Vangelis Papathanassiou

Vangelis Papathanassiou was born in Agria of Volos, eleven years after his older brother Nico, who today is a producer in Italy for punk and new wave music bands like Chrisma. At the age of four he plays the piano and writing his own compositions, while his father is trying in vain to send him to the music conservatory.

Two years later he is appearing for the first time in front of the public. He is playing only his own compositions. At the same time he starts painting and sculpting, which he never abandoned. Until the age of 6 naturally he could not realise yet what he was more interested in.

Since then, he was claiming he did not want to be just a performer; a good piano player so to speak. What he likes most were the various sounds from kitchen pots and pans and radio induced noise. The way he was using the piano, the same way he was using the... pots and pans. For some time he was trying with his own means to alter the sound of the piano using needles, pins, hairclips, and other objects.

In junior high School he was certainly not envied for his diligence. His old professor of Leontiou High School in Patisia says: “Many times he used to get up and leave the classroom in the middle of the lecture and went to the show hall just to play the piano. We made a lot of effort to pass him over to the school board in September. He was a big talent in music and in painting, so we tried to help him as much as we could”.

Indeed (Vangelis) Papathanassiou never missed any of his school’s shows; celebrations, concerts, theatrical shows. In one of these school shows he took part in a painting exhibition and he was offered a scholarship for studying at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, which he did not accept.

At that point the band “We Five” appeared and begins a new era for the Greek bands. Nico Mastorakis – writing lyrics and taking charge of management of the band - and Demis Roussos with Nico Papathanassiou founded “We Five”. A little bit later, the best and most popular Greek band was founded: the “Forminx”. They are causing a huge fuss around the mid 60s. The Forminx members were: Vangelis Papathanassiou on keyboards, Vassilis Bakopoulos on guitar, Sotiris Arnis on bass, Costas Skokos on drums and Tassos Papastamatis was the singer. The group producer was again Nico Mastorakis. Success started on the Sunday mornings at “Pigal” and other places.

The only magazine at the time the “Modern Rhythms” are constantly writing about Forminx. The band signs a contract with Music Box with leading founder (Vangelis) Papathanassiou and Nico Mastorakis as producer. The songs are becoming a huge success one after the other: “Jeronimo Yanka”, “Say you love me”, “Dream in my heart”, “A precious white rose”, “Il Peperone”, “Mandjourana’s Shake”, “Our Last September”, “Greek Holidays”, etc. Unfortunately the fate of the Forminx was not different than any other band. After a three year career, they fell apart in 1966. Each member of the group is pursuing his own career, even if it is not artistic.

For Papathanassiou the Forminx was the first experience with this type of music. The reason was that up till then he had only experiences with classical music and researching of new sounds.

After the band’s breakup he leaves Greece and moves to Paris.

In Paris along with Demis Roussos and Lucas Sideras they form “Aphrodite’s Child”. The band is offering to the European public three albums: “End of the World”, “It’s Five O’Clock”, and the famous double album “666”. Millions of disks are circulating in the world wide market and for three whole years they hold record sales in the whole of Europe.

From the first two albums they had some successful singles like “Rain and Tears” and “Its Five o clock”. The big triumph for “Aphrodite’s Child” however was the double album “666”, where with artists like Koulouris, Halkitis, Irene Papas and Giannis Tsarouchi, they are creating an amazing result.

The student events of May 68 in Paris astonishes (Vangelis) Papathanasissou. He decides to write an album with the help of his brother dedicated to the events. The title was: “Fais que ton reve soit plus long que la nuit”. It was a live documentary with gun shots, explosions, code words, screams, songs from the students’ public demonstrations, as well as various interviews that were recorded from a mobile recording studio. All of these were surrounded by music by Papathanassiou.

In 1970 “Aphrodite’s Child” cease to exist. For Papathanassiou the band became too commercial. He is taking the next steps alone.

He is writing music for the French theatre and television. He moves toward French cinema as well. Since then he is composing the music for movies by Frederic Rossif, Francois Reisenbach and films by other producers. Some of these movies were: “La Fete Sauvage”, “Ignacio”, “Ace Up My Sleeve” etc. He also composes music influenced by paintings of famous artists like George Braque and Georges Mathieu.

Before leaving Paris he presents at the Olympia theatre his first pioneering album called “Earth” which was filled with symphonic and Byzantine elements. With this album public and critics discovered another side of his musical genius.

Big station in the career of Papathanassiou was London. He stays there, signs a contract with RCA and he prepares his own studio.

In the beginning of 76 his album “Heaven and Hell” is circulating in England and in the rest of Europe: The success is eminent; the album is on the top charts and is becoming gold. His concert at the “Royal Albert Hall” was astonishing. His skills on the keyboards, the remarkable theatrical presence and the big chorus impressed everybody. The critics till today agree that “Heaven and Hell” is his best personal record so far. In the mean time he is the producer of two albums with Greeks artists. The first one is “Phos” with “Socrates”. The other one is the first album of Mariangela.

