Who is this Haroula?
Haris Alexiou is not just any Greek singer. She is "Haroula", the audience's favourite. First and foremost there is of course her remarkable voice. Deep, a bit throaty, she has a style of singing that is called byzantine. A symbiosis of yesterday and today, east and west, she has sung different cultures, seamlessly combining them. You can hear her sing Brel in French, recite Brecht in German, Wa Habibi in Arabic, all with the same ease. Being only in her early forties, she can already look back on an impressive 20 year career. Over that period she has sung everything from traditional, popular folk songs (laika and rembetika), to serious/crafted music (endechna). She is also no unknown in France, Belgium, Germany and Tunisia, and easily manages to sell out the Olympia (sic) in Paris.

Her family came from Thebes in Asia Minor but had to move to the motherland after the treaty of Lausanne (the moving of Greeks out of Turkey). The change of scenery and culture led to a cultural cross-pollination - this is how the rembetika came to be: a mixture of folk music (dhimotica) and the more refined oriental city-music (smyrneïka).

Singing came as natural to her as breathing and when she auditioned in 1972 Apostolos Kaldaras asked her for his new project, the album Mikra Asia (Asia Minor - Turkey). He can put it to his name of discovering her. The record became a hit and a classic and suddenly everyone wanted to know who this young, self-confident singer was. In no time she was nicknamed Haroula by the audience, which translates something like Little Grace (Haris means charm, grace). Although at first she didn't much like the name, nowadays she has grown quite fond of this term of endearment.

In '75 she recorded her first own album: 12 laika tragoudia (12 folk songs). It immediately got her the number one best-selling single from the seventies in Greece, the traditional Dimitroula. This was just after the fall of the military regime, and in the following high she participated in numerous stadium concerts - with a.o. Theodorakis - and other performances. She carefully avoided the label of political singer though, which Maria Farantouri (also with Theodorakis) got pinned on.

Alexiou has worked with composers and writers of crafted music (endechna), popular folk-songs (laika) and contemporary work (synchrona tragoudia). On several of her albums she explores her and her music's roots. An absolute must is the double album Ta Tsilika, folk-songs from 1900 till 1940, on which she again proves her remarkable voice potential. In the nineties she discovers songwriter Nikos Andypas, former drummer with Theodorakis. With lyrics by Lina Nikolakopoulou this resulted in the mainstream Eurorock product Di' Efchon, released in '92, followed by a tour. Her next album Eï! was a bit less of a success without Lina - though you can't argue about tastes I suppose, we actually heard several people call this her best work in years, or ever!

So, time for a change, and in 1995, much to everyone's surprise, she proved to be not only singer but top-rate songwriter as well. Personal experiences gave her the inspiration for writing the music and lyrics for her next album herself. Odos Nefelys '88 (Cloud Street '88) is without any doubt a masterpiece - no, no contradictions tolerated here! - and you can not but wonder why she didn't turn to producing her own work earlier. Talk about a late-bloomer (in her writing that is, not in her singing of course)! If Odos Nefelys holds any promise of what we may still expect...

And 1996 saw the release of the album Gyrizontas ton kosmo (Going round the world), a selection of live recordings from tours all around the world between 1992 and 1996. If anyone should need a good introduction to Haroula's music, this would certainly be one of the better choices.

The folk music of Greece is fused with modern pop sensibilities by vocalist and songwriter Haris Alexiou. Dubbed Haroula" ("Little Grace") by her fans, Alexiou has emerged as one of the best examples of the deep, throaty style of Greek Byzantine singing. According to Dirty Linen, Alexiou's "...passionate vocals really soar over the music and are a real delight to listen to." A veteran of more than 20 years in the music business, Alexiou sings in French, German and Arabic and specializes in the traditional Greek style of rembetika, which combines folk music (dhimotica) and oriental urban music (smyrneika). Alexiou's ancestral roots lie in Thebes in Asia Minor. Her family moved to Greece following the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923. The turning point in her musical career came in 1972, when she successfully auditioned for a multi-artist, Apostoles

Kaldaras-produced album, Mikra Asia ("Asia Minor" -- Turkey). The album became a major hit in eastern Europe. Alexiou's debut album, Laika Tragoudia ("12 Folk Songs"), was released in 1975 and included the single "Dimitroula, " which was the top-selling single in Greece during the 1970s.

