KONTRABANDO is the music group which was born some years ago, when a group of people came along side each other and exchanged the musical cargo that each one was carrying inside himself.

So this is how the basic centre of KONTRABANDO was created and became the reason for musical quest through our sounds, melodies and musical instruments. Our love and strong desire for the Greek traditional music as well as the traditional music of neighboring countries but above all, the necessity of expressing ourselves inside our new musical compositions that will lean against today and tomorrow, gave the opportunity for new ways of musical expressions and creation to be explored. KONTRABANDO has travelled giving concerts almost all over Greece but abroad too. Tenedos summer 1999, Nuremberg, Phillipoupoli spring 2000, Istanbul winter 2001, winning always the best impressions and critiques.

BIOGRAPHIES

SAKIS GΙORGOU (oud, cumbus, voice)

He was born in Rodolivos of Serres in 1972. He is occupied with music and singing from a very young age. He started playing woodwinds in a local band, he carried on playing guitar and now he is occupied for seven years with oud. He is attending private lessons by the enabled teacher of oud, Yurdal Tokcan, in Istanbul. He has got a degree in Byzantine music. Furthermore, he is cooperating with most of the famous traditional musicians of Greece (Chronis Aidonidis, Nitsa Tsitra, Xanthippi Karathanasi etc) in many concerts as well as in recording companies.

ALKIS ZOPOGLOU (kanun)

He was born in N. Karvali of Kavala in 1967. He started his occupation with the traditional instruments from percussion, he continues with the clarinet, while the last seven years he has been playing kanun. He has been attending musical lessons in Istanbul next to famous musicians five years now (Goksel Baktagir, Kh' alil Karadouman, Agnes Hagopian).
He has a degree in Byzantine music. He also works with many popular musicians and singers in Greece, abroad and in recording companies too. Furthermore, he has worked with Chronis Aidonidis, EN CHORDAIS, Nikos Saragoudas and with Stamatis Kraounakis in the Municipal Theatre of Kavala.

GIANNIS KAPETANAKIS (Constantinopolitan and Cretan lyre)

He was born in Athens by Cretan parents. The lyre player Georgis Dalahakis, who showed him the first steps in the instrument, constructed his first Cretan lyre. Later on, he attended some lessons in the Greek School of Music in the class of Cretan lyre with Zaharia Spiridakis as a teacher. After a while, he firstly heard Constantinopolitan Lyre and lute from Sokratis Sinopoulos, who gave him the first lessons for instruments and Oriental music theory too. The last years he lives in Drama where he works in the Public Music School. He participates in the music group KONTRABANDO, playing Constantinopolitan lyre.

DIMITRIS SINTOS (guitar, lute, accordeon, Keyboards, voice)

He was born in Volakas of Drama in 1980. He has a degree in Harmony, piano and guitar, while now he is studding Counterpoint and Byzantine music. He is occupied professionally with music, participating in different music groups.

GEORGE DELIGIANNIS (traditional violin)

He was born in the island of Samothraki in 1980. He comes from a musicians family - his grandfather was one of the most famous violinist in the island. He lives in Kavala and he teaches traditional violin in the Public School of Drama. He has worked in many concerts with Chronis Aidonidis and other well-known music groups of the area.

KOSTAS PAPANIKOLAOU (double bass)

He was born in Athens in 1959. He started from a very young age his occupation with music, first playing the guitar and after his eighteen years with electric bass. In Athens he was occupied professionally with many music groups, performers and creators of Greek artistic and pop music. The last ten years now he is occupying only with double bass.

MUSIC

The basic purpose of KONTRABANDO is the creation of a modern Greek singing dressed by the special colors and sounds of the oriental sound. The primitive first-born oriental sound which springs from the basic musical instruments of the group (oud, kanun, Constantinopolitan and Cretan lyre, percussion, violin) is enriched and revived by the intervention of musicians and musical instruments with one more modern nature (double bass, guitar, accordion, cubus, keyboard) giving in this way one more personal tone in the KONTRABANDO's sound.

The variety of songs in KONTRABANDO includes original compositions of the group, traditional subjects and songs from all over Greece as well as traditions from Balkan and Eastern Mediterranean, Constantinopolitan songs and rhythms of the "piazza" and also compositions from Istanbul and selected musical moments from the artistic song list of modern Greek music, always given with the special color and style of the group.