vassilis Karras. At the same time, Falaras has had a lesser known political and rock side that was revealed at the start of his career. Πάνος Φαλάρα...

The ambassador of the art of Filippos Grapsas is, without a doubt, singer Dimitris Mitropanos. His robust voice and the melodic mastery of composers Marios Tokas and Giannis Spanos turned the lyrics of Grapsas into the raw material of songs that truly defined the folk sound of the 1990s. Brace yourselves...

Sarantis Alivizatos is the lyricist of the acute erotic feeling. This intensity of desire is depicted in a direct manner, linguistically, without too many abstract meanings and concepts. His anthems of erotic attraction have been performed by sensual voices such as Constantina and Themis Adamantidis. Σαράντης Αλιβιζά...

Sotia Tsotou became known primarily as the one who wrote the grand hits of singer-songwriter Costas Hatzis, but her career includes many other important songs and collaborations. Her art stands out for her intelligent use of words, social criticism and the depiction of profound philosophical meanings....

This week, we explore the contribution of five lyricists to popular, folk song, also known as ‘laiko’ in Greek. Lefteris Hapsiadis, who sadly passed away on October 2 at the age of 69, belongs to a broader generation of talented lyricists who wrote songs using a simple and solid language replete wit...

The heroic struggle of the Greek army against the fascist invaders was soon followed by the Axis Occupation of the country and the Resistance to Nazi forces. We remember the fallen heroes of the 1940-1944 period through a mix of songs about the Greco-Italian war and the anti-fascist struggle of the...

Several Greek films were produced about the Greco-Italian war – in fact, this was a kind of fashion in the early 1970s under the dictatorship. Today’s track list draws primarily from two films, Lieutenant Natasha, and The teacher with the Golden Hair, with soundtracks by Costas Kapnisis and Nikos Mam...