1. Which was the first sound you heard?
Really can’t tell. But my mother used to tell me that, when she was pregnant, my father played records with Cretan folk songs and the embryo (that was me) moved like dancing in her belly. In fact, I had access to the record player since a very young age, so I grew up not generally with music, but literally with records.
2. Had you tried to play/compose music before the age of 10?
Yes, I did on an ordinary basis. With all the means that were available – household junk rather than instruments. Of course, most people around were not very happy with the result. I remember also planning LP’s; writing track lists, designing covers etc. At 11 I got a cassette recorder as a gift, so since that time I started trying to record my music. Some of these recordings survive till today.
3. Which work/album of yours do you think it’s the best or represents well all your work?
Difficult question. I would just say that I think there is a dividing line between my early and mature works, which lies somewhere in 1997 or so.
4. What would you do if capitalism and money stopped existing?
I guess that most of us would become food gatherers, or, at the best, farmers.
5. Do you believe that microtonality is necessary for musicians and listeners anymore?
Why “anymore”? It never was. Microtonality is a mathematical construction, which was never applied in musical practice till the last decades (with the advent of electronic instruments); research has proven that untempered intervals are a matter of mood rather than accurate calculation (and in fact, theoretical values never coincide with musical praxis). See for example related observations: Karl L. Signell, Makam: Modal Practice in Turkish Art Music, Da Capo Press, NY 1986, pp. 37-38, 153-159; Walter Kaufmann, The Ragas of North India, Indiana University Press, IN 1968, p. 10.
6. Do you believe that free improv is fundamental?
For sure, improvisation is fundamental. Improvisation actually implies knowledge deeply digested, so deeply that finally behaves as instinct. All styles of music include some kind of improvisation, even if it’s not obvious. But is there really any special kind of “free” improvisation, opposed to some other, more “bound” or “committed” improvisation? I would really want to doubt it. The so-called “free improvisation”, as it come to our knowledge through the iconoclast movements of the 1960’s, finally became clear that it has its own rules and limitations.
7. What’s your opinion about John Cage?
I would start by mentioning that his compositional work is frequently treated poorly by performers, who are reluctant to approach musical performance as a kind of adventure. In addition to this, we read Cage’s texts with more ease than listening to his music, and of course his writings are both enlightening and inspiring but frequently they distract our attention from his music, being much easier to grasp. This way, Cage becomes more of a thinker than of a composer, and for his music, this is somehow a pity. On the other hand, we must admit that Cage represents one of the most interesting efforts of the Western intellect to re-approach Eastern philosophies, to surpass its own self-sufficiency etc. Breaking the dichotomies between art and life is just a part of this process.
8. Tell me some of your fav artists (from all arts) & philosophers.
Regarding the artists that influenced me, I would like to start with Robert Rauschenberg (which was a rather late influence, but crucial). Then I would add Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee, Jani Christou and Iannis Xenakis, Anton Webern, Einstuerzende Neubauten; in terms of not only listening but also of reading, Robert Fripp and Brian Eno were a great find in the early 1980’s. Texts by Laozi and Zhuangzi, which I discovered one decade later, were also crucial. I feel I am somehow bound with the music of Tangerine Dream from the 1970’s, as well as with the one of Dionyssis Savvopoulos and of Mikis Theodorakis from the same era. I also love many “anonymous” folk artists, while I can’t find any immediate influence of them on my own work. Among the people of my closer surroundings, I should mention Thanassis Chondros and Alexandra Katsiani, Sakis Papadimitriou and, later, Nikos Veliotis, mainly for infusing to me confidence that goals which seem distant can finally be achieved through dedication and persistence.
9. What’s your main goal in your art/life?
I like making “good” music, whatever it may means. It seems that I define “good” music as the one that keeps being interesting through many consequent approaches. Is it a goal to devote your life to? I guess it is life that chooses, not us.
10. What advice do you want to give to young/new musicians and listeners?
I think they should avoid getting advices or, at least, they must be very careful when choosing the people they ask advice from.
11. End this interview however you want.
As we talked about Cage, I will quote one of his stories (included in Indeterminacy). One of Suzuki’s books ends with the poetic text of a Japanese monk, describing his attainment of enlightenment. The final poem says, “Now that I’m enlightened, I’m just as miserable as ever.”
Sonic Solipsism 