Future Folk #4: “Filoi-STAY!”
The original concert series FUTURE FOLK, curated by the electroacoustic composer Tasos Stamou, continue with the Arabic oud soloist Dimitris Mikelis as guest. Stamou and Mikelis explore the roots of Arabic music. They create a soundscape with an emphasis on the Palestinian tradition, as both have personal and family ties to this region of the southeastern Mediterranean.
With improvisational, acoustic and electronic elements, as well as some new compositions by the duo, they compose a musical narrative inspired by – and dedicated to – Palestine.
Focusing on the “traditional music of the future”, the monthly FUTURE FOLK concerts are a meeting point between folk tradition and contemporary experimental music. A researcher of sound, Tasos Stamou invites soloists from different musical traditions, creating with them an on-stage conversation where their music is combined with live electronic processing.
Dimitris Mikelis: oud, buzuk
Tasos Stamou: live electronic signal processing, synthesizers, Arabic keyboards
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tVr5HxG5EA&ab_channel=TasosStamou
🔷 Dimitris Mikelis is an oud player and pianist. He has performed at festivals in Greece, Italy, Switzerland, France, Turkey, USA, Palestine, Kuwait, Bahrain, Morocco and he organizes the Oud Festival in Athens.
He has released two personal albums.
In Greece he has toured with Socrates Malamas, Melina Kana, Alkinoos Ioannidis, Savina Giannatou, Lizeta Kalimeri, Petros Dourdombakis, Stelios Vamvakaris and others. He is a member of the band Occasional Dream.
In the USA he collaborates and records with the Arabic music and dance group Zikrayat. In Palestine he teaches at the Al Kamandjati Association and the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, and participates in activities to promote music education in the framework of European Union and United Nations programmes.
He is also a member of the Palestinian National Arab Orchestra and founder of the Ramallah Jazz Quartet, with participations in local festivals. He has been honoured for his contribution to Palestinian music education.
🔷 Tasos Stamou initially became widely known in the field of avant-garde experimental music, through the improvised, processed electronic instruments he built and used. During his long stay in the United Kingdom (London), he began to tinker not only with electronics, but also with the local Greek musical traditions he grew up with.
His “folkloric” work has been very well received by international avant-garde music media, such as The Wire, The Vinyl Factory, The Quietus, Soundohm etc. He has also been featured in articles and radio specials that focus on the contemporary evolution of rebetiko in today’s era.