Greece - Crete - The West

 Next we are heading to the west of the island beginning in the Lefka Ori Mountain range near Chania.  It is this region that his home to a distinct vocal tradition called Rizitika, which traditionally was performed by men a capella.  Singer and composer Xanthoula Dakovanou is actually from Athens, but she has just released an album inspired by Cretan vocal traditions called Rizituals, giving the songs female voices and adding instrumentation.  Here's a song from that album called Rizituals Sousta featuring some stunning landscapes:

Heading back towards Heraklion we stop in the village of Anogeia, which is home to the Xylouris family, which has several great musicians.  Starting with the most contemporary member, singer and Cretan laoto player Giorgos 'George' Xylouris, also known as Psarogiogis.  When touring with his father composer and Cretan lyra player Antonis (known as Psarantonis) in Australia he met Australian drummer Jim White and together they formed Xylouris White combining  traditional Cretan sounds with free jazz and avant rock.  Giorgios now spends time between Australia and Crete.  Here is a song from their 2018 album Mother called Only Love:

And here is some archival footage of 3 members of the Xylouris family playing together:

Father Antonis, known as Psarantonis, was born in 1939 and is still active.  He is known for his distinct gravelly voice.  Here is a thought provoking piece by him called Greenhouse Effect:

Cretan laoto player Yiagos Hairetis is also from Anogeia.  He got together with English experimental harpist Maria-Christina Harper (great name for a harpist!) to form the duo Hairetis Harper to create a fusion of Cretan music and London avant-garde jazz.  Here is a song from their 2020 debut album Draft called Bell.  Note how all the men from the region appear to have long hair and a beard, I'd fit right in!

And that concludes our tour of Crete, next we'll hop around some of the other Greek islands.  In the meantime you can follow my virtual journey on my Tripline map.

Greece - Crete - Heraklion and the East

 Sadly there are no direct ferries from Cyprus to the Greek islands, but we'll just pretend there are as we arrive in Greece and hop around the islands.  I have been to Greece 3 times in my life, Greek food was the first 'ethnic' food I was exposed to as a kid as Greek restaurants became popular in Germany, and in the background you'd always hear the sound of a bouzouki and the soundtrack of Zorba the Greek.  My first big hitchhiking trip was to Greece with a friend in 1981.  In preparation for the trip and I did a trial hitchhike from Bremen to a place called Bad Segeberg, to see an open air concert of legends of Greek music Mikis Theodorakis and Maria Farantouri.

There will be more about those two much later, but we'll start on the Greek islands, beginning with the largest on Crete.  I stayed a week on the island once back in 1991 or 1992, and if I'll ever find the photos from that trip I'll stick one or two up here.  Crete is culturally a bit different from the rest of Greece, having been the cradle of Europe's first advanced civilisation in the Minoans from 2700 to 1400 BC.  It only became part of Greece in 1913.  The music of Crete is collectively known as Kritika.

Minoan art. photo credit: By Jebulon - Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=99294843

We begin our journey of Crete at the main entry point and capital Heraklion, where trailblazing folk group Chainides formed in 1990 by a group of students of Crete University.  They treat Cretan folk with respect as something very much alive rather than a thing of the past and have paved the way to a whole generation of young Cretan musicians.  Here is a song of theirs called To Syrto Toy Ouranou (The Wind's Sweep), which features on their 2005 double album O Giteftis Kai To Drakodonti:

Poet and musician twin brothers Michalis & Pantelis Kalogerakis were also born in Heraklion.  They match their own and other poetry, often spoken, to Rebetika influenced music collaborating with various other singers including Maria Farantouri.  Here is a song from their 2021 album Rempotika called Mona Zyga.  The singer is Lena Kitsopolo, but sadly I can't understand the words:

Ross Daly was actually born in King's Lynn in Norfolk, England in 1952, but he has made Crete, specifically the village of Achanes south of Heraklion, his home back in 1982, where he is now a highly regarded master of the Cretan lyra and where he has established the Labyrinth Musical Workshop.  He has travelled the world and worked together with musicians from all over the world, including Mongolia's Huun Hur Tu and musicians from Mali, having released over 35 albums.  Here is song from his latest, brand new album tin anixi perimenes - You Waited for Spring called Tsi mousikis i methi (Drunk by Music):

Bouzouki player Manolis Dimitrianakis was born in Mirtos, Crete and is well known for his traditional Rebetika around the country.  Here he is performing in his home village:

Stelios Petrakis (born 1975 in Sitia in Eastern Crete) first learned to play the Cretan Lyra aged 8 and counts Ross Daly as one of his early teachers.  He has now forged a successful career with various international collaborations and his own quartet.  Here is a piece from his highly acclaimed 2022 album Spondi called Maleviziodis with some impressive dancing:

We'll leave it here for the moment and explore the western half of the island next time.  It's been a while since my last post since I was travelling in real life and life has been busy in general.  As usual you can follow my virtual travels on my Tripline Map.