New singers, musicians & groups -with diverse music styles- present innovative music featuring fresh sound & impressive stage performance, with high sound and visual aesthetics.

Marietta Fafouti was already 15 when she first laid her fingers on the piano. That first encounter was for her “love at first touch” and at the same time a big revelation as she found out that when she let her hands free on the piano, she could play every melody she had in mind. It was then that she began to write music.

After this experience, her life changed radically. Years of studies and creative maturation followed and soon resulted to a valuable “crop”. The last 6 years she has composed music for films, documentaries, TV productions, advertisements, plays and musicals and had the chance to collaborate with many directors, producers and other artists. In 2006 her first soundtrack was released for the film of Loukia Rikaki “Hold Me”. The same year together with 7 friends she created the Art city bankit.gr, a website that hosts 20 different kinds of art and its purpose is to help artists to show their work through various collaborations, art events and festivals, like ARTogether festival. One of her most recent works is the music for the National Greek TV remake of the children series “O Paramythas” by Nikos and Constantine Pilavios, for which she wrote 364 minutes of original music and songs.
In autumn 2010, Inner Ear releases her first personal album, “Try A Little Romance”, a debut of tracks written and performed by her.

She is accompanied by:
Evagelia Xinopoulou (vocals, percussion), Evi Kourtidou (guitar, vocals), Thodoris Zefkilis (base, vocals), Kostas Chaliotis (drums), Kostis Karitzis (violin, trombone), Lefteris Xanthis (sound), Klairi Fafouti (video projections)

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Le page is an indie/pop duet consisted of Terpsichori and Antonis. Their course begun in 2007 with a lot of live and the release of a handmade E.P.. A year later the band released a second E.P. under the title “Teddy Girls”. The next two years Le Page participated in a lot of live throughout Greece (with Velvet Bus 2 and not only) and abroad and performed with many well – known artists (i.e. Brett Anderson, Bloc Party, Primal Scream, Nouvelle Vague, Au Revoir Simone, Camera Obscura, The House Of Love, Fivos Delivorias). After a long period of time without new recordings the band recorded its first complete record which was released in March 2011 under the title “Yojikevin”.

Le page musicians:
Terpsichori Savvala, Antonis Konstantaras
Session musicians:
Iakovos Pavlopoulos, Efthimios Kourtis
sound: Nikos Triantafyllou

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on May 21st
the BLENDER
Festival presents:

Lumiere Brother

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«Bijoux de kant» presents at BLENDER Festival Graveyard Café Band’s live music performance. A musical show with three performers, original music and video installation, based on Greek Romantic poetry.

The band that made an impact in Athens theatrical life was awarded by the Greek Theatrical and Music Critics’ Association and is now arriving at BLENDER Festival.

It is a musical performance based on the poetry of artists referred to as the «Old Athenian School», during the second half of the 19th century and the era of the «Romantics». Dead and live performers, ghosts and other elements sit upon the stage to sing lyrics and the words of Greek poets.

The voice of a generation which dips into melancholy finds the way out of death, pictured from a sarcastic point of view which overcomes taboo.

Poems and poetry performances on the “unfamiliar, horrifying. The verbal and physical attitude of a generation which plunges to death and despair, and finds its way to melancholy.

The music is written by three musicians – performers. The sound is a combination of classical instruments (piano, violin), traditional (lute, kemence, ney), electrical (electric guitars, electric bass) in a modern digital computer stage setup.

The form borrows references from various musical clichés of the century, aiming to convey with humor, the melancholic world of literature and poetry within a polyphonic and contemporary setting.

The performance aims in developing a condition within which the viewer will travel to a distant and intimate time with the element of sarcastic humor, without clinging to nostalgia, so as to alter with precision the set up, within a multi-level confused and sad reality of our days.

The three musicians / actors / performers of «Graveyard Café Band», counteract among roles, songs and parlates in order to entertain the viewer and bring before him/her the concept of Death and Depression, (favorite themes of poets), as an aesthetic approach to overcoming taboo.

PARTICIPANTS:
Music: Costas Dalakouras
Direction: Yannis Skourletis
Scenery: Yannis Skourletis
Video: Efthimis Theodosis
Performers: Froso Zagoreou, Themistoklis Karpodinis, Sampson Fytros
Communications: Aris Asproulis

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With a time-machine that goes from decade to decade, we invite you to travel and dance under swing sounds, which is followed by jive, Charleston; we play, sing and dance and as the journey comes to a conclusion, we arrive to nowadays making new versions of today’s soul-funk songs. Our own, fresh songs “lock up” the night and helps us come closer since we are sharing them with you.

