Sisyphus

Original Release Date: 11 December 2020

Greek musician Sofia Labropoulou is a kanun player and composer who has developed a unique sound by merging the worlds of Greek and Mediterranean folk, classical Ottoman, Western medieval, experimental and contemporary music. Sofia Labropoulou made her Odradek World debut with Butterfly, an exquisite collaboration with guitarist Vassilis Ketentzoglou. In Sisyphus, Sofia Labropoulou returns to Odradek World with a sumptuous collection of her own compositions, inspired by an eclectic range of sources and featuring a rich ensemble including vocals, kanun, shepherd’s flute, oud, santur, the kemençe from Istanbul, and Western instruments such as clarinet, violin, cello and double bass.

The works featured on Sisyphus take inspiration and poetic source material from a diverse array of eras and geographical locations, including The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays by Albert Camus, Greek mythology and folk styles, Turkish and Arabic music, and two songs by the Sex Pistols: Anarchy in the UK and God Save the Queen. The result is unique and distinctive, but with an overarching sense of unity achieved through Sofia Labropoulou’s powerful musical personality.

Musicians
Sebestyén Márta vocals & Shepherd’s flute (track 1)
Eleni Christou vocals (track 3)
Christina Maxouri vocals (track 7)
Sofia Efkleidou cello track 1,3,4,5,6,7)
Ourania Labropoulou  greek santur (track 1)
Sofia Labropoulou kanun (tracks 1,2,3,4,5,6,7)
Stratis Psaradellis  Istanbul kemence  (tracks 3,4)
Kyriakos Tapakis oud (tracks 3,4,5,7)
Harris Lambrakis ney  (tracks 3,4,7)
Vaggelis Karipis percussion κρουστά (tracks 3,4,5)
Kostas Meretakis percussion κρουστά (tracks 3,4,5)
Dimitris Tsekouras  double bass (tracks 3,4,5) Alekos Vassilatos double bass (track 7)
Nikos Angousis clarinet (track 5)
Giorgos Marinakis violin (track 5)

Recorded, mixed and mastered at Sierra Studios, Athens, Greece January, July & October 2015
Producer: Sofia Labropoulou Sound engineer, Mixing: George Kariotis Mastering: Christos Zorbas (2016), Sierra Studios, Athens, Greece
Translations: Panos Tomaras (English) Dimitris Alexakis (French) Yannis Saxonis (English CV editing) Aranka Szabo (English translation of the Hungarian Lament)

Cover painting and details from the Breathless series of paintings by Haris Periorellis (2013)
Design: vist.co
Video: Sotiris Bekas

preview:

soundcloud