[Eleftheria Laskaridou]
A group of young Athenians brought Greek island festival culture to the city center on Thursday evening, creating a unique fusion of traditional and electronic music at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center.
Twenty members of SNFCC Youth Council III aged 16-25 organized ‘Wanna go to a panigyri after? (Greek: meta- after),’ setting up tables and plastic chairs in the center’s Pine Grove to welcome both tradition lovers and electronic music fans. “It was an experiment in how everything can coexist together: the clarinet with contemporary music and the youth community with something from the past,” said 22-year-old Nikoleta Argyrou, a youth council member.
The evening began with Fonisses, a polyphonic ensemble from Thessaloniki performing island, rebetika, and northern Greek songs in indie-folk style. Traditional band Kinderia followed, playing repertoire spanning from Epirus and Thrace to Macedonia and the Dodecanese.
DJ Kvadosh concluded with electronic beats mixing traditional Mediterranean sounds. “We created a celebration to fit everyone. Young and older people held hands and began dancing in huge circles,” said 23-year-old Minois Bachtsetzis Markidou. The highlight was Maria from Drama dancing with her 17-year-old granddaughter near the DJ booth.