The company’s cats:
Penny Baltatzi (voice, kazoo)
Yorgos Zervos (electric guitar, voice)
Orestis Gravaris (tenor saxophone)
Stathis Paraskevopoulos (contra base)

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George Woothis taking advantage of the alliteration game with his surname is introduced to us as George Gaudi. His song “Come Again” was proclaimed as “the month’s song” for November by the internet site Jumping Fish, a very interesting “music glassbowl” from which talented musicians like Rous, Lolek and many more have come out. It is now the 24 year-old musician’s turn. He has impressive studies on classical and jazz piano and an English language repertoire that flirts with the psychedelic rock of the 70s, Tom Waits darkness, the theatricality of Tiger Lillies and the unbearable lightness of swing.

(Source http://www.tovima.gr/culture/article/?aid=365327)

The following musicians will accompany him:

Spiros Vrionis: Ac. Guitar
Babis Karassavidis: Violin
Marieta Tsakmakli: Baritone Saxophone, Voice
Eliza Tsatsaki: Alto Saxophone
Christos Droulias: Bass
Yannis Matsoukas: Drums

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Funkistan return to Michael Cacoyannis Foundation for another frantic party at the centre of Athens and bla bla bla zzzzzzzzzzzzzz PSYCHEDELIA FUNK DANCE REBETOPOP and whatever they know how to play hoping that they will succeed in making a career at Athens multidimensional showbiz! Do come and support this sick mishmash of dancing propaganda. The band consists of:

Yorgos Zacharopoulos: voice
Alekos Georgoulopoulos: guitar, vocals
Alexis Stavropoulos: drums
Petros Stamelos: base, vocals

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In the beginning of 2007 EleKtroBalKana started a music jamming with a lot of influences and trends from East to West. The name states mainly the band’s geographical origins and the mood to assign elektoacoustically tunes and songs in theirr ears, creating original music based on ancient rhythm: traditional music themes are perfumed with afro/funk/dub and being pushed ruthlessly in techno/breakbeat/noise extremes. The result of the partnership is e fair in the eternal moment of the world and all the geophysical maps, dub karsilamas, nu-funk kagelia, drum ‘n bass tsifteteli.

In the beginning of 2007 EleKtroBalKana started a music jamming with a lot of influences and trends from East to West. The name states mainly the band’s geographical origins and the mood to assign elektoacoustically tunes and songs in theirr ears, creating original music based on ancient rhythm: traditional music themes are perfumed with afro/funk/dub and being pushed ruthlessly in techno/breakbeat/noise extremes. The result of the partnership is e fair in the eternal moment of the world and all the geophysical maps, dub karsilamas, nu-funk kagelia, drum ‘n bass tsifteteli.

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on June 3rd
the BLENDER
Festival presents:


Jamming Funkers

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Tango with Lions were originally conceived by song-writer Kat in 2006, after the musical dressing of diaries, photos and book-reading influences and were officially formed during a summer-time jam in 2007, in a beach house. Johnniethin’s blues-folk guitar playing and harmonica style, met cellist Stavros’ confident melodies and Ntana’s delicate clarinet sound to complete what the upcoming album of the band represents. Tango with Lions are day-dreamers, hard-workers and music-lovers.

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Electronic duo Space Blanket was formed in November 2009 by Abdul and Biscuit. Their sound is a mixture of dirty bass lines, heavy kicks and french style synths with guitar and vocals. Both share a passion for real time image making and performance and inevitably their live performances became audiovisual shows at an early stage engaging both music and projected visuals in ever changing configurations. An evolving audiovisual project driven by the musical tastes of two men set off to make an audible cocktail….

Space Blanket were recently hand picked by Underworld as runner-up winners at beatports remix contest. You can listen the Bird1(Space Blanket Remix) here:
http://www.beatportal.com/feed/item/underworld-pick-their-winning-remix/
http://soundcloud.com/spaceblanket/bird1

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Blaine L. Reininger is an American composer and performer born in 1953 in Pueblo, Colorado. Having studied violin from age 9 guitar from age 11 and music theory and composition through high school and into college, he left Colorado in 1976 for San Francisco. There, in 1977, as a consequence of his studies in electronic music at San Francisco City College, he started the legendary American cult band Tuxedomoon together with classmate Steven Brown.

