PAUSIS

This album is an intriguing project from Theodore Koumartzis who runs a foundation in Thessaloniki which seeks to recreate the instruments and sounds of the classical world. Here, the ancient Greek lyre, a plucked yoke lute, is to the fore but incorporated into contemporary compositions and orchestrations, which take in electronics, strings and some wonderful vocals from, among others, Ariana Vafadari, who really stands out on ‘Almanecer’. The inspirations for the tracks range from ancient Greek and Celtic myth, to traditional music from Salento, to bells from Spain. The latter forms the basis of ‘Campanas’ which juxtaposes the lyre with sitar, part of the real sense of exploration on show here. ‘Boundaries’ again takes advantage of the lyre’s harmonics to great effect, while ‘Belenus’ and ‘Awake’ bookend the album by placing the lyre alongside modern strings. Strangely, I found ‘Journey’ (described by the accompanying blurb as ‘a standout track’) less interesting than the reimagined traditional ‘Are Mou Rindineddha’, but overall this is an album which has much to explore and enjoy.