MAGIC DE SPELL

Layout by:Magic De Spell are set up in 1980 by Thodoris Vlachakis on drums, George Scarlatos on Bass and Alex Kyriakakis on Vocals. The music genre of the band will rock and evolve back n forth from the rough aggression of early and post Punk into the black melodies of Gothic into New Wave, Dance and Electro, the Indie scenes, later on from Grunge to Manchester, someway stuffed with Hard Rock and some Neu Metal elements, and back to their primitive as well as melodic and gloomy “EMO” days, as their roots are filtered through the sound of the decades passing through while the band are always experimenting with their influence in their ethnic orientation. Guided by the principals of Rock as a revolutionary non-stop and non- negotiable way of life, always rolling into and subject to change, and giving and taking from-and along with-the trends of the time as flowing from the outside and burning from the inside the band dares since their very beginning as one of the first punk groups in Greece. A little later they use new technology “newbies’, as Drum Machines, programmable Bass lines & MIDI Sequencers are being played Live in 1984 for a first time in the scene in Greece. Their video clip for their track VALSE (one of the first video clips of Greek bands) shall be awarded in Montréu fest. In the beginning they gig mainly in Athens and later on they walk on clubs, schools, Theatres, and stadiums all over Greece and Cyprus, and in Koln Germany, and co operate in the studio or Live with great many home contemporary artists and bands with many different music styles and genres. Magic De Spell will also share the stage with foreign bands such as THE FALL, THE GODFATHERS, THE STRANGLERS, JOHNNY THUNDERS (THE NEW YORK DOLLS), and EMF . They have their debut release in 1981-the EP “NIGHTMARE”- through the first independent label of that time in Greece named “HAPPENING”. Then follows a collection release LP of Greek bands named “HAPPENING 82” where the group participates with two tracks (“END OF NIRVANA” AND “CITY IS BURNING”). Following come three LP albums (“A BODY IN A SNARE”, “KISS THE MIRROR” AND “CPT BLIND”). Then the dreams of the members split, and until the end of decade two separate band projects are launched and two separate records- each of the same title as the band-are released: ALICE IN A NIGHTMARE (Virgin) who sing in English and TA PAIDIA TOU HELLIOU (DD music) who sing in Greek. Some members of these two project bands are to re-set up the new era as the band has much yet to tell… In 1991 comes the Double LP album “A Story The Best And The Rest” while in 1992 the band participate in a collection album release “RODON LIVE” with one English-Lyrics (“Desire”) and one Greek-Lyrics song (“21” a cover track of a song of Kostas Tournas). The “singing in Greek” period began in 1993 with the album “DIACOPES STO SARAJEVO”, produced by J.J. Burnel from “The Stranglers”. This album includes a track cover to an old 60s contemporary song by George Zampetas “O MATHETIS”, making the band famous to a broader audience in Greece seeing their name entering some independent London charts,as well as their Video clip played on the MTV. Moreover, their name got heard in the Balkans as the war was still in Yugoslavia by their anti-war track “SARAJEVO (FONAXE)”. This album has already sold more than 20.000. In the end of 1995 comes another album: “NIPSONANOMIMATAMIMONANOPSIN” - produced again by J.J. Burnel selling even more than its predecessor including title song, as well as the hit “TERMA TO DIALEIMMA(BABESSA)” the cover track of “POTE VOUDAS POTE COUDAS” of Manolis Rassoulis and more. In 1997 another release comes- a mini album “O FOVOS EXEI ONOMA”- including the cover track “BATTARIA” - a song of Nicolas Asimos.During this period Magic De Spell gigged in more than 100 concerts over the country. On June 1998 follows a new album “TRAMPALA STIS TARATSES ETOIMOROPON SPITION” including the band's all time classic track “EMENA OI FILOI MOU” bearing verses of Poet Katerina Gogou from her book”3 Click Aristera. On March 2000 Magic De Spell find themselves releasing another album titled “KOKKINO”. Now they share their melodic view to the poem of Kostas karyotakis ”Gala” while they won’t miss to include a cover of “Vietnam Yie Yie ” of Dionissis Savopoulos. On April 2005 a new record is released "O TELEYTAIOS EPIZON" in co-operation and co-production with Stefano Korkolis and featuring special guests such as 'HXO' Strings Quartet, Lena Alkaiou among others, and a dance mix of their song BABESSA by Dj R o M Y l o S. The band can’t help having included another cover track and the song now is called “Ypofero” (a pop hit written by Foivos originally sung by Despoina Vandi). The album also includes a ska punk-like song called “REALITY” lyrics of which were written by Pampos Philipou-poet from Cyprus and old friend who already shared his lyrics with the Band since “KOKKINO“. Changing members and players is not a piece of cake thing-neither for the people who leave nor for the ones who stay. One’s for sure: the band is about to enter the Guiness book of records for counting so many members that paraded through the band all these years, and each holds their own brick in the wall of the History of the band! Always on the road Magic De Spell are already proudly working on their next project…