Greek singer Savina Yannatou performs in The Studio in the National Concert Hall on the 3rd of November as part of the ECM 2026 Series, celebrating the independent German label. We asked her the BIG questions . . .
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Renowned for her voice and contributions to the revival and reinterpretation of traditional Greek and Mediterranean musical traditions, Savina’s career has spanned over four decades.
For her upcoming National Concert Hall concert, she will perform her new project Watersong, which revolves around the theme of water in its many manifestations, and she will sing music from Greek, Cypriot, Corsican, Spanish, Italian, English and Irish sources.
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
I am a woman, I sing, I am from Greece. If you want more details, when I was a little girl I liked to be dressed as a boy, play with plastic swords, and change my name every week to another boy’s name. My family let me do it, as long as I needed to. I stopped it when I went to school.
There, I started singing in the school’s children’s choir, and this is how, and why, I loved singing, and I particularly loved early music. My voice was not considered as something special then, and I was very happy to be consumed by the harmony of the voices around me. I never thought of me as a soloist at that period of my life.
I am from Greece, and as a child I hated that I had to live in an authoritarian country under military oppression, as Greece was a dictatorship between 1967-1974. My father had also fled the country then. The Greek traditional music was a propaganda weapon in the hands of the dictators, so I also hated that music. I never expected, back then, that I would be somehow involved in traditional music in the future. Maybe this is the reason that now I like to mix tradition with free jazz.
How would you describe your music?
With the group Primavera en Salonico, we use traditional songs as a starting point, which we approach in an open way with free jazz elements. For this concert I will present my project Watersong, some Renaissance songs are also included.
Who are your musical inspirations?
The voices that inspired me were, Monserrat Figueras for the early music field, Diamanda Galas for the extended vocals, and as a teenager, I was listening to Joan Baez. For my songwriting and compositions my main inspiration was Lena Platonos (Greek composer-song writer) with whom I have collaborated a lot, and I started working as a singer interpreting mainly her songs (late 70s early 80s).
What was the first gig you ever went to?
It was in Greece in the 70s in a ‘boîte’, (a small music place), where the musicians were playing and singing without microphones, songs of a Greek musical genre that was called “new wave” played usually just with a guitar. I was 12 years old.
What was the first record you ever bought?
I think it was the Aqualung of Jethro Tull (if I remember well…).
What’s your favourite song right now?
Stairway to Heaven. When it comes to songs, I am stuck in the past.
Favourite lyric of all time?
“I am the poem that doesn’t rhyme” by Bernie Taupin from Goodbye from Elton John, 1971.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
One of the tortures in the authoritarian regimes was (or is) to have to listen to the same piece all the time, all the days, all the moments so it is impossible to think of anything that I could listen to forever, without any change. It would be a torture… even the Winter Lady by Leonard Cohen:-)
Where can people find your music/more information?
Our ECM and LYRA albums are all on Spotify, and I think on Apple Music too, and some excerpts of live concerts exist on YouTube in different profiles, some “alternative” music on Bandcamp. There is not really a website of mine at the moment. I am trying to create one. I am on Instagram and Facebook, and try to announce the concerts, not always on time though. I hope you can find me!
Alan Corr
