μastroKristo is the project of Greek, Athens based multimedia artist and music producer Christos Parapagidis. He has released the debut album called Departures which is out now via Lost Tribe Sound. According to the press release, ‘Departures’ is a nocturne, built from a humble and quiet rehearsal for untuned piano, tuba, bassoon, and tapes. It’s a tribute to the night, and to all the failed and successful attempts at falling asleep. In gentle gray and pale blue hues, its watery, moonlit emotions spill forth… a siren’s song tempting heavy eyelids to take the final plunge towards a long night’s sleep.
‘Departures’ makes use of the worn mechanics and incidental noises generated by μastroKristo’s nearly 100 years old John Spencer & Co upright piano and its exposed soundboard. The artist takes advantage of the fragile character found in the low fidelity recordings and uses it to serve an equally important role as the piano itself. The tired piano hammers collapse in cascading cyclical patterns, resting comfortably inside the hiss and the wow and flutter effects brought on by an old TASCAM cassette recorder. Further still, these moments are glued together by the relaxed conversations between a tuba and a bassoon, which help lend a certain film noir like character to the music. This combination of forward motion and fluidity creates an intoxicating ebb and flow.
If there is something positive thing to say about the tumultuous year of 2020, it’s that it gave life to some of the most emotive, struggle-fueled, and relief-bringing music in many of our lifetimes. ‘Departures’ is a great example of this. Without the time to pause, to ponder existence to the point of exhaustion, and to then formulate clever solutions for sedation, μastroKristo would have never made this record.
Check the full streaming below.