Loukas Metaxas

Music:

Member Since: 10/8/2007
Band Website: loxandramusic.gr/Metaxas.html
Band Members:

current bands/ collaborations:"trio mare" (adaptations of Greek music with santouri,laouto & perc),
"Yeden quartet" (traditional music from Balkans to Central Asia),
"Graikoi" (Greek traditional music, especially from Epirus),
"Perdelides" (traditional music from Crete, Dodecanese and Minor Asia),
"Maria Thoidou" ensemble (compositions and poetry of Maria Thoidou),
"Loxandra" ensemble (Greek, Turkish, Arabian, Gypsy traditional music)
"Eudousin" (compositions of Pantelis Pavlidis based on ancient Greek poetry),
"Rozonarides" (musical concepts with narratives),
"Balarom trio" (balkan jazz compositions and adaptations),
"Idiomelo" (Greek traditional music),
"Balkan express" (Nothern Greek and Southern Bulgarian music),
"Kostelides" (music from Eastern Thrace, especially from Kosti village),
"Kazbek" (adaptations of Caucasian traditional music),
"OC" (European medieval music)...

Also, I teach traditional Balkan's percussion and rythmology at private music schools "En Chordais" and "Galaxias" and also give private lessons at home.
Influences: My father and older brother used to be (among other things) bouzouki, tzoura and baglama makers and my oldest brother was a bouzouki player.
In this environment, I got familiar with rembetiko music at a very young age. My first instruments were tzoura, baglama and rembetiko guitar. Before the age of 10, I started taking private piano lessons and by the age of 16, I played electric bass guitar in a lot of Athenian bands on a wide range of Rock music.
In Athens, between 1985-1995, I took musical lessons of Theory, Traditional and Modern Harmony of music, History and Morphology of music, a cappela choir conducting, orchestration, contrapuntal and fuga, musical synthesis, piano, Classical and modern double bass.

Ever since I met Ross Daly and Christo Tsiamoulis (back in 1989), who defined my musical orientation, I’m in love with traditional music of the world and started to search and learn the way to play yayli tanbur and all kinds of lutes (especially lavta, Cretan and Steriano).

In Thessaloniki, between 1996-2005, I took musical lessons of Byzantine music and musical theory of Maqam.
I have participated in various seminars for Double Bass, Eastern Mediterranean and Jazz Rythmology, Turkish, Arabian, Balkan and Latin American percussions, with teachers like Thomas Martin, Izzet Kizil, Misirli Ahmet, Kostas Anastasiadis, Fahrettin Yarkin, Marivaldo Paim.

At this point, I have to mention Vaggelis Karipis, Giorgos Gevgelis and Andreas Papas of whom I had my first influences according to the way percussions should be played in Greek traditional music and also words are not enough to thank the great musician Izzet Kizil who completely changed my perspective and showed me new horizons in music, so generously shared with me since 2002 so much of his "wisdom" on hand percussions technic, instrumentation and performing!
Sounds Like: I am a constant searcher of local musical traditions of Balkans, the classical, traditional, religious and mystical music of Turkey, Caucasus, Iran, Sephardi, Gypsies’, Arabic and most of musical cultures of Mediterranean music, medieval music of Europe and rhythmical idioms of Latin America and Indian Peninsula.
Here are some of my favorite cd’s of those I have participated:
more music:You can listen to some songs from "Loxandra"’s c.d. :

...and also from "Graikoi"’s demo :

videos:Watch an improvisation of Loukas Metaxas (leather daf) and Dimitris Panagoulias (plastic daf) with Turkish belly dancer Safak Perduk, from a live performance of "Loxandra" ensemble (Thessaloníki 2004)
2 daf+bellydance2004 Loukas Metaxas, Dim. Panagoulias, Perduk

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...or a video of myself in bass darbuka, Dimitris Panagoulias in darbuka and Turkish belly-dancer Safak Perduk, from the same concert :
Darbuka, Bass Darb+bellydance 2004 Panagoulias, Metaxas, Perduk

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Record Label: Got a label? There are many orphan projects...
Type of Label: Indie