In 1981, Reininger and the group left America to practice their art in Europe. Over the course of the next 26 years, many artistic collaborations took place and many cd’s were recorded. These collaborations, while mostly musical in nature, often moved into other fields such as dance, theatre, and film.

Since 2000, Tuxedomoon has been re-united and tours the known universe about once a year. Reininger continues to live and work in Europe, having lived in Athens, Greece since 1998.

Tilemachos Moussas was born in 1970 in Thessalonica, Greece. After his studies at Agostini and F. Nakas Contemporary Music Schools he was offered a place and a scholarship to Berklee Music School. Some of the bands he played in are: «Xaxakes», «Ble», “LoveLab” , «Acetic Voice», “Medieval Death” . In 2002 he formed his own jazz band “Tilemachos Moussas quartet”. He has worked with many important musicians such as: Damo Suzuki, Savina Yannatou, Blaine Reininger, Julia Kent, Pamelia Kurstin, Lena Norin, Michel Hatzigeorgiou, Missirli Ahmet, Banu Unuvar, Thanos Anestopoulos, K. Maginas, M.Voumvaki, D. Kamarotos and has performed  with artists such as Chico Freeman, Sheila Jordan, Jerome Rothenberg .

Tilemachos and his band have played as guest in concerts for bands and musicians while Tilemachos has composed the music for several plays and has taken part in the music composition of films. He participated as a performer in several plays and dance performances and has played and performed in many well known concert halls and in Festivals all over the world.

His cd “Kyknostalagma-Swan Drip” released in September 2006 by Ankh records, upcoming cd  “Newborn” is going to be released in 2011. He participates in the board of directors of Thessalonica’s “Jazz and Creative Music Club” and works as an educator.

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They are amazing, imaginative, fun, talented musicians playing unexpected cover versions from every modern genre. They are performing a live show full of energy and humor, an unforgettable show!

General ConZou, Al the X-King, Cosmic Communist and Mosch Holiday are the BURGER PROJECT.

They mixing relentlessly musical memories of a whole generation and they rediscover and adapt diamonds from swing to punk and from disco to country. Clash, Alice Cooper, Queen, Ramones, Thin Lizzy, Godfathers, White Stripes, Prince, Fats Domino, Johnny Cash, Sonics, Undertones, Tsitsanis et. Con Zou is the ‘general’ of the band, a double bassist who often dresses up as en Easter lamb, Al the X-King is the guitarist and lead performer, the more swollen his veins are, the better the fake high notes sound, Cosmic Communist is the crazy keyboard player hovering from the Hammond organ to the Near East and Mosch Holiday is the drummer, the happy rock of simplicity.

All in all, the end result is definitely what you expected!

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Zen Garden is a circle of people that introduces a multi-layered art experience by combining a variety of mediums to a dance theatre like performance, dressed as a music concert. Their music ranges from ambient and free style electronica to tribal dance. Electronic soundscapes and natural musical instruments (vocals, bass, pagan percussion, guitars) are seamlessly interwoven with physical theatre, aerial acrobatics and stilts surrounded by live visual art environment.

They were formed in 2007 and their music core is Stefanos Tortopoglou (synths, Samplers, Giutars, Programmimg) and Roxane Garefalaki (voice, lyrics, keybords, performance). Along with Spyro K., member of Visual Vibe project in visual art surroundings, Michali Mazi at bass and the live percussionists Manoli Kambouri and Yorgo Koukouli, Yanni Smero and Yanna Medvedeva in aerial acrobatics- silks, physical theatre, stilts, Zen Garden consist of a team that combines different arts that compose stories and dreams, making each performance an experience in an original kind of optico- electronic musical show. In 2008, along with Yanni Smero and Yanna Medvedeva, they created in aerial acrobatics silks, physical theatre, stilts, the performance super-show “Feeling in Process” with which they opened the Juno Reactor concert Live in Athens (4/08) and the Aurora Festival in Kavala (8/08). On 23/5/09 Zen Garden opened with their performance super-show “Semantic” the Future Sound of London concert at the Softball Venue at Elliniko, Athens. In March 2010 Cosmic Leaf Records released their album “Simple Thought” and in December 2010 their LP “Discover”  in electronic form, while several songs of theirs have been released in the collections “Goa Beach vol. 6” (United Kinkdom), “Mahamaya” by IT Record Shop (France) and the Chill Spectrum by Uxmal Records (Mexico).  Zen Garden has taken part in numerous live all over Greece, have written music for theatre and dance theatre performances as well as for short films.

