Psarantonis

Psarantonis (Antonis Xylouris) was born in the village of Anogeia, Crete during the Second World War. His first exposure to music was the sound of the lyre played by his older brother – a legend of Greek music – Nikos Xylouris (Psaronikos) and the blind musician from Anogeia, Manolis Pasparakis-Stravos, as well as the other lyre players of his village.

Psarantonis was primed to become a living music legend, expanding Cretan music with unheard sounds, with music passages and performances unparalleled and unique. “My influences originate from what I was listening as a little boy and how I absorbed them in my own way…” Self-taught on lyre, he performed for the first time during a wedding at the age of 13 and very soon gained a reputation by playing in weddings and feasts all around Crete. “The source of inspiration, my dear child, is nature. Let’s keep with us only the best from what we can experience out there…”

His recording career launched in 1962, with a 45-rpm record, while his fist long-play album was released in 1973. As early as 1980, he was discovered abroad and a torrent of invitations to eminent festivals in Europe, the United States, and Australia began. Up until today, he has appeared in numerous major festivals of traditional, jazz, and rock music. He has composed music for dance performances and theater.

“The howl of the gods” – this is how the most important festivals of contemporary music refer to the great musician.

Selected appearances:

• In 1982, he is invited to WDR Folkfestival, Cologne, Germany, where he is being distinguished with the 1st Award by an international jury of experts.
• In 1985, he represents Europe at Journées des Cinq Continents in Zurich (Switzerland) and Amsterdam (Holland).
• In 2005, he is invited to participate in the events for the 20th anniversary of the World Music Institute in Manhattan, New York (USA).
• In 2007, he is invited to participate in All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in Minehead, UK.
• In 2009, he is invited for the second time to All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in Sydney and Melbourne (Australia), under the artistic direction Nick Cave.

Psarantonis’ lyre is exhibited today at the Musical Instrument Museum at Phoenix, Arizona (USA), with an accompanying video of him playing the lyre.

In Greece, among the first to discover his musical talent, is Manos Hadjidakis, who, by way of establishing a special award for “a bold and idiosyncratic musical personality who plays the lyre and is called Psarantonis,” awards him as the “Prime Lyre Player in Greece” during the Musical August festival that he organized in 1979 at Anogeia.

Within Psarantonis’ music breathes the ancient mythology of Crete. Whether he sings about Zeus or the construction of the first lyre by the mythical shepherd Chantiperas, whether he sings about Kouretes or channels what he perceives as the living myth of his homeland through his lyre, Psarantonis affirms through his physical presence and his art the ancient myths of Crete. Because Psarantonis animates the myths not only through his dexterous craft, but also through his belief in them, as he approaches them with mindfulness and dreamful, testifying to their timely presence and power.

His sheer, brusque bowing recalls the steep peaks and abrupt slopes of the Cretan mountains. In the lyrical whisper of his lyre nest the sweetness from the hissing of the water springs, the chirping of the birds and the sound of the shepherds’ fambioli over Psiloritis. Therefore, in the music of Psarantonis you sometimes hear the gurgling streams of water or the wind-battered lone trees, and other times “the roar of the earth, and the moaning wind,” to quote Vitsentzos Kornaros. And still, there are moments when his staccato bowing pulls you to the edge of the cliff: “This is where the seasons meld and this is where they meet.” And where, if you listen deep to the second and third layers of the music, you may see the Great Goat, as Angelos Sikelianos once saw him, “erect” on a rock over the raging sea…

Together young and ancient-like, Psarantonis bears the dynamic of a rhapsodist and with his second-to-none power in improvisation achieves to create an atmosphere of awe, to cause a stir and summon the shiver, just like the great jazz musicians. A deep connoisseur and a genuine lover of tradition, but also unruly and restless, spontaneous and revelatory by nature, Psarantonis is considered today as a daring and at the same time thoughtful introducer of renewal in tradition, a living distillation of both primordial and contemporary music storytelling.