Soumka

Greek artist (Christos) Soumka started classical music training at the age of 10. Eight years and lots of inspiration later, Soumka decided to try his hand at arrangement, production and composition. At 23, together with his friend Christos Avdelas, he sets up C&C Studio, which has grown into one of the finest production studios in Greece. It wasn’t long before popular artists like jazz-house turntablist Mikael Delta, pop queen Anna Vissi, heart-throb Sakis Rouvas and pop crooner Mihalis Hadjiyannis invited him to do his studio wizardry. Thanks to his inventive touches, they saw their albums winding up Top 10 lists. With his finger on the pulse, Soumka mulls over the final mixes, adding from his aural palette classical, pop, dance and electro colours for that special touch. After rummaging through his teen influences - the likes of Ennio Morricone, Thomas Newman and John Williams, to name a few - the 35-year-old makes his solo debut on Archangel Music with an audibly provocative album that soothes the soul. Fifteen-track Painkiller conjures images of summer sun, cool wind and moments of repose with its introspective themes, lulling listeners into an other-worldly realm where true meaning emerges effortlessly. Soumka crafts a soundtrack for the seasoned listener. Brimming with thick icings of harmonies, slithering strings and enticing layers of sound that travel on the wave of an underlying dance beat through genres, moods and emotions, Painkiller justifies it name. With Morricone-like interludes and upbeat climaxes to a lounge effect, Painkiller invites listeners to live out the soundtrack of their life, putting behind all the aches and looking forward to a new day.