At the same time Papathanassiou presents his own personal album; an album also pioneering which has known the biggest success so far, “Albedo 0.39”. This is the one record that achieves substantial sales in Greece as well. The pieces are magnificent. The radio and television stations of Europe are using its music as their logo sound.

The cooperation with Demis Roussos on the album “Magic” triggers rumours of a possible reunion of “Aphrodite’s Child”; rumours that did not hold true. Papathanassiou on this album was the producer and arranger. The decision for the cooperation took place in a conversation between Demis and Vangelis in London when Demis went touring there.

The album “Spiral” that he is circulating by himself (solo) is about the same level as “Albedo 0.39”. In 1978 he circulates the album “Beaubourg” which was inspired from the monument in Paris that holds the same name.

The biggest desire of Vangelis was to write Greek music which comes true around the spring of 1977. With Irene Papas he is recording a big album in London with a general title “Odes”. In this album that circulates in 1978 in Greece and at the same time in Europe, Irene Papas is singing classic Greek songs like “Saranta Palikaria”, “Menousis”, “Nerantzoula”, “Asprh barkoula tou psara” and others which are played only with electronic instruments by Papathanassiou. There are no traces of sadouri (a traditional Greek instruments simliar to a guitar), clarinet or any other traditional Greek instrument. The first worldwide presentation of the album was made in August, in Athens.

Leaving for London, Papathanassiou said that by the time he is going to reach there he is going to get inside the studio to prepare for his new album. It is going to be something totally different than anything he has even made of so far, without though give any other details.

Vangelis Papathanassiou in his music kingdom… He is inspired, he is creating, he is being recognized everywhere and he is staying deeply, a Greek composer and human…

A tradition that continues; nothing seems that it is going to change any time soon. No one is a prophet on his own country. The rule when we talk about art seems to be working without an exception. Vangelis Papathanassiou – is an example of our time – similar to so many others. He is known, established in the international music industry. Only in Greece he is just known by his name. Just now the parchments and his offerings are having a popular effect. He seems to be well adjusted to this Greek way. “We are such a great people, so smart and energetic but rarely we are able to realize a value. The fame in Greece is first won internationally. And something else: Greek people are able to make you fly in the sky and at the same time to drop you down to hell, with the same inexplicable ease…”

I could say that while I was going to meet Vangelis Papathanassiou I was nervous. From a genuine talent – whose work you find really interesting – you are always asking for confirmation without compromise…

There is a comfortable atmosphere on his room, in Astera of Vouliagmeni, the blue reflection of the sea from his balcony, a couple of Greek friends and me with the tape recorder…

For years now Vangelis you have been working by yourself. Since when and why?

You are referring of course in my career after the period of Forminx, and the “Aphrodite’s Child”. Although allow me to change the question a bit, which will lead the conversation a bit more smoothly… since I was four! Without going in circles: I have been writing music since then.

Self taught

I think that you are playing a lot of instruments. Haven't you ever had lessons in any of them?

Taking lessons in an instrument is something that is opposite to what I believe. Every instrument is able to talk to you – if you want to of course. And you, yourself can have a conversation with it – it is like making love if you like. If you take lessons in an instrument, they teach you how to play so you lose the personal contact. You play the way someone else has showed you how. Of course I had unfortunate childhood by playing music in different places. Everybody finds the sight of a small child playing music very amusing. For me though it was torture just like my school years. School never interested me. Fortunately in the only thing that no one made me take any lessons was art in general.

He loves Greece, he cares about it, and he feels more like a Greek, maybe even more than all of us that we live here permanently. He is judging the people and the place, deeply but with love. He is living music to the absolute point. And when he is obliged to present more commercial music is just because so he could present somewhere else, his solid message.

Did you find a better crowd when you started working internationally?

Better no. At least not with the meaning of better people. I did find a crowd with less insecurity, people that are not afraid to offer you recognition. One of the biggest problems of Greek people is their insecurity which is a result of the constant hearing that other people are better than them and that they need to look like them. They are not better though and they don't live that much better. They have the same nightmare of a standard way of life that makes them nervous and fills their lives with anxiousness, nervousness and so much more.

The only thing right is that the people there, got over the agony of survival and they are aware of it. In my opinion most of the disadvantages that we give to the Greek people is the scheme, the careerism and the guile. All these, are the result of the feeling of insecurity, the blind trust, the desperate try of success which most of the times is not necessary. This Greek characteristic is catastrophic… But it is a big chapter which has to do with art, music…

Cosmic truth

Music. What is music really for you Vangelis?

It is life, expression, cosmic truth. It starts there where the speech ends. This suits me actually. This is my kingdom. It would be better if I divide them.

There is the eternal cosmic music; the music which is on the air and is being expressed at our times in the atmosphere and further in space. The composer is coming in between of this cosmic music and the hearing aid and is giving a personal touch on the sounds.

There is also the social, the commercial music. This music that depends begins from the social values of each time. The music that we hear on the radio, even the classical music of the Western world is a part of social music. If you learn to hear the music of the East, then you discover in it an authenticity and a real expression which has been relieved from the social mass.

Have you ever heard Greek lament? Well Greek lament holds for me all the authenticity of the cosmic music. The people that sing it have never escaped from the nature. They live in their environment, in the nature…not like us.

Since always in the East, people have been treating music in a ritual way. Either way it is an inseparable piece of their every day life. The music that the eastern people hear, varies according to the time of the day; different kind of music in the morning, different one in the evening and different one in the night. We Europeans are too rational, too logical; these kinds of divisions are inconceivable to us.

Disco Problem…

In these days we like the kind of music that it is called disco music. What relationship do you think this discomania has with the problems of our time?

Indisputably, the music is the mirror of our society. Our social crisis, the falling of our civilization is revealed in the music. But the eternal music like the eternal truths exists out of time.

Now for the modern person the kind of music that he listens to – is better to say the way of fun that reflects the way of his life. And again I wouldn't call it way of fun but a way of release. Because today's modern person's time is filled with stress. And like an ancient saying: “the column is hitting itself in the column” he is finding as a way out from the anxiety of the whole day, an intense emotion, an intense stimulation. That is what he is trying to find in the disco; a violent hitting on his nervous system – and at the same time a way of social behavior which is the result of lacking communication. We do not have, we do not feel that we have many things to say to one another.

In the disco the music is really loud. Even if you wanted to talk or simply to communicate with the person that is next to you it does not allow you to. So you drink, you dance your head is filled with extremely loud sounds. This is what gives you the feeling of release.

What do you believe though? Is this way of release system pressure a way of helping the today's person? Is it good or bad for him?

But like I said it is not fun, it is a release of steam and especially it is bad for the health. One of the biggest advantages or disadvantages of the human is his capability to adjust (easy or difficult it depends on its one of us – in every kind of situation). Ignorance though, prevents him from realizing on time which one of these situations damage him. In a place like disco, the more and the louder you hear the music, the louder you want to keep hearing it, since your hearing capability is getting diminished. According to the statistics it is a possibility that a big part of the young people might have problems like hearing problems when they grow because of this constant bombarding of noises. There are studies that actually have proven that many psychological diseases are the result of hearing deficiency.

If you want to analyse this music you can see that it is a part of a constant boum boum boum boum. Not that, that boom boom boom (meaning the rhythm) is not familiar to people. It is being identified as the same bam bam bam as the beating heart.

Out of necessity, we are constantly creating some standards in all the levels of our lives. Somehow that's what happened with this kind of music. We took a basic rhythm, we added just a bit of electronic decoration (because of the time) and that is what we call disco music.

For me as unhealthy it is to go up and down the streets of Stadiou or Panepistimiou breathing heavily, that much unhealthy is to listen to the same kind of music. Our system is a machine that we still have not learnt how to make it function properly. Often we push its strength in the limits. That is when we are having a crisis and we go to a hospital. Then we are coming out and we begin the same, with the same way of life.

Definitely disco music this time is a kind of craze and like a craze…

It is on its peak time! The natural effect is to start falling. There is going to be a lot of time passed before people notice this. If you take as an indication the “Saturday night fever” you can understand that something that cannot go up anymore has already started to fall. It relinquishes its position into a different way of releasing steam.

Is there a connection between disco music and our natural Greek phenomenon called bouzoukia?

There is. This is as well a compulsory way of releasing energy. With the loud noise and all the cliché. This is why the result is the same. After this kind of night out all you want, is to go home and sleep. Fun means happiness and tranquility… After partying in bouzoukia you feel totally tired, exhausted.

Way of life

What do you mean by having fun? How are you having fun?

Not with people's company though. I guess I am feeling boredom around them. Generally human contact makes me feel uncomfortable and always I have to make the first move. I am not very fond of travelling either. I am dedicated to something that really interests me, like observing stars. I am focusing into something that I might only see that is important (this is for me having fun). It is a vital need, a deep experience this way of fun…

Seriously are there deep meaningful experiences, facts and situations that were a landmark in your life?

Yes. At least two are following my life everywhere. The earthquakes and the human stupidity. The feeling of the earthquake, the unspeakable apprehension that it causes; I met it as a boy in Volos. Not the danger though but the fear of dying. The immediate touch of change, the confusion of the nature's rhythm, this is what shaken me and followed me since then. The traces are not missing from my work either. Stupidity from the other hand is an unexplained situation. You are meeting people unique in capability, geniuses in many levels of their lives. Suddenly you realize that there is something wrong in their logic that makes you baffled. Incapable of doing anything you observe their weakness to understand you. You remember at the time what a wise guy said: that “even Gods can be beaten by human stupidity” and you don't speak.

There are people that were born leaders. Their destination is clear, their course is privileged; if they know or not about this uniqueness is something that concerns them. What is important for us is their work. The work of Vangelis Papathanassiou persuades for its brilliance. Surely the target is high and far away…