Athanasios "Thanasis" Papakonstantinou ( el, Αθανάσιος (Θανάσης) Παπακωνσταντίνου; born 26 April 1959) is a Greek singer-songwriter.

Short biography

He is married, with two children. Papakonstantinou studied mechanical engineering in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

, which he practices as well as being a musician. After military service (all males are conscripted in Greece), he had a spell of handcrafting traditional Greek musical instruments. Now a

Larissa Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...

resident, Papakonstantinou has established himself as one of the most original and prolific people in the Greek music scene. He writes music in the Greek folk idiom, stemming from his own recollections of traditional songs his parents sang while working in the field. He usually writes his own lyrics or uses poems. He has collaborated with numerous notable artists from the Greek music scene, such as

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, Melina Kana,

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, Lizeta Kalimeri,

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. In 2002, his song ''Nanourisma'' was featured in the film by

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O Vasilias ''The King'' ( el, Ο Βασιλιάς/O Vasilias) is a Greek drama film directed by Nikos Grammatikos. The film released in 2002 and stars Vangelis Mourikis, Marilita Lambropoulou and Minas Hatzisavvas. It won the Golden Piramide in 2003 Cairo I ...

'' (''The King''). The 2007 documentary ''The Horns of the Bull'' is dedicated to Papakonstantinou's work.

Discography

* Αγία Νοσταλγία (Holy Nostalgia, ''Agia Nostalgia'') (1993) * Στην Ανδρομέδα και στη Γη (In Andromeda and on Earth, ''Stin Andromeda kai sti Gi'') (1995) * Της Αγάπης Γερακάρης (Falconer of Love, ''Tis Agapis Gerakaris'') (1996) * Λάφυρα (Loot, ''Lafyra'') (1998) * Βραχνός Προφήτης (Hoarse Prophet, ''Vrachnos Profitis'') (2000) * Αγρύπνια (Vigil, ''Agrypnia'') (2002) * Τα ζωντανά (The Live Ones, ''Ta Zontana'') (2004) * Οι πρώτες ηχογραφήσεις (The First Recordings, ''Oi protes ichografiseis'') (2005) * Η βροχή από κάτω (The Rain from Below, ''I vrochi apo kato'') (2006) * Διάφανος (Diaphanous, ''Diaphanos'') (2006) * Ο Σαμάνος (The Shaman, ''O Samanos'') (2008) * Ο ελάχιστος εαυτός (The Minimal Self, ''O elachistos eaftos'') (2011) * Πρόσκληση σε δείπνο κυανίου (Invitation to Cyanide Dinner, '' Prosklisi se Deipno Kianiou'') (2014) * Με στόμα που γελά (A Mouth with a Smile, '' Me stoma pou gela'') (2018) *Απροστάτευτος (Unprotected, ''Aprostateftos'') (2021)

Sample of lyrics

Rhyme from Agripnia, 2002: "Sleeplessness, ungroped animal!"; "Without a spit of affection / In those who thirst for chimeras, you tilt / Your mug that's always empty."

Band members

* Babis Papadopoulos * George Bandoek Apostolakis * Alex Apostolakis * Andreas Polyzogopoulos * Costas Pantelis * Florian Mikuta * Tasos Misyrlis * Makis Boukalis * Sotiris Douvas * Dimitris Mystakidis * Dimitris Baslam * Fotis Siotas * Pantelis Stoikos * Giannis Ioannidis * Antonis Maratos * Costis Zouliatis * Costis Christodoulou * Alexandros Ktistakis * Martha Frintzila * Matoula Zamani

References

External links

Unofficial website devoted to Thanasis Papakonstantinou, in Greek
(The artist and some of his musicians are active members of the forum)
Fan page at Myspace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Papakonstantinou, Thanasis 1959 births Living people 20th-century Greek male singers Greek songwriters Greek entehno singers Greek laïko singers Greek laouto players People from Larissa (regional unit) 21st-century Greek male singers