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As I mentioned before, Greece has wonderful jazz musicians.
Although this is not the right place (again) for jazz music as the majority of people prefer to shake their bodies on tables and wave their hips on bars in the tunes of some opa-opa song, jazz music blossoms in the underground.
The underground jazz audience might be outnumbered by the belly dancing lovers at this side of southern Europe but…jazz diamonds are released every now and then…
Before I start writing about Yiannis Kassetas and his band, I would like to mention that during the last two decades, most of the musicians that work at the Greek music clubs studied at Berklee college of music or at M.I. and most of them are jazz or latin music teachers…
But…for sure they have to make some money for the living too…if you know what I mean…
Yiannis Kassetas is a young sax and piano virtuoso who released his second album titled “FunkAbyss” about a month or so.
Two years after his first album, “The Truth About the Alien Invasion In Egypt” Kassetas and his band, The Funk Wizards strike back.
This time with the participation of sax player Jason Yarde and drummer Clarence Penn.
For those of you who are not familiar with these two musicians, Clarence Penn played the drums for artists of the caliber of Wynton Marsalis, Roberta Flack, Dizzy Gillespie and Michael Brecker to name but a few.
Jason Yarde on the other hand is a member of Jack DeJohnette’s band but he also contributed in recordings for artists such as McCoy Tyner, Roy Ayers and Hugh Masekela Jazz Jamaica All Stars.
The Tracklist :
1. John Carpente’s Road Movie
2. Creatures of the Abyss
3. The Zen theory of Funk
4. Crystal Dream (intro)
5. Crystal Dreams
6. Giant Rainbow
7. Wildness
8. Sweetness
9. X-rcheia Blues
10. G. Rainbow (blue shades)
Some of the finest Greek jazz musicians came alongside Kasseta & the Funk Wizards in the studio: organ player Giorgos Kontafouris and tenor sax player Dimitris Vasilakis, Dimitris Sevdalis (Rhodes), Alexandros Drakos Ktistakis (drums) Basilis Xenopoulos (alto saxophone), Apostolos Sideris (bass) Dimitris Karalis (flute) Adadeji Adetayo (vocals and guitar) and Serafim Bellos (drums).
And since I am done mentioning the guests’ names, let me name the members of the Funk Wizards: Yiannis Kassetas (piano, tenor and soprano sax) Manos Lutas (el. bass and fretless bass) Kostis Christodoulou (Rhodes, synthesizers), Vaggelis Kotzabasis (drums) and Lucia Paleologou (vocals, she also wrote the lyrics for the track “Giant Rainbow”, the only track on this album that has lyrics).
Well worth checking.
“Fun Is A Four Letter Word” is the title of the debut studio album of New Zero God.
The Athenian band with a remarkable line up consisted by former members of the bands The Flowers of Romance, Nexus and The Drops, as well as two current members of the band Past Perfect, released their album digitally here.
“Fun Is A Four Letter Word” is expanding from punk rock to post-punk and gothic rock, and immediately catches the listener’s attention with its 12 tracks.
Tracklist:
- Bang Bang
- Pain Called Pleasure
- Kiss the Witch
- Dead Inside
- Lap Of The Universe
- Fun Is A Four Letter Word
- Eon
- Strangest Of Fruits
- Winners
- The Love Hatesong
- Spider Jack
- Nightshift
The band performed live on November 26th at After Dark Club in Athens, supported by the Greek dark wave pioneers Split Image.
New Zero God had most of their album tracks on their set-list as well as some of the Flowers Of Romance hits.
The New Zero God line up: Mike Pougounas – vocals, Dimitris “Sidheog” Steves – drums, B-Abyss – bass, back vox and E-Raptor – guitar.
“Fun Is A Four Letter Word” is scheduled to be released on CD during February 2010.
The band also announced the confirmed forthcoming gigs till February 2010.
Next gig on December 30 2009, headlining “Dark Days II” festival at Sin City Club – Athens.
If you are not familiar with the Greek group Daemonia Nymphe, please check the following.
Video reportage of the ”NUIT DES FEES“.
Truth be told, in the break of 21st century a lot of Greek EBM or electroc bands appeared.
Most of them managed to contact European Record labels and release their music over the Greek borders.
Siva Six was one of them, Blue Birds Refuse To Fly was an other one…
A number of others followed.
