Sound of Color #3 – KET Anniversary Session
Within 12 years, KET has become a reference point for the experimental and improvisational music community in Greece and beyond, thanks to the artists who have loved and trusted the space from its very first steps.
To celebrate our 12th year, we proposed to Jannis Anastasakis and Natalia Manta to organize a special version of the audiovisual concerts that they have been curating at KET for 10 years. Besides Jannis (on guitar, analog synths and live electronics) and Natalia (digital & analog visuals), the third “Sound Of Color” of this season will host Fausto Sierakowski (saxophone), Thodoris Ziarkas (double bass), Dave De Rose (drums), Petros Kolotouros (visuals) and Marissa Bili (vocals) for an improvisational, groovy and festive birthday set.
Fausto Sierakowski was born in Paris and grew up in Rome. In 2009, he obtained a diploma in classical saxophone (Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia) and, in 2012, a master’s degree in contemporary improvisation (New England Conservatory). During his stay in America and until his return to Europe, he performed and recorded with musicians such as Matt Moran, Anthony Coleman, Joe Morris, Matt Darriau, Satoshi Takeshi, Hayden Chisholm and Axel Dörner. In 2016, he moved to Greece. Since then, he has participated in the ensembles of Eugene Voulgaris, Yannis Dionysiou, as well as in the “Fausto Sierakowski Trio” and “People of the wind”.
Between London and Athens, co-founder of the group Valia Calda, the double bassist and composer Thodoris Ziarkas collaborates with international groups and renowned artists in the field of jazz, improvisation and traditional music (Nancy Mounir, Tom Sochas, Vanessa Kourtesi, London Improvisers Orchestra, Okay Temiz, Yazz Ahmed, Anna Homler, Steve Beresford, Savina Giannatou, Electric Litany, Tasos Stamos, Adam Bohman, Yuko Kaseki).
With a career that has included collaborations with renowned artists like Moloko, Mulatu Astatke, Rokia Traore, and Mark Ronson, among many others, Dave De Rose has spent the past 14 years pursuing underground music projects. He’s a core member of the space-age Gnawa project Electric Jalaba and the Athenian newborn Rave At Your Fictional Borders, as well as the director of Agile Experiments (2018-present). Agile Experiments has been well received by the underground experimental jazz community worldwide, releasing 11 LPs in 5 years. Catching the attention of the British Library’s “Sound Archive” project early on, they requested to have it in their catalog to archive and preserve the music as part of the nation’s audio and cultural heritage. Dave’s own label, DDR Records, boasts 25 independent record releases encompassing anything from ambient, songwriter-funk, free improv, jazz, and electro-acoustic techno.
The audiovisual artist Petros Koloturos explores through his work the sensory possibilities of the combination of image and sound. He has directed music video-clips, video-dance and video art as well as projections for music concerts. Documentaries that he has directed or participated have won awards at international festivals in Greece and abroad. He is a drummer in two active musical groups and a graduate of the postgraduate program “Culture and Documentary Film Production” of the University of the Aegean and the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Patras. Both in music and cinema he applies and explores the condition of free improvisation.
The vocal artist and musician Marissa Bili has studied classical singing with Maria Erlacher Forster at the Konservatorium Innsbruck (Austria) and advanced music theory courses in Athens. As a classical singer, she has worked as a soloist and vocal ensemble artist in numerous performances in Greece and Austria. In recent years, she has been exploring music through instant compositions. She uses extensive vocal techniques and improvisational vocal music in the context of interdisciplinary performances, which has led her to collaborate with many artists from different areas of the Athenian art scene.
The visual artist Natalia Manta lives and works in Athens. She studied sculpture at the Athens School of Fine Arts (2011 – 2017), where she also completed her MA in Fine Arts. Memory, time and myth are concepts at the heart of her visual creation. She uses different materials (metal, clay, photosensitive chemicals and video projections). She collaborates with visual artists, musicians, theatre or performance artists. Her work has been exhibited internationally in various solo and group exhibitions. During the period 2017-2020, she taught sculpture at the Athens School of Fine Arts in Athens. Her works are in private collections. She has been awarded the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Artists’ Fellowship by ARTWORKS (2022).
Jannis Anastasakis (born 1984) is considered one of the most distinctive guitarists and musicians in the Greek free-improv music scene. Known for his unique approach to effects and atmospheric playing, he has created a personal sound that blends ambient and psychedelia, balancing between melody and noise, often pushing the “acceptable” boundaries. He is the founder of JAM pedals, a company that manufactures handmade guitar pedals, which are used by some of the greatest musicians such as Bill Frisell, John Scofield, Daniel Lanois, John Medeski, Nile Rodgers, Lee Ranaldo, and many others. He has collaborated with significant artists from both the Greek and international music scenes, including Arve Henriksen, Eivind Aarset, Christian Fennesz, Giuseppe Doronzo, Savina Yannatou, Haig Yazdjian, Thodoris Rellos, Michalis Siganidis, Floros Floridis, Lena Platonos, Spyros Polychronopoulos, Dionysis Savvopoulos, Haris Lambrakis, and others. Additionally, he has contributed music to theatrical and choreographic works, collaborating with Thodoris Abatzis, Androniki Marathaki, and the La Coja Danca group. He is also developing the audiovisual project “Sound of Color” with sculptor Natalia Manta, handling live visuals.