Giorgos Xylouris ( el, Γιώργoς Ξυλούρης, born September 25, 1965), also known as ''Psarogiorgis'' (Greek: Ψαρογιώργης), is a
Cretan
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
laouto
The laouto ( el, λαούτο, pl. laouta ) is a long-neck fretted instrument of the lute family, found in Greece and Cyprus, and similar in appearance to the oud. It has four double-strings. It is played in most respects like the oud (plucked w ...
player and singer.
Xylouris was born into a musical family (his father is
Psarantonis (Antonis Xylouris), himself born in 1937; his uncle
Nikos Xylouris
Nikos Xylouris ( el, Νίκος Ξυλούρης, 7 July 1936 – 8 February 1980), Cretan nickname: Psaronikos ( el, Ψαρονίκος), was a Greek singer, Cretan Lyra player and composer, who was and remains to this day among the most renow ...
(1936-1980); his cousin -Nikos's son- Giorgis Xylouris (1960-2015), etc.?), and he grew up in
Anogeia
Anogeia (Ανώγεια) is a municipality in the Rethymno regional unit, Crete, Greece. The municipality has an area of ., excluding the former municipal departments Axos and Zoniana. Population 2,379 (2011).
When exactly Anogeia was founded and ...
, their mountain village in Crete, with a rich musical culture. Xylouris started playing the Cretan laouto, a relative of the lute, at an early age, guided by his uncle Psarogiannis. From eleven years old, he would accompany his father at village functions, and participate in recordings. Giorgos lived for eight years in Melbourne, Australia, where he formed the Xylouris Ensemble "in the early 1990s".
[
] Two of the Xylouris Ensemble's albums, ''Antipodes''
(1998) and ''Drakos''
(1999), were nominated for the ARIA Fine Arts Awards in Australia. In the "2000s", The Xylouris Ensemble expanded to include a younger generation of players, including Psarogiorgis' sons Nikos and Adonis Xylouris, who are based in Melbourne.
[
Xylouris plays the laouto as a solo instrument, in contrast to the traditional accompaniment role the laouto has in ]Cretan music
The music of Crete ( el, Κρητική μουσική), also called kritika ( el, κρητικά), refers to traditional forms of Greek folk music prevalent on the island of Crete in Greece. Cretan traditional music includes instrumental musi ...
. Normally in an ensemble, the laouto provides the rhythmic backing to the lyra, which is par excellence a singer's instrument. In this role, Giorgos is peerless. In the less usual role of lead instrument he has made the laouto a melodic instrument to frame and adorn song."Lute master returns, ''Neos Kosmos'' 11 March 2010
[
]
Xylouris has performed extensively both in his native Crete, in his second home Australia, and internationally at
world music festivals, collaborating with musicians from both
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fol ...
and
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
traditions, including Australian drummer
Jim White in the duo
Xylouris White
Xylouris White is a musical collaboration established in 2013, involving Greek singer and laouto player George Xylouris and Australian drummer Jim White, best known for his work with Dirty Three. The duo's music has been described as combining ...
.
[
]
Discography
Albums
See also
* Xylouris White
Xylouris White is a musical collaboration established in 2013, involving Greek singer and laouto player George Xylouris and Australian drummer Jim White, best known for his work with Dirty Three. The duo's music has been described as combining ...
Awards and nominations
ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...
is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music
The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...
. They commenced in 1987.
!
, -
, 1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
, ''Antipodes''
, Best World Music Album
The Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album is an honor presented to recording artists for influential music from around the globe at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors i ...
,
, rowspan="2", [ARIA Award previous winners. ]
, -
, 1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
, ''Drakos''
, Best World Music Album
,
, -
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xylouris, Giorgis
1965 births
Living people
Traditional musicians
Greek songwriters
20th-century Greek male singers
People from Anogeia
Cretan musicians
Greek laouto players