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CD
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SR 338CD
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The sound universe of Xenofonia has operatic dimensions and continues Mikhail's exploration of the musical fault-line between Middle Eastern and Western sound. Commenting on his intentions behind the album, Mikhail explains that "until a century ago, all Greek music was folk music with irregular scales and no polyphony. Greece's lengthy enslavement meant that Western musical and cultural developments of the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical eras left the country virtually untouched. I wanted Xenofonia to be about finding a contemporary Greek voice which wakes up to the 'alien' sounds of European instruments; a voice which is at times angry, and split between the West and the East, the past and the present." Citing rembetika, Xenakis and J. P. Rameau's dramatic works as inspirations, on this album, Mikhail's vocals are colored by his Anatolian heritage and meet electronica, avant-garde and baroque music. Xenofonia combines choir, harpsichord, percussion, glitch and environmental recordings. Migrating bird-calls and human voices play a central role heard a cappella or accompanied. Singing often ventures beyond the limits of language. The formidable choral force of ex-miners Snowdown Colliery Male Voice Choir, the intimate voice of Matthias Grübel from German duo Phon°noir, British vocal trio Juice Vocal Ensemble, and background vocals by Elaine Mitchener and Jade Pybus are heard in Mikhail's compositions alongside his wide vocal range of operatic falsetto, bass-baritone, raw shrieks and growls.
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CD
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QS 172CD
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Orphica is the debut album by London-based artist and musician, Mikhail Karikis. After having had his music released alongside sound artists and on a compilation by pop experimentalist Björk to much critical acclaim, Mikhail's work comes highly-anticipated. Orphica takes the listener on a thrilling sonic adventure. Twelve songs map a journey through epic encounters, intimate confessions and emotional confrontations in an exuberant melding of pop, electronica, Greek folk and avant-garde music. Drawing inspiration from the mythical singer Orpheus whose music had miraculous powers, Orphica's sonic universe is high-tech and baroque, raw and delicate at once. Its combinations of sounds are unique: beats made from thrashing knives, smashing plates and electronics slice through the sounds of harps and harpsichords, while choirs chant alongside distorted static, creaking insects and whistling bats. In the midst of this, Mikhail's voice reaches out for its limits with the determination of a futurist. Orphica presents the results of a bold musical experiment by an artist whose vision aims to channel the raw energy and lyricism of folk song while pursuing musical innovation.
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