The Flower and Its Scent

The ney and the percussion are instruments of the Ottoman musical tradition, but also of the Sufi worship practice and ritual of the Mevlevi Dervishes, the mystical Islamic order founded in Konya in the 13th century. The ney, the reed wind instrument, symbolizes life, birth, the divine breath that animates everything, while the percussion provides the necessary rhythm for the whirling, the searching and ultimately the spiritual, ultimate union with the divine.

The four musicians will perform instrumental compositions from the great Ottoman and Sufi musical traditions, as well as free improvisations.

Brief biographical notes

Harris Lambrakis

He was born and raised in Athens. He started playing music at a young age, while he graduated from the Music High School of Pallini and the Department of Music Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He has collaborated with leading musicians, composers, conductors, as well as with numerous ensembles from different music genres (Greek traditional, folk music from other countries, jazz, world, classical, modern and improvised) in Greece and abroad. As a musician and composer he has participated in numerous productions in Greek and international discography. He performs in concerts around the world, while he teaches, among others, ney, makam theory and free improvisation in workshops, seminars and masterclasses. Since its establishment, he has been in charge of the Greek National Opera Intercultural Orchestra.

Nikos Paraoulakis 

He was born in Crete in 1977. In 1995 he settled in Athens to pursue music studies. He studied and got a degree in advanced theory (harmony, counterpoint) with Panagiotis Adam, Josef Papadatos and Vassilis Foster, in classical guitar with Thanassis Koumenteris and in jazz guitar with Giotis Samaras. Since 2000 his study has focused more on the Eastern and Greek musical tradition. He was taught by Haris Lambrakis and Ömer Erdoğdular. He has collaborated with important Greek and foreign composers and musicians both in concerts and in discography. He taught at the Department of Folk and Traditional Music (TEI of Epirus, Arta, 2005/06). In 2014, his first album titled From Light and Darkness to music with his own orchestration, production, and sound engineering (MLK Edition) was released, while in 2022 his second personal work entitled En Route with ten orchestral compositions was released. He participates in recordings, disc productions, concerts and seminars in Greece and abroad, while he is a member of the Polis Ensemble.

Nikos Sidirokastritis

He was born in Athens in 1963. He grew up in an apartment looking forward to Spring. In 1978 he began his relationship with Music. He studies and listens to music from different places. On this path, he meets new people, plays music with them, collaborates, makes friends, falls in love, and creates a family. He experiences joy, sorrow, disappointment, and hope. He dreams and gets woken up to reality. He feels nostalgic. He stays on the path. He strives to carve all of this and even more into silence using two pieces of wood.

Nektarios Stamatelos

He was born in Mytilene, Lesvos, in 1974. He began playing the ney with G. Symeonidis as his teacher, and also attended classes at Ross Daly’s Music Workshop “Labyrinth”, where he studied with Ömer Erdoğdular, Rami Ourabi, Harris Lambrakis, and Christos Tsiamoulis. He has taken part in recordings and concerts with different music groups, and has also been involved in theatre performances, documentaries, radio and TV shows, collaborating with renowned musicians. He is a founding member of the Arabic music band Al Mahabba, and also an active member of the musical ensemble Thalos. In mid-2017 he and percussionist Yannis Eustathopoulos formed the Musaic Duo, a group that creates original music through improvisation and modern musical techniques. He lives and works in Athens as a painter, but he also creates music using the makam system, drawing from Eastern music styles and jazz influences.