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LP
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AKU 1038LP
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Contrarily to the rest of Tasos Stamou's experimental discography, the musician's latest album Balkan Express has a more obscure electro-folk approach. It consists of seven pieces, all recorded with seven different vintage electric keyboards from Stamou's own collection, blended with oriental acoustic solos. Since Stamou grew up in the Balkans in the '80s, he wanted to pay homage to the essence of the sound of the era that unintentionally shaped a whole culture. It was when these inexpensive, available-to-all electronic keyboards with synth sounds and drum machines replaced traditional Balkan folk music ensembles. The acoustic instruments solos and melodies of the album were influenced by local traditions and the heritage of the Ottoman music. Balkan Express is meant to be a time capsule taking the listener to the folk-wave retro-Balkan subculture. Tasos Stamou is an electroacoustic music composer and performer, alternative electronic instrument maker, instructor and sound technician. He explores the gap between ancient and contemporary transcendental music, using both traditional and advanced media. For ten years, he has been performing and recording, developing a unique style of live electroacoustic composition.
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LP
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CREP 070LP
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Maybe it's too much to ask for a moment of your attention. As you grow older and keep diving into this era of information, disinformation, fake news, and all that, you might also tend to take a step back and listen to the intents of those social media adverts that tell us to slow down, breathe in, breathe out, enjoy everything around you a little bit. So, if it's not too much to ask, you can press play and start enjoying D-A-D. If you're doing that, you can even stop reading this, because you don't need further instructions. It's the second time in less than two years that Discrepant has released music from London based Greek musician Tasos Stamou (Athens, 1978). The wordplay of Musique Con Crète (CREP 054LP, 2018) was a backdoor to an adventurous and "concrete" experience with sound. D-A-D follows up on that. Recorded between 2015-2018 as an homage to both his Dad and the more commonly used tuning on the Greek Bouzouki, D-A-D, Stamou delivers 40 minutes of music that explores ancient and modern languages, while crossing his unique instrumentation with celebrations of new/old folk, field recordings, and electronics. In his music, there's a constant flow of ideas that defy standard tonalities and the conception of "traditional". Improvisation was the starting point for the creation of some of the nine pieces Tasos Stamou wrote for D-A-D. The electronics often serve to interact with field recordings that are wisely manipulated, while acoustic instruments, like a Bouzouki, build up the connection with the tradition and the necessity to slow down. With his unique atmospheres, Tasos is whispering some life hacks to build a better life. Nowadays, it's quite rare for a record to organize the way the listener wants to listen to music, to sounds. D-A-D creates a beautiful systematization between old and new, folk/traditional music and the technology in sound. All songs by Tasos Stamou. Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker.
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LP
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CREP 054LP
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Starting with an artist residency Tasos Stamou visited the Greek island over the course of three summers, collecting field recordings, performing with local musicians, producing electronic compositions and gathering old records and tapes of traditional music of the region. The project resulted in the assembling of a unique sound collage which reflects his personal experience as a music visitor to this part of the Mediterranean. Tasos Stamou is an electroacoustic music composer, performer, alternative music technologist, and tutor. During a decade of sound performances and recordings Tasos Stamou developed a unique style of live electroacoustic composition. Long and continuous pieces are created live using a "portable electroacoustic music studio". His gear consists of acoustic (prepared strings, reeds, objects) and electronic instruments (handmade electronics, modular synthesizer systems soft synths). Based on sustained tonal textures and free improvised instrumental solos, his live compositions create a particular and unique atmosphere of ritual noise. Artwork by Tasos Stamou. Mastered by Rashad Becker. Edition of 300.
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