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Yorgis Christodoulou, considered as one of the special and distinguished musicians, has a 12 year career in discography and in the last four years is living between Greece and Spain. His latest recording under the title “Flâneur” (March 2011), contains 11 french-spanish pieces and is released in Greece, Spain and Argentina.

Yorgis is being accompanied by:
Alfredo Ruci, Oscar Jairo Ortega, Claude Asisahi and Grigoris Theodoridis

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Story of Verbal Delirium begins back in the summer of 1999 when keyboard player and vocalist Jargon went to form a band along with bass player Nik Michailidis .Though starting with an obvious commitment to the progressive rock and psychedelic sound of the 60’s n’ 70’s, the band came soon to realize that the addition of more modern elements was something more than a necessity. However, the presence of numerous changes in the lineup delayed the band’s plan for an album. After trying many different people, things finally seamed to fit at 2005 with guitarist Giorgos Maniatis and drummer Lazaros Papanastasiou.

Conclusion of this effort was the recording and distribution of a demo album under the title of “The imprisoned words of fear” witch took place in 2007. At that time the album still reflected the band’s admiration for the progressive and psychedelic sound of the 70’s with big arrangements and complex chord progressions, but also presenting some metal and jazz elements. Still , one of the key elements in Verbal delirium sound was and still is their commitment to the presence of very distinct melodic patterns which bear a heavy role in their songs.

After that, the band moved on to a more alternative rock style, though preserving much of the progressive elements. Another change in the lineup went on, introducing Nikitas kissonas on guitars. and drummer Tolis Liapis. As a result, first official album entitled “So close and yet so far away” was introduced. Recording sessions took place between January and March 2009 and after numerous successful performances throughout Greece it went out public, distribution of Musea records, in November 2010. The album also showed the band’s aspiration and intention for instrumental aspects featuring the use of cello.

As soon as the recordings ended the band found itself once more with the need of a change in lineup, as drummer Tolis Liapis dropped his place due to personal issues. Hopefully the wait didn’t last long and drummer Enthralling Kernelg was added to fill up the space. Special mention should be made in the use and appearance of some guest musicians such as Elsa Papeli (Cello), Anastasis Hamilakis (Keyboards – Theremin) and Lampros Matopoulos (Trumpet-Guitar)

As of 2009 the band is in the process of extending its horizons, experimenting with new forms of arrangements, seeing the music as a hole and not as distinctive genres. For the time being things are focused on working new material and promoting the newly come album by booking some major gigs. Future plans include the recording of a second album, possibly within the year of 2011. The band is also about to make a big step forward by being ready to perform outside Greece.

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A new rare great voice that comes as a surprise! Ioannis became known by the song “Otan echo esena” (Wheh I have you) with music by Stamatis Kraounakis and lyrics by Lakis Lazopoulos. At Blender he will present, for the first time, some of his own songs and arrangements of beloved Greek songs with dynamic and inspired orchestrations.

Ionnis was born in Thessaloniki and grew up in a family with music tradition as his Tenor grandfather, Ioannis Lakis, was one of the main members of Greek Radio (Elliniki Radiofonia) while he even sang at Teatro alla Scala in Milan. He started his studies in music at the age of six, with a degree in piano studies and in Theory, with an emphasis in phonetics and further studies at New Bulgarian University and at the Music Academy di Santa Cecilia in Rome. He participated to the European Opera Studio and in Raina Kabaivaska’s master class.

With him: Orestis Mavropoulos (violin), Lefteris Papamallis (piano), Antonis Lazos (saxophone), Vasilis Pentsos (guitars), Kyprianos Gregori (bass), Stefanos Stefanidis (drums)

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on June 25th
the BLENDER
Festival presents:

Evripidis and his Tragedies

BLENDER Festival 2011
Idea – Artistic Director: Alexis Kiriazis
Technical Supervision: Sarantis Zarganis