Christos Barbas: Ney. Voice Victoria Taskou: Oud Giorgos Papaioannou: Violin, Cello Pavlos Spyropoulos: Contrabass Neda is formed by Christos, Victoria, George and Pavlos, four young musicians from Greece. They draw from a broad experience in the musical idioms of Greece, Turkey and the Balkans, the traditional music from these regions, as well as the classical music of the Byzantine & Ottoman empire. Apart from that they are equally experienced in European classical and baroque music. From their musical contact with these worlds comes their urge to merge seemingly diverse languages into a fulfilling musical experience. We are used to thinking of traditions as something old and obsolete, carrying clear or perhaps not that clear elements of conservatism. For Neda, however, musical traditions form a very rich and at the same time dynamic framework for our creativity to be expressed and to flourish. Α common perception that was carved at the place where Neda first met, at Houdetsi of Crete, at the musical workshop Labyrinth. So, Neda was created in the spring of 2012 and it is the outcome of a long lasting friendship, a joint effort and a deep trust. In other words, it is the result of our co-apprenticeship in the world of music. Neda is a river of Peloponnese, one of the few rivers in Greece with a feminine name. Neda, in ancient Greek mythology, was one of the Nymphs who took care of Zeus, when fled to escape slaughter by his father. The element of water, the river, is an ancient symbol that relates to strength and endurance, adaptability and continuous flow. Hence the meaning of Neda for us: bearing the power of the feminine element, to embrace and merge differences, as water connects and naturally rejuvenates everything, bringing the past and the future together into the present, where all sounds and music spring and emerge from each perpetual moment. Choosing an acoustic and minimal combination of instruments (Oud (middle-eastern lute), Violin, Ney (middle eastern end-blown flute, Voice, Contrabass) they present a series of totally new compositions of their own that are both folk and classical, traditional and modern, modal and tonal. Improvisation (taksim) is a fundamental element in their performances. It is used to introduce the various different modes (makams) in their music, to elaborate and variate the various melodic motives and ideas their compositions contain, as well as to present the special sound-timbres their instruments have. "Neda" is their first cd, which was Recorded, mixed & mastered at "Studio Vasmaris", Heraklion / Crete / Greece, by Vangelis Apostolou / October 2012 - April 2013. Graphic Design was done by Eleni Lomvardou Fotos by Manos & Giannis Mathioudakis, Cornilia Sidira, Dimitra Kochila, Giorgos Salame, Vagelis Grigoropoulos Text Editing by Vassilis Chatzivassileiou Translation to English by Thomi Gamagari Produced by Neda We would like to thank: Vangelis Apostolou for his care and substantial contribution to our sound, Eleni Lomvardou for her artistic view of Neda, as well as Manos and Giannis Mathioudakis for the walk in Fourni and their wonderful photos. Many thanks to Peppe Frana and Paolo Veronica for the first journey of Neda to Italy and to Vassilis Chatzivassileiou for his affection and for the help he provided us through his word. We would also like to thank Giorgos Polychroniadis, and not only for his bow, Eleni Rouketa for her company, Marina & Alexis for opening up doors, Palassi, because her hug – as well as her cooking – has no limits, Alekos because he is always here, and of course, little Neda who gave us her name! The 11 tracks from the cd, and a few words about them: 1. Oud Taksim 2. Olive wood bridges (Composition: Victoria Taskou) Sometimes, as I look at the body of my οud, I tend to imagine it as a wooden bridge… The initial melody was created in 2003. Later on, it was used as the main musical theme of the homonymous documentary created by my friend Giorgos Salame. The documentary was a tour round the Mediterranean basin, in places where the olive tree thrives. Many years later, the piece takes its final form in this album. 3. Violin – Ney Taksim 4. Olasonic (Composition: Giorgos Papaioannou) The piece was performed for the first time, with a voice and the steering wheel of my Peugeot as percussion, as I was driving on the seaside roads of southern Crete having Sophia by my side, sleeping of course! I will never forget the moment of the recording, having all these amazing friends and musicians around, in the dark studio, with lit candles in the middle. The song is dedicated to my brother (the title is an anagram for his name), who, at the age of thirteen, was the first person to introduce me to Curcuna (a 10/8 dancing rhythm). 5. Group Taksim 6. Ferahfeza Saz Semai (Composition: Victoria Taskou) Eresos, summer of 2011. Afternoon. I was sitting on a low bench, still warm by the sun, holding my yayli tanbur in my hands, letting myself surrender to the beauty of makam Ferahfeza (meaning open / faraway universe in Persian), which I could feel imbuing my existence during that period. 7. Spourgitis (Sparrow) (Composition: Christos Barbas) A piece inspired by a story that our teacher, Ömer Erdoğdular, narrated to us. A story about a melody that is constantly trying to reach high but keeps always returning to low notes and how this could describe a human’s effort to fly. During a trip to France, a sparrow gave birth to melodies and lyrics, which gradually tied in with the story of my own sparrow. The lyrics of the piece did not manage to get on board on this album; they are waiting for the next time. Dedicated to our newcomer, Apostolis, to Vassilis who flew all the way to Crete for the sparrow, and to all the sparrows… 8. Ney Taksim 9. Beyati Evfer (Composition: Christos Barbas) A composition created within the scheme of a musical workshop by Ross Daly, where we were initially assigned, as an exercise, the task to compose a melody at makam Beyati, at a 4/4 meter. Evfer, a 9/4 rhythm that is traditionally used in the Mevlevi Dervishes’ ritual whirling practices, came to me out of the blue in a composition made up of five melodies. Another compositional initiative is the combination of this melody with the Peşrev form (introductory verse composition in Ottoman classical music). 10. Ángeles (Composition: Christos Barbas / Cello Taksim: Giorgos Papaioannou) It came up as the introduction of the following song “Ea” (“ea” meaning “nighty-night” in Spanish). The idea which served as a basis for the creation of the piece was: how three different voices could be chasing each other in three times. Giorgos enriched this idea with a wonderful improvisation performed with his cello! “Ángeles”, because angels come to us right before we close our eyes or at the moment we fall asleep, and in the end, you can never know whether it is the mother that puts the baby to sleep or the other way round. Dedicated to Geles, Pinelopi and Bebis. 11. Ea (Lyrics: Ana Sánchez Couso / Music: Christos Barbas) A trial for a song with Spanish lyrics written by Ana, and a melody in turkish style. Dedicated to babies that won’t sleep or to loves that turn into stone…