Nikos Xilouris
Nikos Xilouris born on the 7th of July 1936 in Anoyia, prefecture of Rethimno on Crete. His family has a great tradition on music, as it was full of musicians and singers. The familial environment but also the environment Anoyion gave "food" in the expression of his voice.
At the '41, German conquerors burned his village and he enforced to leave and go to the prefecture of Mylopotamos where he will return again afterwards the release. Little Nikos already had begun to show his call to the music, singing and playing mandolin with his friend Giorgi Kalomoiri. However his contact with the lyra player Leonida Klado changed his opinion and wanted to learn Lyra from him. Thus and it became, where for more from one and a half year he was apprentice. Afterwards he began alone, where together with others he turned the villages in the marriages, in baptisteries, in celebrations.
In age of 17 he goes for the first time to work in Heraklion, in the music hall "Kastro". As it says late on in his narrations, there the things initially were very difficult: "...The changes taking place in the city life could not have been experienced by the people living upon the mountain villages of Crete. In the city, the people were dancing tango, waltz, rumba, samba and we were obliged to learn those tunes so as to play them at feasts and festivals, earn our living and finally make people love Cretan music little by little..."
In the dances and in celebrations where he played it, met also Ourania Melampjanaki, daughter of a prosperous family of Heraklion, who also marry her. Thus it is located in the Heraklion. In the 21 November 1958 he materializes the first recording in album of 78 turns, in the song "Kritikopoula mou" ("Mia mavrofora otan perna"). The economic difficulties are in the beginning big. On 1960 their first child was born, Giorgos and 6 years afterwards the second, Rinio.
This season, two teams existed "Moyntakikoi" and "Skordalikoi" and Nikos Xilouris was between, having the advantage that with the voice that he had, he could also sing different things, from Cretan, as waltz, "White ribbons girls wear", "the Mpelamim the "Oyzeri" and "Na' tane the to '21". Almost two times afterwards the first that album of 78 turns record in the "Fidelity" a line from songs in albums of 45 turns henceforth. In constantly they came many recordings in the "Music Box" certain from the period February '64 to July '64 that Nikos Xilouris was found in Athens (up to then he remained in Heraklion) and records in order to takes certain money, that he needed, with the 90 thin piece!
Exact 1966, leaving for the first time from Greece, he participates in a folk festival in San Remo and takes the first reward. In 1967 opens at Heraklion, the first Cretan music hall, "Erwtokritos". '68 to '69 works at "Zamania" and parallel the summertime in "Oasis" that audience were sit on 2000 creates of beer, to listen Niko Xyloyri. Things have become better for him.
February 1969 record the "Anyfantoy", a song that litteral "breaks the funds" in the traditional discography of season. April of that period he comes at Athens, to the music hall "Konaki" and September he is located permanent in the capital. The director Errikos Thalassinos, with whom they were known in "Konaki", speaks about him to the composer Yianni Markopoylo.
Apart from the traditional songs of Crete, the voice of Xilouris has also been identified with the contemporary artistic works of celebrated composers. Through those choices of his, the folk music of Crete was meant to be known and was heard all over Greece, while it acquired a dynamic that all the great artists, singers and musicians who searved this tradition before had not managed to lend to it.
Xilouris and Markopoulos original cooperation was the "Chroniko", a unity of songs that re-examined the relationship between tradition and the present. Six months later, a record-landmark, as far as rizitika songs are concerned, was released under their personal care and attention and in May 1971, they set up live performances in "Ledra", a well-known Athens club of that period. A period when the people of Greece were fighting against colonels' regime and the voice of Xilouris singing either Markopoulos' songs or folk songs of Crete became a banner of resistance. "Pote tha kanei xasteria", and "Agrimia ki agrimakia moy" are some of the songs bearing the imprint of those days.
Two more cycles of songs by Markopoulos followed, namely "Ithayenia" and "Stratis Thalassinos" as well as cooperation with Stavros Xarchakos ("Dionyse kalokeri mas", "Collection"), Christodoulos Chalaris ("Tropikos toy Parthenoy", "Akoloythia") and Christos leondis ("Kapnismeno tsoukali"). In the summer of 1973, Xilouris was the interpreter in a performance staged by Jenny Karezi and Costas Kazakos at the Athenaion Theatre. The subject matter of that performance was the recent history of Greece. It was entitled "To megalo mas tsirko", the most celebrated performance ever. His songs expressed the tensed political climate of that period which led to the uprising of the Polytechnic students and the rebellion of the Greek people against the military junda that followed soon after. Xilouris was one of the few artists who were in the limelight as far as newspapers of that time were concerned. "Nikos Xilouris was at the Polytechnic yesterday" was one of the titles that turned the already committed artist to a "red rag" to the "mutated" dictatorial regime. From "Ledra" to "Archontissa", then to "Aposperida", back to "Ledra", and then to "Kyttaro" and "Themelio".
These are the six stops Xilouris made at the clubs till 1979. Through the years of political changeover, he interpreted some more songs by Leondis, Xarchakos and Markopoulos. At the same time, he recorded the "Antipolemika" songs by Linos Kokotos and Dimitris Christodoulou as well as George Seferis' poetry set to music by Ilias Andriopoulos. However, he was once more engaged in singing folk songs originating from Crete, while he also interpreted popular songs by Stelios Vamvakaris. With songs such as "Argalios", "Mia padremeni ayapo" (Filedem), "Pramateytis" and "Mesopelaya armenizo", his voice was back to singing "songs of life". Yet that was the last time his voice was actually heard.
Nikos Xilouris after pains in the head and the thorax he goes for examinations in New York in the Memorial Hospital. After multiple operations he returns in the house of his friend in the Porto Rafti where he tries to overcome the damned illness. However he dies in Piraeus on the 8th February of 1980. Nikos Xilouris was a great singer, that unfortunately reason of his death did not supplement his work.
