Composer and percussionist Christos Chondropoulos cues up an hour of divine folk songs and haunting instrumental performances from his Greek homeland for the collectible MBE Series that's already featured releases from Beatrice Dillon, Conor Thomas, EVOL and more.
With a focus on microtonal tunings and lesser-heard time signatures, ‘MBE009’ is perhaps closest to Beatrice Dillon’s Folkways picks for the same label, using a keenly observant and trained eye to offer a deep archival dive into Greek music’s inseparable bind of east/west modes, exploring prevailing currents of North African, Turkish, Balkan and Asian styles so clearly apparent in its make-up. Christos’ richly rewarding research seems primed for anyone smitten with his singular revival of forgotten Greek microtonal melodies, as on his remarkable ‘Athenian Primitive’ volumes with 12th Isle, or indeed his ‘Relics’ for The Death of Rave and ‘Cyberfolk’ EP on Live Adult Entertainment.
MBE009 is also effectively a folkwise follow-up to his mixes of historic Greek avant garde for NTS, parsing his considerable knowledge for traces of timeless musical pathos, spanning an abundance of songs designed to spellbind listeners with intricate, multi-part harmonies and instrumental tonalities from his home region of Epirus and northern Greece on the A-side, while paying closer attention to slow, swaying rhythms from the same region on the B-side. Trust you’ve probably never heard these songs before, Christos acts as an expert guide to usher us between bygone worlds and the present day, epitomising how the spirit of great art endures long after its makers.
Highly recommended.
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Edition of 150 copies
Out of Stock
Composer and percussionist Christos Chondropoulos cues up an hour of divine folk songs and haunting instrumental performances from his Greek homeland for the collectible MBE Series that's already featured releases from Beatrice Dillon, Conor Thomas, EVOL and more.
With a focus on microtonal tunings and lesser-heard time signatures, ‘MBE009’ is perhaps closest to Beatrice Dillon’s Folkways picks for the same label, using a keenly observant and trained eye to offer a deep archival dive into Greek music’s inseparable bind of east/west modes, exploring prevailing currents of North African, Turkish, Balkan and Asian styles so clearly apparent in its make-up. Christos’ richly rewarding research seems primed for anyone smitten with his singular revival of forgotten Greek microtonal melodies, as on his remarkable ‘Athenian Primitive’ volumes with 12th Isle, or indeed his ‘Relics’ for The Death of Rave and ‘Cyberfolk’ EP on Live Adult Entertainment.
MBE009 is also effectively a folkwise follow-up to his mixes of historic Greek avant garde for NTS, parsing his considerable knowledge for traces of timeless musical pathos, spanning an abundance of songs designed to spellbind listeners with intricate, multi-part harmonies and instrumental tonalities from his home region of Epirus and northern Greece on the A-side, while paying closer attention to slow, swaying rhythms from the same region on the B-side. Trust you’ve probably never heard these songs before, Christos acts as an expert guide to usher us between bygone worlds and the present day, epitomising how the spirit of great art endures long after its makers.
Highly recommended.