Ioannis Angelakis
"I was born in Thessaloniki in 1988 but grew up in Athens. I'm a composer of contemporary experimental music, working, that is, with classical acoustic instruments and exploring idiosyncratic aspects of their physicality. I seek to discover sounds that are not fully controllable by the performers; that are inherently unstable and constantly moving; that entail a particular logic in the way that they unfold; that presup- pose a particular body-instrument relationship, and that call fora new mode of listening, disentangled from classical
forms and traditional parameters and intended for the kind of pleasure that arises from the revelation of sound's internal structures. structures.
Greekness" is expressed in my music through the violent use of instruments, the bluntness of the human voices, and the constant strife between two contradictory elements: disparate musical materials that remain indeterminate and anarchic, and a determinate structure that violently imposes form on the formless and shape on the shapeless. I think that all Greek tragedies thematize the violence stemming from this conflict: a man striving, without order, to shape his course within a condition that is predetermined by the gods. However, violence and bluntness in my work are not just sonic events that point to the Greek identity of my music. They also demarcate violence and barbarism as political concepts. I want my work to be revealing, not because of its bold themes but because the violence in the sound may give prominence to our fragility and vulnerability."
The portrait photography of the composer Ioannis Angelakis took place in his studio in Athens for Electra Hotels Magazine.
Text by Natasha Blatsioy.
El Sistema Greece "The orchestra of life"
El sistema Greece, The orchestra of life for Kappa Magazine Cover.
«In 1975, conductor Jose Antonio Ampreu created the first youth orchestra to develop at El Sistema. Believing that music is primarily a factor of social development and integration, he tried to remove the poor children of Venezuela from the streets and protect them from the various dangers they faced in the slums, including them in music and more. Thus, he was inspired by the pioneering educational program of El Sistema, striving to offer children more than just learning a musical instrument – cooperation, self-expression, discipline, ambition. All of this, summed up in the famous slogan of El Sistema “Tocar y Luchar”, meaning “to play music and to compete”, remain the goals of the organization, which now has branches around the world. As Panagiotis Tsiridis, pedagogical director of El Sistema Greece, says, “the object of our work is not music, but the child. Our goal is to lead each child to creation, with music as the main tool “. El Sistema Greece has been operating in our country since 2016, offering free lessons of violin, viola, cello, horn, trumpet, flute, clarinet and percussion, lessons in choir, music kinetics and music theory, “to children and young people regardless of origin, language and religion». The photoshoot took place at Maliaras private school. Text by Myrto Katsigera.
Ermis for Kappa Magazine Cover
Ermis Music composer for the cover of Kappa Magazine of Kathimerini
Styling: @iro_tsou
Interview: @vlasis_kostouros
"I am self-taught on the piano. My older sister, Eleni, had started classes and so we bought a piano at home. I was excited, I was experimenting on my own and at 13, after endless efforts, I wrote my first melodies. One of the first pieces I wrote was about a theatrical performance of "Glass World" at school. It was a subtle and fragile sound. At the same time I wrote another piece, which my friends encouraged me to send to the Ministry of Tourism, because it reminded them of ouzo and Greek summer. I sent in a random mail that I found the piece and a letter and they immediately replied that they like it very much and they want me to write them one more. I went crazy. It was the first time someone showed acceptance for my music. Eventually these songs played in the Visit Greece campaigns."
