Σάββατο 3 Μαρτίου 2007

Athena Andreadis

"Clearly a fine songwriter … one of the discoveries of the year." The Guardian

"She deserves mainstream exposure." The Observer

When I'm writing music I can almost smell the earth and the sea of
Greece
My mother had the most incredible voice so I learned orally from her. She
used to sing me to sleep with lullabies and she had a huge repertoire of
traditional songs - songs of the immigrants who ended up on the mainland after
the catastrophe of Asia Minor and the exchange of population from the Turkish
Ottoman Empire. Those songs were full of the pain of the displaced Greek and I
connected with that.

Music is so important to me that I've got to play it for myself, even when
I'm
alone, so if I'm happy, sad or inspired, I'll go to my room and sing
and
play
the piano.

A favourite song:

'Smyrneiko Minore' is a song that I've loved for years. It's was originally
sung by the renowned traditional singer, Marika Papiga. I've featured my own
arrangement on our album. It's an amanes or lament from Smyrneiko, popular among
those Greeks who had to migrate to the mainland of the former Ottoman Empire. It
combines the emigrants' pain and nostalgia as well as evoking a spiritual
feeling. It's based on the drone like much of Greek music and it's modal so when
the drone changes, you go to another scale.


I listened to the original recording as well as newer versions and decided
to make my version different. I start the song with a drone from the cello,
lyra
and bass while I sample my voice doing a harmonic acting also as a
drone. Then I
come in singing the melody. After the first verse, the
percussion joins and the
scale changes. You can almost hear the tears of the
dislocated people.

Last summer (2002) I started collecting traditional Greek songs and arranging
them for a small group, as well as writing my own compositions with Greek
elements. I had the idea of bringing together musicians from different
cultures
to explore and experiment with the music. Four of the musicians,
the lyra
player, the classical guitarist, the cellist and I, the singer, are
from Greece,
the percussionist (daf player) is from Persia, the jazz
guitarist from Norway
and the double-bass player from England.

"Athena Andreadis blends her love of the traditional songs and poetry of her native Greece with elements of jazz, contemporary and classical music. Her exceptional voice is as suited to the ancient Greek laments as it is to her own original material, which she sings in both Greek and English. The huge word-of-mouth response to Athena's live appearances suggests there are many who crave the quiet place provided by this kind of music" (Daily Telegraph).



B R E A T H E W I T H M E (2007)


1/ to be with you
2/ recently scarred *
3/ inside out *
4/ green eyes
5/ pretty things
6/ shades of grey
7/ all i see is you
8/ wooden horse
9/ running to you
10/ eden (garden state)
11/ let me in *
12/ breathe again

* hear these tracks on Athena's MySpace

"On her recent UK tour, Athena sang in both Greek and English, but her full-length debut makes an unashamed play for the Anglo-speaking market, displaying a striking turn of phrase for someone not writing in their first language ("I am not your vision, your drug, your high/I am not a shelter to keep you dry"). More Jane Siberry or Laurie Anderson than Dido or KT Tunstall, these dozen compositions sparkingly span the boundaries of folk, pop, jazz and world music, enhanced by a voice of great emotional resonance and exquisite co-production by Joe Boyd". (UNCUT)

Available through Amazon and i-Tunes


SNAPSHOT (CD EP, 2006)


1 / green eyes
2 / circles
3 / thalassa melania
4 / eden (garden state)
5 / stis pikrodafnis ton antho







E A R L I E R D E M O S (2002)


1 / smyrneiko minore*
2 / ela pare me**
3 / djivaeri*





Roots magazine has described Athena as “on the verge of greatness” Take the chance to see her in a small and intimate venue before she starts filling stadiums. (pembrokeshiretv.com)


OFFICIAL SITE

http://www.athenaandreadis.com/main.html

INTERVIEWS

HomeboyMediaNews

fRoots


9 σχόλια:

manuel a. domingos είπε...

yes, it is. it's a real language, sou real that I can write em say to you: és muito bonita, e gosto muito da tua voz

oh, and by the way, the language is Portuguese. you know, Portuguese, from Portugal.

Engano είπε...

Hi! Thanx for visit us! (http://maismentiras.blogspot.com)
We're brazilian men and our "wierd language" is Portuguese(BR).
unhappyly still we do not have as to post in other languages but in briefing we will be posting translations for the English.

manuel a. domingos είπε...

sorry, my mistake: you are not a girl, so: não és muito bonita nem gosto da tua voz.

bidibis είπε...

Portugal! Is it a real country or you are pulling our leg?

oh,oh,oh hold on...

I just remembered winning a cup down there!

"so: não és muito bonita nem gosto da tua voz."

I hope you are saying good things about me...

@ engano

i really liked your blog, although i didn't get a single word

eugenio abraham είπε...

hi! Thanks for the visit. My blog is in spanish (not italian, even as some words seems the same is a whole diferent languaje). I'm from Mexico (i live on the border with USA). Sorry u dont understand the posts but I hope u can enjoy the images. I have another blog with just phothos: http:\\www.quemilpalabras.blogspot.com, images dont require words to transmit emotions, so I hope u like them.

I like your blog, even as I dont speek greek. Are u a singer then?
well.. I will visit you later.

greetings from Mexico!!

sadosadist είπε...

ole ole ole

χώστα στους πορτογάλους παλικαρρρρρ!!!

και για επιδόρπιο ρίξτους και κανα σμυρναίικο της Αθηνάς.

:-)))

Πολύ καλή δουλειά κάνεις εδώ. ΜΠΡΑΒΟ.

bidibis είπε...

@ eugenio abraham

Well, I'm not much of a singer, but when nobody is anywhere near me i can really whistle some tunes!

Take care and, please, save some tequila for us!

I'm going to visit your photo-blog at the first chance.

@ ihadafarminafrica

Ευχαριστώ για τα καλά σου λόγια, εύχομαι να σε διαψεύσω σύντομα!

Όσο για το σμυρναίικο, τι να πώ; Αφού τόσο καιρό η δικιά σου δεν μας πρόσφερε ούτε ένα σουτζουκάκι, είπα να σας κεράσω κάτι Σμυρναίικο εγώ, έστω και με έμμεσο τρόπο.

Ανώνυμος είπε...

and greece? i~s it really a country?

oh, oh, oh, I remember Portugal going to the Worl Cup in Gremany, and finising in 4th (malegré). and Greece? where was Greece?

oh, oh, I remember: Greece was in Greece!

and I made a Mistake and I thought you were a girl. so: não és muito bonita nem gosto da tua voz» means: «you are not beautiful anda I don't like your voice».

Portuguese is spoken in: Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guiné-Bissau, Macau, Timor. And Greek? Greece... ciprus...

Thank you

bidibis είπε...

Blimey, I wish I had stuck to my original nationality... Pretending to be Greek never helped me cope with the hardships of life. Nevertheless, i'm determined to reform the whole country!

"where was Greece?"

We didn't go as a sign of protest to the Germans refusal to compensate us in full for having invaded and destroying half of our countries infrastructure during WW2

"Portuguese is spoken in: Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guiné-Bissau, Macau, Timor. And Greek? Greece... ciprus..."

Well, I'm not going to blame you for never having watched Liakopoulos show.

Obviously i'm not a girl. If you don't like Athena you can tell it to her face at her site. As for me, i can sing better than Nelly Furtado

hear me now

♫I'm Like A Bird♫

Oh no she is a Canadian!