Loxandra Ensemble
| Loxandra Ensemble | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| origin | Thessaloniki , Greece |
| Genre (s) | World music |
| founding | 1997 |
| Website | www.loxandra.gr |
| Current occupation | |
| Nikos Angousis | |
| Foivos Apostolidis | |
Violin , vocals |
Makis Baklatzis |
singing |
Ria Ellinidou |
| Thanasis Koulentianos | |
Bass , vocals |
Loukas Metaxas |
Percussion |
Dimitris Panagoulias |
| Kyriakos tapakis | |
| former members | |
Kanun |
Dimitris Vasiliadis |
The Loxandra Ensemble is an ethnic and world music group from Greece .
history
The Loxandra Ensemble was founded in 1997 by the percussionist and bassist Loukas Metaxas, the canoe player Dimitris Vasiliadis and other musicians in Thessaloniki . Vasiliadis left the group after a while. Since the ensemble was founded, there have been various changes in the line-up. In 2001 the ensemble was even temporarily dissolved. A permanent line-up of eight members has been formed since 2014. In the current line-up, only Loukas Metaxas and Kyriakos Tapakis (Oud) are left from the original line-up of the ensemble.
The Loxandra Ensemble took its band name from the main character of the novel of the same name by the Greek writer Maria Iordanidou from 1962. The novel is set in historical Constantinople and the main character “Loxandra” symbolizes the many cultural similarities between the Greeks and Turks. These similarities are also strongly expressed in the music, and that is why the name of this figure made the perfect band name.
The ensemble has already released two internationally acclaimed albums. Her first album was released in 2006 with the title Shedon Opos Palia ... (in German: "Almost like in the past"). On the album, the band mainly dealt with the music of the Greeks of the 20th century who lived in Smyrna (today's Izmir) and Istanbul . Another album followed in 2011 with the title Meyhane - Kafe Aman , which made it to number 8 in the European World Music Charts and number 41 in the European World Music Annual Charts in September 2012 . A large number of guest musicians are represented on the album, including musicians such as Sokratis Sinopoulos , Nikos and Giasemi Saragoudas, Katerina Papadopoulou, Areti Ketime, Panagiotis Lalezas, Theodora Athanasiou, Efren Lopez and Brenna MacCrimmon .
After the brief dissolution of the ensemble, the various changes of band members and the two album productions, a permanent line-up of the Loxandra Ensemble has been formed since around 2014. Ria Ellinidou, who is still a guest singer on Meyhane - Kafe Aman , has been a permanent member of the band since 2013. The spatial center of the band has also shifted from Thessaloniki to the capital Athens , as the majority of the band members now live there.
The Loxandra Ensemble is currently (as of May 2017) in the production of their third album In Transition , which will also contain the band's own compositions for the first time. The album appears on the Swiss indie label Dalit-Music.
In addition to regular appearances in their home country Greece, the band has already performed in countries such as Germany, Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands, France and Turkey.
The members of the Loxandra Ensemble (either as a group or as individuals) have worked on numerous projects with a wide variety of artists over the years, including Ross Daly , Ziad Rajab , Chico Freeman , Kudsi Erguner , Kariofillis Doitsidis, Domna Samiou, Chronis Aidonidis , Christos Tsiamoulis, Nikos Kipourgos, Giorgos Dalaras , Eleni Tsaligopoulou, Eleni Vitali , Eleni Karaindrou , Thomas Korovinis, Sol Hasan and many more.
style
The band mainly interprets traditional music from Greece, Asia Minor, the Balkans, the Caucasus and the Middle East. The band uses traditional instruments such as kanun and oud , but also modern instruments such as clarinet , drums and electric bass , and also allows contemporary musical elements to flow into their interpretations.
On the album In Transition , musical styles such as jazz , swing and Latin will also be found in their music for the first time .
Discography
- 2006: Shedon Opos Palia ... (Album, Eterna Production)
- 2011: Meyhane - Kafe Aman (Album, Polyphonon Records)
Web links
- Official website
- Loxandra Ensemble at Dalit-Music