Garage Days

Formed in 1981, Villa 21 transformed slowly from a new wave band with influences from Birthday Party, to a neo garage band standing between Rocky Erickson and the Stooges.
They left 4 EPs and 3 LPs before they split with the last 3 (Electric Poison-1987, House of the Damned-1988 and Hellucinations-1990) being some of the best raw rock albums of Greek discography. Their singer Kostas Fever Pothoulakis died in a car accident in 1993.



House of the Damned from their EP with same name - 1988

Formed 1983 in Athens, The Anti Troppau Council were a short-lived band but with a loyal fan club. They left just one LP, A Way Out (1986, produced by Nikos Papazoglou) and several tracks on compilations. They broke in 1987 just before the release of their second album (which was never released). Two of their new songs were included in the Cicadas compilation.





I Believe from the A Way Out LP - 1986

The Mushrooms were formed in Thessaloniki in 1984. They released 2 albums (Taste of-1986 and Scarecrow Princes-1989) both produced by Nikos Papazoglou. They also appeared in Cicadas compilation with 2 songs and finally disbanded 1991 with their guitarist Asclepios Zambetas joining another group of Thessaloniki, Trypes. Their vocalist Pluto died in 2004.






Sleeping in the Lizard's Mouth from Scarecrow Princess LP - 1989
 

The Brazen Plagiarist

Kiki Dimoula is a Greek poet, member of the Academy of Athens. Born 1931 she published her first book in 1952. She lives in Athens and her poetry is translated in English, French, Swedish, Spanish, German and Italian.
Most recently Yale University Press published The Brazen Plagiarist: Selected Poems which were backed up with a strong international campaign and press coverage.

Her poetry deals with absence, oblivion and loss seen through a kaleidoscope of linguistic exaggeration. The use of common words in a non-traditional way creates an emotional layer by questioning the very meaning of these words. The element of surprise, in every verse, provides the space for realizing the untold.

Wild guess: Greece’s 3rd poetry Nobel Prize! 

The Plural (from “The Little of the World” poem collection, 1971, here translated in English by Cecille Inglessis Margellos and Rika Lesser for “The Brazen Plagiarist”).


THE PLURAL

Love:
noun, substantive,
extremely substantive,
singular in number;
gender not feminine, not masculine,
gender defenseless.
Plural the number
of defenseless loves.

Fear:
substantive,
singular to start with
plural afterward:
fears.
Fears of
everything from now on.

Memory:
noun, proper name for sorrows,
singular in number,
singular only,
and indeclinable.
Memory, memory, memory.

Night:
substantive,
gender feminine,
number singular.
Plural in number
the nights.
The nights from now on.


Here’s the poem performed by Thanos Anestopoulos

The Plural


Here's the poem I Passed by Kyriakos Sfetsas from the album Land of Absences, 2011

I Passed


And finally The Kiss by Stamatis Kraounakis

The Kiss
 

Curves

Several months ago, right after The Athenian Project post, Anonymous informed me that the drummer on this recording, Dimitris Kakavoulis, was also the drummer of the pop psychedelic VLS first line up presented on previous post.

Sometime later Dimitris Kakavoulis contacted me and sent me his new cd Curves (self-release, 2012).
As a composer and pianist with his Dimitris Kakavoulis Quartet, he presents 7 original compositions of pure jazz, combining melodic improvisation and rich rhythmic alternation. 


Dimitris Kakavoulis Quartet - DeDoDahDum (Curves, 2012)


The quartet:
Dimitris Kollias: tenor sax
Dimitris Kakavoulis: piano
Periclis Trivolis: bass
Leandros Fratnik: drums

Dimitris Kakavoulis Quartet - Siganopapadia (Curves, 2012)

 Besides his solo work Dimitris Kakavoulis is contributing in various other works.
It is worth mentioning his contribution to J. Kriste, Master of Disguise album Girls, Ghosts and Gods (2009, Puzzlemusik).
This is a very interesting folk, psychedelic album, the second one of Cypriot artist Lefteris Moumtzis. Dimitris Kakavoulis contributes drums, keyboard, cymbals and melodic in 4 compositions.


J. Kriste, Master of Disguise - Treesong (Girls, Ghosts and Gods, 2009)


Finally Dimitris is contributing piano in 2 songs from Thanasis Papakonstadinou album Elahistos Eaftos (The Minimum Self) of 2011.

Thanasis Papakonstadinou - Loco Motivo (The Minimum Self, 2011)

You can find more info about Dimitris Kakavoulis and ask for his records here:
http://www.facebook.com/DKQuartet?ref=ts&fref=ts
http://www.myspace.com/dkq