ΘΑΝΑΣΗΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ

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   During your career, you collaborated with artists ranging from
Bjork to Vangelis Papathanasiou. What were the moments, that you
are most fond and proud of, from this musical journey?

   I feel proud of all of my collaborations until now. In anything I do, just like in anything I play I put my soul into and I try to, kindly, avoid something if it doesn’t “suit” me...I feel honoured to have accomplished, through this musical journey, to meet the incredible Greek composer Vangelis (Papathanasiou) and collaborate with him on a disc, as well as proud to have played at the Jazz Festival in Montreux, at the historical hall Miles Davis, with the great guitarist of blues Joe Bonamassa.

   Your latest project "Dunes of Mykonos" consists of 16
instrumental pieces that combine traditional tunes with ethnic deep
house beats, what was the inspiration behind that music style and
what other musicians were your influences?

   The combination of traditional musical instruments and deep house music is something that has been happening abroad for a couple of years now. Definitely not in the same way we did it in this disc though. A flash of inspiration came when I was offered to play at the club Skorpios in Mykonos island with a dj...Originally, the proposal didn’t have something to do with music of “Eastern Origin”. They wanted westernized sounds and the instruments they preferred to use weren’t exactly “traditional”. I therefore suggested we enhance it with other traditional instruments and play different melodies than the ones they had in mind…That’s what ethnic deep house is! The instruments I used for these live acts are the clarinet, the ney, the mizmar, the duduk(which I played) but also the lute, the qanun, the bouzouki, the cretan lyra and the violin in combination with a dj.

   At the end of September, having completed the shows in Mykonos, I figured that everything we did there could be recorded on a disc. We adapted famous Greek songs, songs and melodies from the Balkans and the Mediterranean and along with some of mine and the musicians’ ,that play in my band, melodies, “Dunes of Mykonos” was created. The band consists of Yannis Lionakis (bouzouki, lute), Yannis Therianos(violin), Yannis Drimalas(qanun) and Spiros Metaxas which helped on our disc production and on our live acts.

   Icons in Greek and Balkan folk music have passed away. Names
like Makis Vasiliadis / Makis Bekos / Vaggelis Kokonis are no longer
with us, but the impact of their work had a greater influence in the
history of the profession. Do you feel the pressure of their heritage
and the obligation of introducing them to a younger crowd?

   I don’t necessarily feel obligation and pressure, but I do feel the need to! Personally, I come from a family that consists of musicians of great value. My father, Giorgos Vassilopoulos, and uncle Yannis Vassilopoulos were both two great musicians which left their own mark on traditional music. First of all, I specifically feel the need to play this type of music as, like I have already said, traditional music is the beginning and end for me. Moreover, I feel the necessity to keep the legacy of my family alive...

   Greece, is sitting on a goldmine of colorful and diverse sounds
buried in the countries past, from pagan folk influences to Rembetika
the songs of the Greek underworld and everything in-between. How
the Greek state can implement a policy to preserve that rich musical
tradition?

   That is most definitely a huge conversation topic that cannot be answered in a simple response. It’s a topic that the Ministry of Culture should take into account. For instance, scholarships and subsidies to artists that are involved with traditional or folk music would be two small steps to take. In Greece, if a family doesn’t take interest or can’t afford to support a talented, in any sector, child, then most probably that talent will never be discovered.

Where the readers can enjoy your work, who do you collaborate
with these days and what are your next plans for your musical
future?

They can listen to our new disc “Dunes of Mykonos” on Minos Emi ’s Youtube channel or on any other streaming service and digital store (apple music, Spotify, Tidal, Napster, Deezer, Google Play).

The disc has been out for 4 months now. Currently, we are working on this project by playing live in clubs both in Greece and abroad. As for upcoming plans...I think that’s too early to discuss!

Follow Thanasis on Social Media Platforms:

Instagram:

https://instagram.com/thanassisvassilopoulos?utm_source=ig_profile_share&igshid=1jtbeg1pganiq

Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/ThanassisVassilopoulos/

Deezer:

https://www.deezer.com/us/artist/583750

Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDKxmiCYnj8jW44_zdK_3rA

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/ThanVassilo

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