Sound of Color #6
From free jazz and free improvisation to ambient and psychedelic music, “Sound of Color” continues to explore the boundaries of sound and image, creating unique live encounters every month.
In the sixth meeting of the year, Jannis Anastasakis (guitar, analog-synths, live-electronics) and Natalia Manta (digital & analog-visuals) join Anna Linardou (vocals), Dimitris Ventourakis (piano) and Eva Vaslamatzi (live visuals).
◍ Anna Linardou deals with the diversity of the voice, studying and combining vocal qualities of contemporary, classical and traditional singing and extended vocal techniques. She has sung as a soloist in musical performances all over Greece (Herodeion, Athens and Thessaloniki Concert Hall, Onassis Stegi, etc.), in concerts and festivals in Europe (Punkt Festival, Big Bang) and in America. She has collaborated with Lena Platonos, Martha Mavroloidis and Thanos Mikroutsikos, Andrea Molino, Ko Ishikawa, Arve Henriksen, Jan Bang, Gareth Davis, Chris Cutler, Haris Lambrakis, Giorgos Varoutas, Haig Yazdjian, Vangelis Katsoulis. Her discography includes the albums “Heterotopia” (2019), “Ano Vythos” (2020), “Etidorhpa” (2021) and participations in dozens of others. Since 2021, she has been conducting the Intercultural Choir of the National Opera Orchestra.
◍ Dimitris Ventourakis works on music performance and music teaching. His main instrument is the piano, and he is involved in improvisational composition, performance and discography, as well as in written composition. He is a founding member of Athens Arts Collective, which focuses on developing environments suitable for artistic creation, teaching and research. He has completed studies in musicology, music theory, classical piano, improvisational and non-improvisational ensembles, and jazz performance, composition and theory.
◍ Eva Vaslamatzi is an exhibition curator and writer based in Athens. During her studies at the theoretical department of the Athens School of Fine Arts she worked on analogue photography and the darkroom and then on Super 8 film. She has theoretically researched the significance of the reuse of family album photography in visual art works on the importance of collective trauma. Her works have been presented at the Athens School of Fine Arts, Video Dance Festival and ANALOGICA Festival, among others. She works as a curator in collaboration with public and private institutions for the realization of group exhibitions with an emphasis on new productions. She has edited publications for private collections, arts organisations and festivals. As a writer, she contributes to magazines and exhibition catalogues as well as textual exhibitions.
◍ The artist Natalia Manta lives and works in Athens. She studied sculpture at the Athens School of Fine Arts, where she completed her MA in Fine Arts. Memory, time and myth are at the heart of her visual creation. She uses 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. Her works are in private collections. She has been awarded the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Artists’ Fellowship by ARTWORKS (2022).
◍ One of the most outstanding guitarists and musicians of the Greek improvisational scene, Jannis Anastasakis (born 1984) is known for his unique approach to effects and his atmospheric playing. He has created a personal sound that combines ambient and psychedelia, balancing between melody and noise and often crossing the “permissible” boundaries. He is the founder of JAM pedals, a company that manufactures handmade pedals used by top musicians (Bill Frisell, John Scofield, Daniel Lanois, John Medeski, Nile Rodgers, Lee Ranaldo, etc.). He has collaborated with important artists of the Greek and international music scene, such as Arve Henriksen, Eivind Aarset, Christian Fennesz, Giuseppe Doronzo, Savina Giannatou, Haig Yazdjian, Thodoris Rellos, Michalis Siganidis, Floros Floridis, Lena Platonos, Spyros Polychronopoulos, Dionysis Savvopoulos, Haris Lambrakis and others. In addition, he has made musical contributions to theatre and choreographic works, collaborating with Thodoris Abazis, Androniki Marathaki and the La Coja Danca group. He is developing the audiovisual project “Sound of Color” with sculptor Natalia Manta on live visuals.
“Sound of Color #6” is co-produced with Dolce films.