Following the collapse of military regime in Greece, Alexiou performed in a series of stadium concerts that she shared with political Greek vocalist Theodorakis and released a double album, Ta Tsilika, featuring Greek folk songs from 1900 to 1940.

During the 1990s, Alexiou teamed with songwriter Nikos Andypas, whom she met when he was playing drums for Theodorakis. Their first collaboration, Di Efchon ("With Blessings"), with lyrics by Lina Nikalakopoulou, became one of the first Greek albums released outside of Greece. In addition to being issued in France, Belgium, Israel and Japan, the album became her first release in the U.S. in January 1998.

Alexiou showcased her skills as a songwriter with her 1995 album, Odos Nefelys '88 ("Cloud Street '88"). Gyriziontas Ton Kosmos ("Going 'Round the World"), released the following year, and Ena Fili Tou Kosmou released in 1997, included recordings from her concerts between 1992 and 1996.
~ Craig Harris, All Music Guide

To The End Of Your Heaven

To Kima (mp3)
Oi filoi mou haramata (mp3)

catalog# 5954972 CD $22.99

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Oi Megaliteres Epitihies Tis
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Track 1

catalog# 5373052 CD $14.99

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Ta Tragoudia Tis Haroulas
Digitally Remastered 2002 Special edition
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Track 3

catalog# 5385572 CD $17.99

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23 Tragoudia (23 Hits)
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Track 1

catalog# 316 CD $15.99

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Live at paris
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CD One

1. I Anixi
2. Ola Se Thimizoun
3. I Samarina
4. Mandalio
5. Oli Rebetes Tou Dounia
6. Agapi Mou
7. Tha Kliso To Parathiro
8. Zavarakatranemia
9. Odos Aristotelous
10. Quand On N'a
11. Erotiko
12. O Fantaros
13. To Gramma
14. To Accordeon

catalog# 4807-212 CD $16.99

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Cine Kerameikos / 24 Live Recordings
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CD One

1. Tis Tavernas To Roloi
2. Kato Apo Ti Markiza
3. Hronia Helidonia
4. Matia Mou - Matia Mou
5. I Fili
6. Onira Agoria Mou
7. Exartate
8. Sinavlia
9. Posso Se Thelo
10. Liga Psihoula Agapis Sou Yirevo
11. Na 'Me Kala

1. Ouzo Otan Pyis
2. Den Tha Xanagapisso
3. Min Skalizeis Ti Stakti
4. Paporaki Tou Bournova
5. I Thalassini
6. Malista Kyrie
7. To Karavi
8. O Fantaros
9. Teli-Teli
10. Mia Ine I Oussia
11. Kaimo Mes Stin Kardoula Mou
12. Rebetikos Skopos
13. Palia Agora

catalog# 71022 CD $29.99

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Oi Megaliteres Epitihies Tis / The Very Best of Haris Alexiou
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Track 1

catalog# 15002 CD $19.99

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Oi Balantes Tis Haroulas
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Track 1

catalog# 4800 232 CD $19.99

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Ei (Hey)
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1. Hey...! I've Gone Crazy
2. I've Lost You
3. The Darkest Moon
4. Joy
5. It Comes... It Goes...
6. Mother
7. The Lie
8. All Would Have Been Different
9. The Ballad Of A Convict
10. I Surrender
11. Streets Lost In Oblivion

1. I'm In Love And I Care About Nothing
2. Small Homeland
3. Do Not Ask The Sky
4. Take Me
5. A Shooting Star Is Falling
6. Floor
7. The Greatest Hour
8. I'm Only Asking You For A Few Crumbs Of Love
9. The Wild Flower
10. Follow My Tracks
11. Do Not Get Tired Of Loving Me
12. You 'Re Asking Me To Sing For You

1. Embrasse-Moi
2. Que J'alle Bien
3. Je Te Veux Ici
4. La Flamme
5. Apres, Il N'y A Rien Apres
6. Aman-Aman
7. L'inconnu
8. Ta Chemise Blanche
9. Deux Fois Femme
10. Portes Ouvertes
11. Je T'aime, Je T'aime
12. Australie
13. Kiamilio
14. Je Revienedrai Du Meme Pas

"Di Efchon" represents the pinnacle of the career of one of Greece's most successful Artists. Thebes native Haris Alexiou is a full-throated vocalist who can sing dramatic, powerful songs that capture the complex ethos of her homeland. Her melodies speak of passion as the notes soar then fall into unexpected places that ultimately make perfect harmonic sense. Blending Grecian folk (dhimotica) and urban contemporary music (smyrneika), Haris, nicknamed "Harovla" or little grace, unleashes her tremendous vocal potential in a style that is often described as Byzantine. She fuses traditional Grecian rhythms with contemporary beats reminiscent of the work of western songwriters such as Peter Gabriel. Haris Alexiou's platinum repertoire of songs have the passion and the power to finally give her global recognition and put Greek music on the map.

