OTHON is a composer, songwriter and pianist. He took his first piano lessons at the age of 4 and gave his debut concert at the age of 5. Soon, he became a sought after young pianist in his native Greece performing in concert halls, TV and radio. He won several national competitions, including the X.O.N. At 18, OTHON went to London to study piano at the Royal College of Music, under the Romantics Master, Dr Peter Katin. In 2003 he made his compositional breakthrough, after being invited to perform in an occult oriented salon. The L.P.R, the Ego and the Result was the outcome of his first experimentations. Kaleidoscope!, his second piano piece, was written in an altered state of consciousness during a group magickal ritual. In 2004, he received a scholarship to study composition at Trinity College of Music, at PG level. In the same year, he started an ongoing collaboration with Ernesto Tomasini, the singer-actor-performer that was to become his muse and main source of inspiration. For Tomasini's extraordinary vocal range he wrote a substantial number of songs and classical pieces that together have performed around Europe.
OTHON has collaborated with singers, poets, instrumentalists, artists, performers and puppeteers such as Lee Adams, Kat Vipers, Dominic Elvin, Ernesto Sarezale and Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo. In the UK he has performed in venues like the The Spitz, Austrian Cultural Forum (for the Mahler Society), October Gallery, Leeds College of Music, LCE, the Rudolf Steiner House and the Riverside Studios. In 2006, OTHON appeared as a performance artist in Stephen Montague's Sonic Swamp for the Colourscape Festival and in Black Sun Production's video Uncle Billy. In 2007, he performed in the UK, Austria, Italy, Greece, Denmark and France and played with Current 93. More recently he performed for a live soundtrack to Derek Jarman's "The Angelic Conversation" with Peter Christopherson, Ernesto Tomasini and David Tibet.
CURRENT + FUTURE PROJECTS:
Othon Mataragas becomes OTHON! Please see my website for more info on that.
OTHON has recently completed his debut album, which will be published by Durtro Jnana and will be released in autumn 2008. It will include performances by Ernesto Tomasini, David Tibet, Marc Almond and the Elysian Quartet.
His pieces Metalipsis and The L.P.R., the Ego and the Result are featured in Bruce LaBruce's new film Otto or Up With The Dead People. The movie, which had its premiere at the Sundance Festival on Saturday 20th of January 2008, was also screened at Berlinale Berlin Fim Festival, Istanbul Independent Film Festival and other major festivals. For more info visit www.ottothezombie.de.
OTHON' s piece Metalipsis (sung by Tomasini) will be included in the soundtrack of Otto. The soundtrack will be published by Crippled Dick Hot Wax! records.
OTHON' s Brave New World (sung by Tomasini), will be included in the Kenneth Anger tribute album entitled Brother Focus: For the Inaugurator of the Pleasure Dome. This tribute CD will benefit the director who is recovering from a major operation. Other contributors are: Marc Almond, Andrew WK, William Basinski, Baby Dee, Bonnie “Prince†Billy, The Bricoleur, Carter-Tutti, Michael Cashmore with Bill Fay, Coil, Current 93, Gravetemple (Oren Ambarchi, Attila Csihar and Stephen O'Malley), Hafler Trio, Hush Arbors, Lynn Jackson, Little Annie, Matmos, Nurse With Wound, Diana Rogerson, Six Organs Of Admittance, Matt Sweeney, JG Thirlwell, Threshold House Boys Choir, (r).»
OTHON is currently writing the music and the words for his second album. He is also working on some tracks for Black Sun Productions' forthcoming album Phantasmata Domestica and on a collaboration with the Greek - Armenian poet Kevork Madanian
OTHON + TOMASINI will be performing at the Hustlaball, London as well as in Santiago, Spain. (see events for more info)
OTHON will soon be recording one of the two songs Aleister Crowley ever wrote. The Tango Song will be re-arranged by OTHON and sung by Marc Almond.
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WHEN I LEAVE YOU - EP www.othonmataragas.com
