Events
Greek Fringe is all about unveiling independent artists who are not afforded the attention they deserve. Our mission is to curate events that do just that! Keep an eye on our page for upcoming events in Melbourne, Sydney, New York, Nicosia, Athens and who knows where else?!
What's on
APODIMI COMPANIA
The iconic masters of Greek folk and rebetika, Apodimi Compania return to Australia! This five-piece band from Greece features Yiannis Niarhos, Chrysoula Kechagioglou, Vangelis Votteas, Manolis and George Galiastos. The band have a strong improvisational disposition, that can take you from melancholy to exaltation in one breath. Whether it be through transcendental amanedes, a kind of improvised sung lament, in unmeasured time, or through meandering taximia, improvised preludes that bring us closer to the divine.
Originating in Brunswick, Melbourne and now resident in Athens, for the past 22 years, Apodimi Compania offers its listeners an unparalleled opportunity to experience the musical flowering of rural Greece with its various regional styles. Their repertoire ranges from tunes from the mainland, joyous melodies of the Aegean islands, fierce Cretan grooves, soulful laments from Asia Minor through to hauntingly beautiful pieces from the Northern region of Thrace. The group perform with grace and dexterity on a variety of traditional instruments, including the fiddle, six string bouzouki, tzoura, baglama, banjo, guitar, oud and lute.
TICKETS
APODIMI COMPANIA | MELBOURNE - 20 APRIL
APODIMI COMPANIA | SYDNEY - 23 APRIL
APODIMI COMPANIA AUS TOUR
Featured Artists
Music - Visual - Performance - Words
The financial crisis in Europe has led Greece to emerge as a hub of creativity and innovative thinking. The Greek Fringe is a movement that seeks to expose Greece and its booming arts scene and thrust attention upon diasporic art throughout the Globe.
Sophiya
About
MUSIC
In late 2018, gender fluid rapper SOPHIYA uploaded a song to triple j Unearthed and unknowingly burst onto the Australian Hip Hop scene. Her debut single 'White Ivory,' caught the attention of tastemakers and new fans, kickstarting an exciting new journey in music ahead.
Following in 2019, she shared the stage with GENESIS OWUSU and featured on triple j’s Bars of Steel series. SOPHIYA has since received critical acclaim from The Rolling Stone, Red Bull and NME, as well as rave reviews on triple J Unearthed from the likes of Richard Kingsmill and Declan Byrne.
She spent 2020 solidifying her claim as a serious force to be reckoned with. From being selected as part of the BIGSOUND50, to delivering an explosive 64 Bars freestyle for Red Bull amassing over 540,000 views. With a string of critically praised singles from her debut EP 'OVERDUE,' her single ’LINGO’ was quickly picked up for full rotation by triple j.
With 3M streams across DSP's, SOPHIYA’s music has been added to Spotify editorial playlists Fresh Finds: Hip Hop, Work It: Hip Hop, Gaming Lounge, A1 and Hip Hop + R&B FM to name a few, as well as triple j Hitlist, New Music Daily, High Maintenance, New Fire, #OnRepeat, The New Australia plus many more on Apple Music. Marking the first chapter in her journey so far, 'OVERDUE' served as the sonic embodiment of this as she steps out of her bedroom and into the international spotlight.
Fast forward to now, SOPHIYA shared the stage with Melbourne rapper ILLY, supporting him on his ‘The Space Between’ album launch tour and released single ‘They Say’ with YNG Martyr clocking in over 1M streams, as well as receiving a Spot rotation add on triple j. With new single ‘KWEEN ENERGY’ featuring JessB and releases up her sleeve, there is no stopping SOPHIYA.
Σtella
About
MUSIC
Σtella makes her Sub Pop debut with the mesmerizing Up and Away, an old-school pop paean to the pangs and raptures of love. From the Greek folk-inflected get-go, we’re swept up in Σtella’s world – and it’s quite the captivating place to be.
The singer-songwriter joined forces with artist and producer Tom Calvert (aka Redinho) in a match made in Athens, and the results are heavenly. Across her output, Σtella has proven herself a strong storyteller, and Up and Away is no exception (the guise of the medieval bard she assumes on the cover is telling).
Rollicking album opener “Up and Away” launches us headlong into an all-consuming affair. She’s caught, she shivers, thrilled by a new beginning, the sweetness of her vocals offset by vertiginous, blistering blasts of bouzouki. And so the sensual scene is set…
Album out now on Sub Pop Records.
Artist Callout
What we’re looking for?