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1. With Blessings (Antypas/Nikolakopou) 3:43
2. Witch (Antypas/Nikolakopou)
3. Concert ( Antypas/Nikolakopou) 4:18
4. Autumn (Alexiou/Antypas)3:21
5. Our Soul (america) (Antypas/Nikolakopou )3:50
6. To Live Or To Die (Flamenco) ( Antypas/Nikolakopou) 4:14
7. The Sandals (Antypas/Nikolakopou )2:32
8. Come My Youth, Pass (Antypas/Nikolakopou) 4:19
9. The Karelia (Antypas/Nikolakopou) 4:47
10. The Homeland ( Alexiou/A/N )3:43

"Odos Nefelis `88" is released. This is not the first time that Haris Alexiou writes the lyrics of songs. These are her own moments, moments from the life of a woman that has been loved by so many people. "Minoraki", "Panselinos", "Proseuhi", "Psyhes kai somata", "Filoi", the song by Tsitsanis, "Sineffa" and the song by Patricia Kaas, all together make up the best album in recent years. It is not by chance that Haris Alexiou was awarded the Prix Adami, an award given every year to great artists by the Charles Cros Academy, at the Palais de Congres in Paris.

1. Prosefhi (e)
2. Minoraki (e)
3. I fili
4. To nou mou esigirisa (e)
5. Dekatris foties
6. Psihes ke somata
7. Panselinos (e)
8. Glikia sinomosia
9. Sinefa
10. Stis dodeka
11. I andres pernoun, mama
12. O anthropos tou kavou

Gyrizontas ton kosmo, a selection of live recordings from tours all around the world between 1992 and 1996
"Ena Fili tou Kosmou", is the second part of the live album "Gyrizontas ton Kosmo" and contains 22 songs plus a previously unreleased: "Gia ena Tango". Also, live recordings of old songs and three new songs, among them "To Tragoudi tou Helidoniou", the song that Haris Alexiou wrote for the young Cypriot girl, Anastasia Isaac. The single "Gia ena Tango" becomes an instant hit. In the summer of 1997, Haris Alexiou, responding to an invitation by the 2004 Olympic Committee, gives a concert at Pnyka, underneath the Acropolis. The huge success of that concert, on July the 21st, combined with the numerous people who wanted to see it but failed to do so, led to the organizing of two more concerts at Pnyka.

1. TO TANGO TIS NEFELIS
2. TI EINAI AUTO POU LENE AGAPI
3. MINORAKI
4. PSYHES KAI SOMATA
5. THEOS AN EINAI
6. PANSELINOS
7. ANTHROPOI MONAHOI
8. TABAKIERA
9. TO NOU MOU ESIGIRISA
10. OI FILOI
11. POLLES FORES
12. GIA ENA TANGO
13. SY MOU HARAJES POREIA
14. AH HELIDONI MOU
15. SYNNEFA
16. S' EHASA
17. SYNAULIA
18. NA ZISI I NA PETHANO (Flamengo)
19. MAGISSA
20. DI' EUXON
21. TO TRAGOUDI TOU HELIDONIOU
22. KRATA GIA TO TELOS

1. DOS'MOU MIA MERA [MP3]
2. ROMANTZO
3. HEIMONAS
4. ENAS FANTAROS S'ENA TRENO [Video]
5. OI DIKOI MOU JENOI [MP3]
6. I RAPTOMIHANI
7. MITERA, FILI MOU PALIA
8. ONEIRA, AGORIA MOU
9. REBETIKOS SKOPOS
10. ELA KONTA MOU APOPSE
11. I PALIA AGORA
12. HAMENA HRONIA
13. APOHERETISMOS (INSTRUMENTAL)