Udopia Thimios Atzakas

• 1 Nada 13:51
• 2 Melos 06:53
• 3 Boy - doo 16:02
• 4 Erik Satie - Gnossienne No.1 07:22
• 5 Diaplous 10:00
• 6 Lost Dervish 09:18
• 7 Ballast 04:58
• 8 Tertsina 03:21
• Total Runtime 01:11:45

Info for Udopia

The debut album of Greek oud virtuoso and composer Thimios Atzakas features a selection of his own compositions and arrangements that he created over the last years. His style is strongly influenced by Oriental traditions, which merge with his background in European Jazz and contemporary classical music, creating an intriguing fusion, a sound world of its own that defies any concrete definitions.

The ensemble consist of seven musicians from various backgrounds of world, classical and jazz music, who have played together in this formation for many years, creating mutual musical understandings that transcend conventional stylistic boundaries.

“Udopia” sometimes resembles a story from Arabian nights, a fairytale that melds ancient and new elements, the West and the East, and explores the very roots of our musical heritage.

Thimios Atzakas, oud
James Wylie, saxophone, lyra
Nikos Paraoulakis, ney, mantoura
Elektra Miliadou, cello, viola da gamba, gong
Kostas Anastasiadis, drums, percussions
Dimitris Zacharakis, marimba, percussions
Αvgerini Gatsi, voice

Thimios Atzakas
was born in Thessaloniki in 1971. He studied classical guitar in Greece and in Germany with Costas Cotsiolis, Hubert Käppel and Carlo Marchione. He was taught the ud and modal music by Ziad Radjab, Βehnam Manadjedi and Ross Daly.

He is a graduate of the New Conservatoire of Thessaloniki and holds a post-graduate degree from the Music Academy of Köln and the Academy of Music and Drama of Leipzig.

As a classical guitarist and up until 1996, he was a laureate in four international competitions and gave recitals in many guitar festivals.

He lived in Berlin from 1998 until 2004. During the last decade, his main avocations have been the performance and exploration of the ud and other lute instruments, music composition and improvisation. Moreover, as a guitar player, he also performs early and contemporary music.

From 1996 until present, Thimios has performed at international festivals and has lead or participated in many projects in Greece, Cyprus, Romania, Albania, Spain, Portugal, England, France, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Morocco, Syria and Kirgizstan. He has broadcast and recorded for the Greek Radio and Television, the WDR, Deutsche Welle, MDR, Arte and the BBC. He has participated in over than 10 cd productions as a performer or composer.

He has recorded music and appeared with many distinguished musicians such as Βijan Chemirani, Madjid Bekkas, Βehnam Manahenji, Chris Dahlgren, Hayden Chisholm, Kemal Dinc, Taner Akyol, Socrates Sinopoulos, Antonis Anissegos, Costas Theodorou, Socrates Malamas, Thanasis Papakonstantinou, Maria Thoidou and others. He has also founded music groups, amongst others: the Armos Ensemble, the Tropos Quartett Berlin, and, in collaboration with Antonis Anissegos, ΣΩΜΑ.

As of 2005, Thimios teaches the ud and co-ordinates ensembles and several projects in the sector of Traditional Greek Music at the Department of Musical Arts and Sciences of Macedonia University.

In 2006 he undertook the artistic administration of the international musicians’ and artists’ forum “Music Village “ (www.music-village.gr), which takes place every summer in Agios Lavrentios, Pilio.

In 2013, he completed his PhD thesis on the theme “People of the Wood – The ud-istic art from the outskirts of eastern music world to the contemporary Greek urban culture” at the University of the Aegean (Department of Cultural Technology and Communication).

Booklet for Udopia