July 19, 2016

Kristi Stassinopoulou & Stathis Kalyviotis | NYN

ARTIST: Kristi Stassinopoulou & Stathis Kalyviotis
TITLE: NYN
LABEL: Riverboat
Kristi Stassinopoulou and Stathis Kalyviotis have been working in some of the most intriguing niches of world music for two decades. On their 90’s and early 00’s albums, Kristi sounded like a kind of Greek Bjork or Enya, with her remarkable voice soaring over evocative electronic soundscapes based on Hellenic and Eastern traditions. On 2006’s Taxidoscopio, one of that decade’s best albums in my opinion, Kristi and Stathis found an ideal sonic balance between rooted and ethereal. Since then, they’ve stripped down their sound, made it more hand-crafted, added more folk and psych elements: they call it “Greekadelia.” The new approach comes to fruition on NYN (“Now” in ancient Greek), a session as compelling as Taxidoscopio. The tunes are just plain beautiful, some of the most compelling melodies you’ll hear anywhere. Electronic and traditional elements are fully, organically integrated. Lyrics, in Greek with English translations in the booklet, indirectly but unmistakably speak to the absurdly cruel Greek financial crisis, eight years old with no end in sight. This is a powerful, mature work that deserves a wide international audience.
TOP TRACKS:    1    2    4    6    7    13
ALSO RECOMMENDED:    3    5    8    9    10    11    12

No comments: