Traditional percussion, Loukas Metaxas

THE “RHYTHMIC MODALITY” IN THE MUSICAL TRADITIONS OF THE PEOPLE OF THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN

Loukas Metaxas will present for the first time in the form of a weekly seminar the subject of his academic direction, which at the same time is the culmination of his thirty-year career in the performance of traditional percussion instruments and his teaching experience in matters of traditional rhythmology.

The concept of “modality of rhythm” attempts to explain the rhythmic forms in the folk and traditional music of the peoples of the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean (with a focus on the Greek area), as a new way of memorizing, understanding, performing and teaching the phenomena of rhythm .

The courses are aimed both at students (regardless of level) and professional musicians of percussion instruments, as well as at singers or instrumentalists of other categories of musical instruments, as well as teachers of Rhythmology – Rhythmic Education.

He was born in Kalamata, grew up in Piraeus and lived in Thessaloniki from 1995 until the end of 2015 where he returned to Athens.

He studied piano, choir conducting (a capella) and modern harmony with Kostas Klavvas, classical double bass with Yiannis Sereleas and Takis Kapoyannis, modern double bass with Alexandros Vasilatos, classical harmony, history and morphology of Music in various Conservatories of Athens, he did private orchestration, counterpoint and fugue lessons with Amarandos Amarantidis and Music Creation lessons with Nikiforos Rota.

In 1987, his acquaintance with Ross Daly and Christos Tsiamoulis, clarified his musical orientation and led him to personal study and occasional lessons of Political Lute and Bow Tambourine.

In Thessaloniki, he attended classes in Church Music with Panagiotis Neochoritis, Theory of “makam” (Ottoman music) with Markos Skoulios and private lessons in Byzantine Music and traditional singing with Panagiotis Drakopoulos.

He has attended seminars and “master classes” on double bass, modern rhythm, Latin American percussion, traditional and classical Balkan and Eastern Mediterranean percussion with their teachers: Thomas Martin, Marivaldo Paim, Fahrettin Yarkin, Misirli Ahmet, Costa Anastasiadis, Zohar Fresco, Levent Yildirim, in 2009 organized and attended a workshop on percussion and rhythm of Persian and Indian music with Keyvan Chemirani and from 2002 until today he meets Izzet Kızıl in Kon/polis, with the aim of searching for new techniques in percussion.

He has taken part in music events, music documentaries (EPT, BBC, TRT…), concerts and weddings in many parts of Greece as well as abroad (Turkey, Cyprus, Albania, F.Y.R.O.M., Serbia, Montenegro, Hungary, Poland, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Morocco, Egypt, Canary Islands, Russia, Brazil), mainly playing percussion and/or double bass, bowed tambourine or lute.

He has played in the musical theater “Rebetiko” by Kostas Ferris with “Opistodromiki Kompania”, with the K.Th.B.E. in the show “Loxandra” and has worked with many musical ensembles as co-founder, orchestra member or session musician, such as:

“Loxandra”, “Eastern Music Workshop”, “En Hordais”, “Balarom trio”, “Baildsa”,”Wovenhand”, “Aman-Aman”, “Idiomelo”, “Karsi”, “Musicians without borders”, “Ichopratetades “, “Rozonarides”, “Kırmızı Gül”, “Şikâyet”, “Kırıka”, “Rust”, “B-Movies”, “Xarq Al Andalus”, “Ahora Asi”, “Anastatica”, “En La Mar Ay Una Torre”, “Banda Jovanica”, “Ek Vatheon – De Profundis” etc

with various artists such as:

Ross Daly, Ivo Papasov, Petar Ralchev, Nedyalko Nedyalkov, Kudsi Ergüner, Sol Hasan, Yurdal Turksan, Derya Türkan, Izzet Kızıl, Nikos Saragouda, Christos Tsiamoulis, Karyofyllis Doitsidis, Yannis Strigos, the Xylouris family, Vasilis Vetso, Thanasis Serkos, Christos Zotos .

and singers such as:

Yasemi Saragouda, Domna Samiou, , Vangelis Daskaloudis, Doitsidis family, Sofia Kollitiris, Chroni Aidonidis, Xanthippi Karathanasis, George Xanthoulis, Glykeria, George Dalara, Voula Savvidis, Vasilis Stavrakakis, Psarantoni, Solon Lekka, David Saltiel, Mara Aranda, Katia Papadopoulou, Brenna Mac Crimmon, Aspasia Stratigou, Sofia Efietzi, Thomas Korovini, Panagioti Dracopoulos, Panagioti and Sofia Neochoritou, Maria Thoidou et al.

Since 1998 he has been giving private lessons of traditional percussion instruments and has taught at various conservatories or music schools. (Galaxia conservatory, “En Chordais” music school, “Krousi” percussion academy, etc.). From 2016 – 2018 he taught at the National Conservatory of Cholargos.

He has given seminars at the “Music Village” of Pelion, at the Rhythm & dance festival, at the Music Hall in Thessaloniki, at the “Lava” festival of Nisyros (2021-2023), at the Arta Municipal Conservatory and at the “Ars Nova” of Ioannina from 2021 to date and at the KREIZ music academy in France.

He has taken part in more than 40 recording jobs as a musician, arranger, or production manager. Since 2009 he founded the record production company “POLYFONON” which has released 14 CDs to date.

He is in the last year of his five-year studies at the Department of Music Studies of the University of Ioannina, specializing in Ethnomusicology and the Sazi-tambourine family. For a year and a half he is co-founder of the band “URBAN MONTAL” which deals with tropical music, old and modern, with current collaborations with Christos Tsiamoulis, Nikos Andrikos, Zekiye Yourekli and Giorgos Kamatsos, finishing the recordings of their first album. .