Cat No HE18

“Taidoscopio”, the new album by Greek singer, lyricist and fiction writer Kristi Stassinopoulou has already been high in the European World Music Chart for several weeks - it has also been a fRoots Playlist Choice and has received a glowing review from them. Her 1999 album “Echotropia” also enjoyed especially great success across Europe, as did her “Secret of the Rocks” CD in 2003. Kristi’s music is a unique blend of her own Greek traditions with Arab, Spanish, Italian, and Balkan influences which are all then reworked with elements from ethno trance, electronica & psychedelic rock. Her debut album, “Ifantokosmos” was released in 1997.

As on this new CD, she normally collaborates with her long-time musical partner & husband : composer and multi-instrumentalist Stathis Kalyviotis, with whom she formed the band Selana in the late 80’s - an underground, cult group that combined garage rock with Greek traditional dance rhythms and melodies. Their current approach is still internationalist, neo-hippie, paganistic, experimental and described by some as ‘ethnopunk’. They have a particularly strong following as a live band with a vivid, visual stage act. Normally a 5-piece, the band on this album play a wide variety of instruments including : saz, laouto, lyre, gaida (greek bagpipe), saxophones, guitars, keyboards, percussion & djembe - and is expanded by guest musicians on individual tracks playing harp, tablas, trumpet & trombone.