FRIDAY 9/8/19

- Thrax Punks -

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What exactly happens when traditional music from Thraki “meets” punk?

The mixture of world music elements and their culture of origin gives ThraxPunks

their unique, what they call “punkopanigiropsychedelic” sound (a word which cannot be understood  unless experienced!).

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Yorgos, Vaitsis and  Panos met in 2008 in Orestiada, their hometown in the Evros district, in Thraki, and ever since, they have been incorporating their very own aesthetics, timeless human questioning as expressed in traditional songs, mystical worlds and everyday stories of the past into punk dynamics, creating an explosive  yet nostalgic atmosphere.

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The ThraxPunks are:

Yorgos Stavridis: dauli, thracian lyra, vocals

Vaitsis Harokopidis: bagpipe, kawal, zurna, vocals

Panos Ginis: electric guitar

 

 

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SATURDAY 10/8/19

- Alcalica -

 

"Their glance does not look back at the roots, it looks forward, at the branches of the tree which keep on developing and growing".

(Antonis Xangas, “Ydor” record review)

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ALCALICA is a duo or a trio operating from Berlin and Mytilini playing Dream and Bass.

They play in ever changing constellations adapting the music to the place and the people they play with. It's electronic music with traditionnal instruments like the persian santoor, greek baglamas, african kalimba, analog filters, hand operated drum machines, own recorded samples and vocals in the 5 languages they speak.  

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The journey starts around 2005 in Berlin.

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Ever since, they have been giving hundreds of concerts accross Europe from aknowledged festivals to underground clubs, beach bars to burials. They collaborated with Baba Zula on many occasions, opening their shows in Germany, Belgium and Turkey, recording for their album or remixing for their label. With Brenna MacCrimmon they have arranged her repertoir in an Alcalique way: folk-core.

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6 vinyls of Alcalica have been released, two of which are split records with Direct Connection (Athens).

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Their most trusted public is in Greece. A place that remains one of human and natural beauties sharpened by the emergency of times. Essentially self-managed, Alcalica finds there, a ground of resistance.

 

ALCALICA are:

Leonidas Danezos: Samplers and drum machines operated manualy, creating illusion through rhythm-manipulation, analogue filters and effects, persian santoor and greek baglamas, live mixing and production

Julie Loi: vocals in french (native), german (mothertongue), italian (fathertongue), greek (adoption) and english (de facto), original texts, deep voice, effected kalimba.

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SUNDAY 11/8/19

- The Last Drive -

 

Rooted firmly in the punk explosion of the late ’70s, the Last Drive burst into the Greek music scene in 1983, captivating audiences and critics alike with their unique speed-trash-garage-punk sound and their explosive gigs. Their debut LP Underworld Shakedown (1986) is met with critical praise, prompting them to get out of the confines of their country and carry out their first European tour. 

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A stir is created abroad when songs off the LP are included in international garage compilations (Battle of the Garages, Sounds of Now!). It is no surprise that their next album Heatwave (1988), is co-produced with Peter Zaremba of the Fleshtones and is released through the German label Music Maniac. Not long after that, Theo Angelopoulos includes two of their songs in his film Landscape in the Mist and Music Maniac, excited by the reception to Heatwave, releases the CD Their Story So Far, which contains their first two albums. In 1989 they record the Time E.P. in Berlin, winning new fans. 

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Through their meeting with Dream Syndicate, they collaborate with Paul B. Cutler, who handles production duties on their next album. Blood Nirvana (1990), one of their most accomplished recordings, marked a turn to harder sounds and was released in Germany and Spain, and a year later in the US by Restless. In summer of 1991, the Last Drive tour with Dead Moon all over Germany. It is the beginning of a long-lasting friendship. In 1992, Paul B. Cutler returns to Greece for a new “magical” collaboration. Recording and mixing takes place in Athens, with mastering in Hollywood. F*head Entropy is an altogether different concept, with more tone-color and harsher language. In 1994 they release “Subliminal”, which bears the identity of a band that can draw on its various influences, putting their personal stamp on anything they choose to work on. The band breaks up in 1995, but reforms in 2007 with a series of explosive gigs in Greece and abroad, and the release of their first full-length live LP, Time Is Not Important. 

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A film documentary entitled 20000 Miles Ahead - A Last Drive Story by director Dimitris Kotselis hits the big screen in 2008 and a CD/LP entitled Heavy Liquid comes out in 2009 with critical appraise, reaffirming the band’s recording status. More action follows and the EP News from Nowhere is released by Inner Ear in 2011. With a new guitarist, Stefanos on board, the band keeps delivering the most intense and powerful gig experiences. In 2013 the Last Drive celebrates its 30-years existence with two days of rock n roll unity at its home base, resulting to a new documentary, And the Engine is Still Running by Sergio Vafeiadis. After an unplugged period that lasted almost two years (2015-2017), the Last Drive fire up their guns once more with the recording and release of their self/titled album in the spring of 2018. 

 

The Last Drive:

Alexis Kalofolias: vocals, bass

George Karanikolas: guitar, vocals

Chris Michalatos: drums, percussion

Stefanos Flotsios: guitar, backing vocals

Panayiotis Kakalias: sound engineer