“Orion”, the new CD that Stelios Petrakis has been working on for the past two years, has been released by “Seistron” (www.aerakis.net). The CD contains six works by Petrakis with lyrics by Mitsos Stavrakakis and Yannis Petrakis. The cast of participating musicians is almost a “superproduction” for this type of music, including top Cretan singers Giorgis Xylouris and Vassilis Stavrakakis, Maria Simoglou, who also appeared on Petrakis’ last CD “Kismet”, as well as internationally-acclaimed musicians from different traditions such as:

Bijan Chemirani and Hammidreza Khabazzi (zarb and tar - Persia), Efren Lopez (viellaroue - Spain), Kevin Seddiki (guitar - France), Georgi Petrov (gadulka - Bulgaria), and exceptional colleagues and friends Giorgis Makris (bagpipes), Giorgos Kaloudis (cello), Kostas Meretakis and Panagiotis Katsikiotis (daouli), Haris Lambrakis (ney) and Michalis Kalkanis (acoustic bass).
Finally, the technical work and processing of the CD - which was created in Crete from start to finish and is the first to be recorded in Stelios Petrakis’ new studio in Mohlos (Mohlos Studio), was carried out by the famous Italian sound engineer Silvio Soave, who travelled to Crete specially for this purpose.
Happy listening.
 
 
 

Techarí Live, the latest CD from Barcelona group Ojos de Brujo, has now been released. The CD, mainly of live recordings from a concert in Barcelona, includes “Nana”, a remix of an Andalusian lullaby prepared for OJB by Stelios Petrakis, Achilleas Persidis and the Palyrria group.

The lullaby remix included in this album was the reason Spanish singer Manolo Garcia came to Crete to record five songs at “Mohlos Studio” with Stelios Petrakis, Achilleas Persidis and Panagiotis Katsikiotis for his new album, to be released in Spain in the spring. The participation of the Greek musicians gave the five pieces an exceptional tone colour, and Garcia left full of enthusiasm at the whole atmosphere and the result of his visit to the island.
 
 
 
Manolo Garcia and Stelios Petrakis 
at Mohlos Studio.

Manolo Garcia and Chico
during a recording session.

 
 

The book “Tunes and Mandinades of Crete” by S. Petrakis and Ilias Andreoulakis has just been published by F. Nakas Editions. This is an anthology of the 50 most representative pieces of Cretan music and a selection of old and new mandinades (rhyming couplets). As the authors say on the flyleaf, “Our intention is to give musicians (learners or otherwise) their first taste of the most representative traditional songs in Cretan music, and a few examples of traditional Cretan mandinades of the type sung by Cretans on every occasion (in company, at celebrations, etc.)
“We have chosen old tunes and old mandinades, which combine great artistic value on the one hand with wide appreciation by lovers of Cretan music on the other. Although we do not consider that we have fully covered such extensive fields as the repertoire of Cretan music and the wealth of the mandinada (an impossible feat in only a few pages), we believe that we have simply outlined these subjects and provided some important elements of this great tradition.

“We welcome all who would like to know more about the musical tradition of our island and wish them a happy journey, remaining at their disposal for any help they may need.”