Sounds of Greece Rocked SXSW: Watch Video & Interviews

SXSW 2013 went Greek this year with the sounds of some of GREECE’s top music exponents, including MTV Best Greek Act award winner Stereo Mike, Imam Baildi and Plastic Flowers.

Brothers Lysandros and Orestis Falireas and their eight-piece band called Imam Baildi performed on Friday, March 15th, at the International Day Stage of the Austin Convention Center, while MTV award winner Stereo Mike was a featured artist of the International Hip Hop Night, on March 13th. Plastic Flowers performed on March 15 at The Velveta Room.  All three music acts played in sold out venues.

The event was organized by Criteria Entertainment and supported by Eath Friendly Products and En Lefko Radio. 

It was the first time that SXSW (South by Southwest) Music, Film and Interactive Festival showcased Greek music since its beginning.

Greek Reporter’s Diane Douvry was at SXSW and spoke to the bands about their music, the festival and how the Greek crisis shapes the arts in the country. Watch the interviews and parts of the shows below:

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In a one-of-a-kind event, SXSW 2013 audiences had the opportunity to witness the sounds of some of Greece’s leading bands, an international experience opportunity that transcends space and time.

SXSW festival attendees had the unique chance to hear vintage remixes of Greek music from the 1940s, ‘50s and ’60s as the internationally acclaimed young Greek band Imam Baildi brought its music to the festival. They were joined by the first Greek hip hop act to play the music conference, Stereo Mike, a multi-instrumentalist, lyricist and rapper with three albums and many awards under his belt, who also filmed every step of his unprecedented travels from London to Austin, all of which will result in a behind-the-scenes, artist-cut, honest-to-heart and all-around hilarious documentary.

Stereo Mike has an established international reputation as one of the most innovative contemporary artists from Greece, one whose melodies, irresistible hooks and social message transcend musical boundaries. Stereo Mike was officially born with the release of his debut album Satiri Nomades (AMG Records), featuring the track “I Polis”, which garnered Mike his first nomination for Best Hip Hop Video at the 2006 Greek VMAs.

Imam Baildi combines Bouzouki, electro swing, Greek roots, hip hop and mambo, coupled up with big band orchestration and Balkan brass, all resulting in perfectly prepared, massive-sounding music and incomparably explosive performances. Remixing songs by legendary composers and singers from Greece, such as S. Vembo, M. Linda, V. Tsitsanis and M. Hiotis and combining them with new sounds and production and remix techniques to embed them into a contemporary musical context, the band creates a one-of-a-kind, 100% danceable sound that has sold out shows all over the world.

Making the perfect trifecta along with Stereo Mike and Imam Baildi was Plastic Flowers, a lo-fi pop duo that features heavy use of synthesizers and atmospheric sound scapes along with the projection of dreamy visuals to generate an all-encompassing sensory experience for concert attendees.

Greek Reporter was the official Media Sponsor of “Sounds of Greece” at SxSW.