Ivory Frequency was the project of George Robos (I think he was the former keyboard player of the bands Enoho La – engl. Guilty la ελλ. Ενοχο λα – and Lefki Symfonia).
Based in Athens, he wrote a number of good EBM tracks and caught the attention of German label Dependent Records.
The first Ivory Frequency appearance was during September 2001, when the English band VNV Nation released the 4 track mini CD “Genesis 2“.
Giorgos Robos participated with a special mix of the song “Genesis”.
By the same month, Dependent Records released the single “Today” (01. Today Is The Day 02. Today Is The Day (Soda mix) 03. Brain Injection)
With Dependent Records releasing a promo single titled “The Strangest Callings”, strangely enough, Ivory Frequency released their first and last album on April 2002.
They have’n't release a full length album sing.Dependent Records released a promo single titled “The Strangest Callings”
The album title was “Plug In”.
Tracklist
01. Plug-In
02. The Strangest Callings
03. Beats & Demons
04. Dancing Troops
05. See The Light
06. Today
07. Clock Is Ticking Fast
08. Ydrosis
Ivory Frequency remixed also the track “Why Do I Hate Myself” of the band The Crystalline Effect (featured on their “Glass” album, released by Black Flames Records – Poland during 2005).
The song ”The Strangest Callings (Version II)” was featured in the compilation of the French magazine D Side in 2002 (among artists such as Peter Murphy, Daniel Ash, In The Nursery, Das Ich and Clan Of Xymox).
The same track was featured on the compilation of the German magazine Sonic Seducer in 2002.
Dependent Records featured Ivory Frequency tracks on three compilations: “Septic III” (2002) “New Level Electronics” (2004) and “New Level Electronics Vol. 2” (2007).
I found the following “vids”…well, these are not realy videos , on YouTube.
So, if you want to listen to what the following band sounded like…there you go.
You can read more about Proxies, here.
You can read about Brush here.
This one is a cover version of Wasted Youth’s “Do The Caveman”. Greek readers, click here.
For the Forward Music Quintet click here.
One more Greek band that is little known even to the Greek underground audience is this one.
The Lesbians released a self-titled 12” EP in 1986, influenced by Liverpudlian bands such as the Teardrop Explodes.
Formed by singer, keyboard player Nikos Mavromatis and keyboard player Phil Golf in 1985, they left no other traces of their fine music.
Formed during the early 80’s, the new wave/synth-pop duet Statues In Motion managed to release one selftitled LP in 1983.
The information is yet very limited and the album is very-very rare nowadays, although it was released through a major Greek label.
So, any additional infos, are welcomed.
Tracklisting:
Side 1.
Virginia Clem
Future Myth
In Silence
Autumn In Paris
Side 2.
Blackout
Let’s Face The Heroes
Era Of The Rats
The Man In Black
Statues
When the Italian label Deacadance Records released the compilation album “Decadance Compilation vol 1.”, in January 2002, Nexus participated with the track “Walking On Thin Ice” from their second album, “Cybernaut”.
“Cybernaut” was released during 2001, about 6 months after the release of “6” and guitar player Lefteris Strouggaris would be recording for the last time with the band.
With the band on the road, the new release found distribution all across Europe and UK and soon it would be sold out proving right the decision of the band to use English lyrics.
Reviews of the foreign press were very flattering such as this one from the Scottish “CD Services” (taken from the band’s MySpace profile): “…Haven’t heard an album like this for a long time since it recreates the cream of ’80’s industrial songwriting and arranging to a tee, with plenty of songs that hearken back to the beat-laden days of 23 Skidoo, Portion Control, early FLA, 400 Blows and the like, with a set of suitably powerful, dynamic and excellently produced/arranged songs, all improved even further by a distinct Sisters Of Mercy (“Floodland“-era) style vocal, with a majority of the songs built around acres of synths, hard rhythms and samples…“
When Nexus and Strouggaris parted ways, the three remaining band members decided to go on using only session guitar players.
Tracklist
1. Walking On Thin Ice 2. Kiss This 3. Land Of Confusion 4.In Your dreams Again 5. Hate Rate 6. Learning To Crawl 7. Welcome To The Angelhood 8. She’s The Elixir 9. Healed by The Tears Of The Shaman 10. Everything Will Fall 11. Tango De La Muerte 12. This Immoral Minority
