Agona will bring her experiences of engaging and activating communities through music, her curiosity about the soundscape, musical heritage and histories of Lympia and Cyprus, and openness to learning and collaboration from the other participants and the local population. The outcome of this interaction may come in a sonic form

Bio

Agona Shporta is a vocalist, performer and music curator based in Kosovo. She has completed her vocal performance studies at the ‘New School for Jazz Studies’ and in New York, she has performed song arrangements from various musical traditions, including South-Eastern Europe, South America, India, the Middle East, as well as the American Songbook. Agona has collaborated with jazz musicians from Kosovo and has also been a well-known name at DokuFest, performing with local and international artists. In 2021, her solo project ‘Musical Visits’, a combination of vocals, keyboards and visuals, was presented at festivals and cultural centres in Albania and Kosovo.

Drawing on personal experience, from living in the countryside and developing a close relationship with more rural environments, Panagiotis Mina aims to work with materials (objects, sounds, texts) from the route of his home to the Xarkis residency, Pyrga to Lympia village, (a backroad going through agricultural and residential land, industrial areas and farms), to produce and set up a sound/installation and performance piece which will be informed by the practices and environmental intricacies of the area regarding the use of land and the people who are affected.

Bio

Panagiotis Mina (1982) graduated from Coventry University, UK with a BA in Communication Culture and Media in 2005. Since 2006 he has been working as a freelance director and photographer and also as an audiovisual artist. He presented his work in personal and collective exhibitions in Cyprus and abroad. He is interested in ‘noise’ as an idea and practice and as a response to various cultural norms. He uses photography, video, audio and construction to build new cultural objects based on a variety of platforms that explore the very basis on which artistic production is rooted in. He is an active member of the music scene (D.I.together Honest Electronics etc), founder of the “Noise of Ozon” platform for outdoor sound performance and owner of ‘Pyrgatory Studio’.

it may all be over soon comprises a series of philosophical, musical and poetic reflections on our relationship with the natural world and its creatures, informed by a vivid awareness of the unfolding climate crisis. What is the future of humanity–and what do we want it to be? How can we process–morally and psychologically–the vast damage being inflicted upon the earth and its nonhuman inhabitants? How can we negotiate the startling prospect of our own extinction?

Using text, video, and live music performed by a choral ensemble, it may all be over soon critically contemplates the philosophy, psychology and ethics of climate change in an attempt to understand the present moment.

The work has been developed in the framework of the Yard.Residency.21 by the Centre of Performing Arts MITOS.

Text, original music, performance: Androula Kafa
Concept and creative advice: Evita Ioannou
Choral ensemble: Maria Alexandrou, Nataly Evagorou, Marios Kolonias, Elena Michaelidou, Semeli Tilemachou
Choral arrangements: Marios Kolonias, Androula Kafa, Elena Michaelidou
Video: Dimitris Chimonas, Adonis Archontides
Poster and photographs: Adonis Archontides
Mentorship: Elena Agathokleous

Inspired by the sounds of Cyprus that are found in speech and music, “Mali” during their Residency participation in Xarkis, will prepare a concert with original compositions and adaptations of traditional songs with a theme of the relationship between humans and nature. The music of Vassilis and Odysseus is deeply influenced by their love for Cypriot culture and they invite the listeners to experience the tradition as a living and evolving way of expression.

Vassilis Filippou – voice, percussion, new, compositions
He studied composition in England and the Netherlands and upon his return to Cyprus Vassilis taught music and collaborated with artists in the field of music, dance and theatre. In 2021 he released the album ‘The Sun of Avki’ with his compositions influenced by the music of the Eastern Mediterranean. www.vassilisphilippou.com

Odysseas Toumazou – guitars, compositions
He studied jazz guitar in the Netherlands and currently teaches at the True School of Music in India as head of the guitar department. Since July 2018 he lives in Cyprus and dedicates his time to composition, teaching and music appearances where also in July 2019 his first album was released, entitled “Ensticto”.

Julio is a Cypriot rapper from Limassol. He writes his lyrics exclusively in the Cypriot dialect. His verse is straightforward and punchy, and emerges through personal experiences. Julio’s music could be said to coexist and balance on two opposite characteristics. Aggression and sensitivity. With 5 albums, a plethora of singles and appearances in countless lives, festivals and self-organized events, Julio represents socio-political rap with Cypriot lyrics. He is a founding member of the “Barco Pirata Collective” and the first rock/rap band of the island “Anemourio”.

Multi-award winning group Monsieur Doumani, was formed in 2011 in Nicosia. Coming from different musical backgrounds, but influenced by the Cypriot tradition at various levels Monsieur Doumani composes Cypriot songs that draw inspiration from contemporary Cypriot society as well as from the shaky conditions of our era. Their live appearances in festivals and venues worldwide (WOMAD, WOMEX, Sziget, Rudolstadt, FMM Sines etc) have been very well-received by diverse audiences and their music has been presented on radio stations around the globe. Monsieur Doumani have been awarded as “Best Group” in Songlines Music Awards 2019 and also with the “German Records Critics’ Award”. They have released 4 studio albums which gained them their worldwide recognition.
www.monsieurdoumani.com