mavrika
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mavrika

London, England, United Kingdom | SELF

London, England, United Kingdom | SELF
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"Mavrika"


Perhaps once or twice a year I stumble across a new band that compel me to go
backstage afterwards to find out more, and Mavrika are such a band. The world (and
world music) has never been short of musicians mixing traditional material and
instrumentation with rock and funk elements, yet so often the electric guitar, drums, and
bass lines are grafted on like an ill-fitting artificial limbs.

But this North London band have avoided such pitfalls by being both respectful and
passionately enthusiastic about the Byzantine twists and turns of the music they have
unselfconsciously brought into the 21st-century. That music is the Greek urban style of
Rembetika - a kind of rock ’n’ roll of its day - which sprung from the hashish and booze-
steeped Greek underground at the turn of the 20th-century. More often than not the
vocalist was male, and the subject matter was either the love or lust for some gaudy
woman of dubious morals, or the quest to get hold of something potent to drink or
smoke.

The first twist with Mavrika is that they are fronted by the classically-trained singer,
Katina Kangaris, whose voice has the kind of crystal-clear tone that in every way seems
at odds with this often testosterone-driven, bawdy and decadent material. The second
twist is that one rarely hears such poised singing juxtaposed to the kind of angular, often
Mark Ribot-esque guitar work, supplied by her collaborator, Chris Morphitis.

My favourite tracks on their debut album are the ones where I can hear the spectre of
Public Image Ltd or The Velvet Underground lurking in the shadows. For example, is
that Venus in Furs being obliquely paid tribute to at the end of Gypsy Girl? The gypsy girl
in question does wander the streets late at night with a flower in her hair and a cigarette
in her hand, so maybe she is a distant Greek relative of Lou Reed’s sadomasocistic
Manhattan princess.

And the track Derbederisa made me wonder what the Cure would sound like backed by
Burundi drummers. All the idiosyncratic drum work on the album is provided by Tom
Skinner who has worked with – amongst others – Mulatu Astatke. It’s always a pleasure
to hear a drummer break free of the relentless four-to-the-floor template that makes most
pop and rock so predictable, and Skinner does just that, approaching each song
differently, thinking of what’s appropriate for the material rather than just doing his own
thing. Other vital contributors include Pavlos Melas on backing vocals and the critically
acclaimed Moroccan Master Musician, Hassan Erraji on oud and violin. The chemistry
between all these musicians allows Mavrika to look backwards while simultaneously
moving forwards; a canny trick!

Personally speaking, Mavrika have introduced me to a style of music I previously knew
little about. But far more importantly they’ve recorded an album that is vibrant and
immediate while also being mercifully free of the kind of superfluous production sheen
that so often mars contemporary recordings in all genres.

Howard Male – The Independent and HYPERLINK "http://www.theartsdesk.com/"
http://www.theartsdesk.com/

- The Arts Desk


Discography

Mavrika is available soon on CD or download. (Psolista Records)

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Bio

Mavrika are Londoners Chris Morphitis (guitar/bouzouki/producer) and Katina Kangaris (vocals). Their eponymous first album draws inspiration from Rembetika - 1920s and 30s Greek blues music, bringing these songs up to date with a contemporary rock line up of electric guitar, bass, drums, bouzouki, oud and violin.
Working with world class musicians Tom Skinner (drums), Hassan Erraji (oud and violin) and Pavlos Melas (vocals), their collective performing experience stretches right around the world, from small intimate spaces to Glastonbury and major European venues.