I try to create a guitar sound grandiose and tender at the same time, so as to convey a message as immediate and pure as it can get.
Stelios Kyriakidis
Behind the notes
Text: Marni Hatziemmanouil
A sense of sweet nostalgia, a power of incitement to freedom, a happy promise set in the future, the sky’s streaks followed by flavors and timbres, are the main components of guitarist and composer Stelios Kyriakidis’ creations. A contemplative match of neoclassical, folk and cinema elements through notes, chords, arpeggios and moments of silence, as his fingers run across the guitar following his own pace.
“There’s always something behind the notes. It may be a story, a feeling, an image. Music is a medium for someone to live an experience or be taken somewhere else, far away. So, yes, words can be found behind notes, but not necessarily my own words. The fascinating thing about orchestral music is that all of us make our own stories. And I must admit I really enjoy the stories crafted by others based on my initial inspiration.”
Stelios lives and works in London, but has traveled in many places, always carrying with him his inner world, his concerns and his philosophy as a musician. In his creative universe, everything can work as a source of inspiration, everything that can be said through notes as part of a classic yet modern mix, just like his training. Minor 7th magazine labels Stelios’ music as sparkling: “Stelios has come up with a pleasant way to create shiny, sparkling melodies that makes one want to hear time and time again,” whereas the music blog Music Dances When You Sleep sings his praises by saying: “It is as if his guitar has a voice of its own, whispering tales of love, loss and hope to those eager to listen.”
As every artist, Stelios Kyriakidis has his moments of overflowing inspiration, while other times an idea gradually takes shape and form inside his mind before transforming into a chord in major or minor, landing on the pentagram, becoming a partitute and traveling in the four corners of the world. “The process of composition is mysterious and highly intriguing. Some tracks are just a matter of hours or days, while others hover around my head for weeks or months. In the last stages of each composition, my main goal is always the same: to make sure that every note of the track is truly indispensable.”
He set out for his journey in music in his birthplace, Drama, studying the piano. However, really soon, “disappointed by the stiff and uncreative way of teaching and mesmerized by the discovery of rock and metal music,” he devoted himself to the electric guitar and embarked on a new journey alongside various local bands. That’s when he embraced his passion for music and left for London at the age of 19, aiming to expand his horizons.
While in London he joined several bands, among which stands out the goth rock band The Faces of Sarah. For a two-year period he opened the chapter of tours, traveling, playing the guitar and seeking inspiration, having performed in The Underworld (UK), Oravafest (Slovakia), the Dada Club (Greece) in Budapest and various other venues in the UK, from London to Newcastle.
There’s always something behind the notes. It may be a story, a feeling, an image. Music is a medium for someone to live an experience or be taken somewhere else, far away. So, yes, words can be found behind notes, but not necessarily my own words. The fascinating thing about orchestral music is that all of us make our own stories. And I must admit I really enjoy the stories crafted by others based on my initial inspiration.
“Whenever I compose music, I always have in mind how it will sound in a live concert. I try to create a guitar sound grandiose and tender at the same time, so as to convey a message as immediate and pure as it can get. My music is not addressed to a specific audience, but to those eager to listen to it with an open-minded spirit. The applause definitely counts, but the silence during a concert means so much more to me. I have come to realize that in conditions of absolute silence, the audience and the artist beat to the same drum. Amidst the silence, even the most muffled notes and the most discrete timbres can be heard loud and clear.”
“The guitar triggered my love for music and my thirst for creation. It is an instrument with so many forms and aspects, many times appearing in contrast to one another, such as the electric vs. classical guitar clash. When it comes to classical guitar, I take delight in the fact that it’s a “hugging instrument”. I enjoy feeling its sound against my body and keeping the guitar so close to me; we become one, we are moving together.” His live appearances over the world go on at the same pace, in the USA, the UK, Germany and Greece, in venues and festivals such as the following: 21st Century Guitar Conference (Indianapolis, USA), Green Note (London), Somerset Jazz Festival (UK), Handmade & Recycled Festival (Athens), Herman Schulz Cafe (Berlin) and Sofar Sounds (London, Brighton, Bristol).
“I have performed in small venues, in jazz and acoustic gigs, but also in bigger ones, such as churches, which usually involve a more formal-classical programme. I have also played in exterior spaces, which I really love, in small festivals and open-air concerts. I definitely like playing in the street, a habit that made me a better performer. In 2021, while on a busking trip, I played in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Hamburg, Cologne, Dresden, and shortly after in Thessaloniki, Athens and Dublin. It goes without saying that I also play in London whenever I have the chance. It’s a completely different experience. In the street, I had some of my most beautiful moments as a musician.”
The song “Copenhagen”, which reached number 34 in the iTunes Classical Charts in the UK, as well as the official music for the 2011 Athens Video Dance Project, in Greece, stand out as two of the most important highlights in Stelios Kyriakidis’ career. He has also composed music for short films, contemporary dance shows, documentaries and theater productions. He has appeared in the Robin Howard Theater, the East London Dance and the Vault Festival (UK), as well as in the Arion Guitar Festival (Greece).
His first two records were released in 2017 (Small Primal Voices) and 2020 (Optica) respectively, whereas Agalia was written during the lockdown, in a coastal village of Greece, and was released in 2022: “It does not rely so much on classical forms. It is an honest mix of all my influences,” he mentions. His most recent work is the album 508 Days. “It’s less breezy than Agalia and more down to earth. It recounts a 508-day period during which, following the compulsory reclusion, I made a busking trip in Europe before returning to London.” The album is like a music diary and the tracks follow a chronological order. A song from the album, “I’ll Split Mine With You” was included in the collection Guitar Tenderness, which was released in Japan.
Teaming up with the Chinese musician Muqi Li marked a new page in his career. Together they co-wrote music for guitar and guzheng, a traditional Chinese instrument, in a collaboration that emits a breath of fresh air, forming a highly promising music proposition. As to how he views art, his answer speaks volumes: “I wish to awaken the sensibilities and quests of each person in their own personal wavelength. Most of all, I want to touch through my music the very core of the human soul and existence, beyond anything that seemingly sets us apart, such as age, nationality and different experiences.”