We’re after work that represents the experience of modern Hellenic diversity from emerging artists and creatives living and working in Sydney and Melbourne. We also wish to extend this callout to artists living abroad whose work can be included in a digital capacity.
Our curatorial ethos is broad and inclusive and we’re open to all types of media.
We give preference to work that:
Represents the experience of the modern Hellenic diversity
Is new, surprising, subversive, inventive and different
Uses traditional elements in unconventional ways
About
It is time for the celebration of Greece, its people, history and art to shift to a new level. The Greek Fringe will attract talent that represents the experience of the modern Hellenic diversity. The Greek Fringe will shift beyond the folkloric representation of migration to explore the contemporary Hellenic diaspora throughout the Globe and the dynamic arts scene of mother Greece.
The financial crisis in Europe has led Greece to emerge as a hub of creativity and innovative thinking. The Greek Fringe seeks to promote and celebrate contemporary culture, which can often be overshadowed by a glorified notion of the past.
The Greek Fringe is a movement that will expose Greece and its booming arts scene and promote diasporic art across various forms of media. Though the theme is Greek, the festival aims to attract people who appreciate contemporary art and culture, regardless of their heritage.
As humans evolve, so too does language, culture and influence. If we don’t engage with the evolving artscape of Greece and communities abroad, the risk is that Greek culture can become stagnant and obsolete. We are here to facilitate new and emerging interpretations of Greek culture. There is an appetite among younger generations of the diaspora to explore and connect with not only the Greece of their Grandparents but the Greece of now.
We are here and we are claiming the now.
Con Kalamaras
Co-founder & Director
Professional insomniac, Con spends every waking hour thinking about Greek Fringe and is constantly throwing ideas at Christina (his partner in crime) as they shape and mould the Festival into something exciting, fresh and evolving. Con is a first-generation Greek events producer/ curator/ practitioner based in Melbourne. His world circulates around art projects, concerts, and festivals including the Melbourne Rebetiko Festival. He lives and breathes music, producing radio and is seen to obsess over records and rare recordings. When not playing music, he juggles his life between the city and the country and is the proud owner of two chickens both called Greg and his cat, Minion Sassy Pants.
Christina Bacchiella
Co-founder & Director
Founder of Sydney Greek Jam, Christina is big on community engagement and providing a platform for underrepresented artists. This concept was the genesis for Greek Fringe and exposing hidden talents is what gives her a real buzz. She is an innovative coordinator of projects and people and has worked on a stack of indie events, including the Melbourne Rebetiko Festival. She plays percussion in a rebetiko band and strums the tzoura strictly in the confines of her loungeroom (much to her dog’s torment).
Michael Alexandratos
Content Producer | Words
Michael Alexandratos is a writer, researcher and publisher based in Sydney. Taking a lead on literature, he will shed light on burgeoning writers in the Greek scene and conduct interviews with our featured artists. Michael runs the blog Amnesiac Archive, which is dedicated to research into music and recorded sound, and Cycladic Press, which publishes books and zines on aspects of Modern Greek cultures. He can often be seen rummaging through dusty boxes of records in junk shops, swearing that he will not end up as a hoarder.
Vasilki Tsouka
Content Producer | Performance
Vasiliki Tsouka is an arts manager and a dramaturg based in Melbourne. We are thrilled to have her on board as she has her finger on the pulse of performance art throughout the world. Since she was a young girl growing up in Athens, Greece, she has always loved art, literature and theatre, passions that she carries into her professional career. Though having lived in Melbourne the past five years, she keeps her connection to Greece by listening to Rebetiko while cooking her Grandmother’s recipes.
Niko Plaskasovitis is an emerging artist and creative producer who lives and works on Gadigal Land. He’s responsible for the editing of all the slick videos you see on our site. You’ll occasionally find him mixing music in intimate settings or experimenting with sweet ingredients for a cake conspiracy. Niko is currently completing his Bachelor of Media Art at UNSW Art and Design.
Overdue Studio
Visual Design / Web Development
Overdue Studio is a visual design studio creating thoughtful design solutions digitally and physically. From concept and design to realisation, the studio offers a full creative service in photography, branding, print, digital, object and exhibition design. It is Overdue Studio’s honour to collaborate with Greek Fringe, together they promote music and culture with creativity and authenticity.
Contact Overdue Studio for design enquiries.
Support
We LURVE our sponsors! They are the force that enables us to shed light on the obscure, the underrepresented and the mega-talented. Its thanks to them that we can explore what contemporary Hellenic culture can bring to the table beyond cuisine.
If this strikes a chord with you, get on board and…
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