Magda Giannikou
Audience has to dream
Image Credits: Magda Giannikou © Stefano Galli
November 20, 2017
The singer, musician, bandleader and songwriter Magda Giannikou with her Banda Magda is carrying around the world Tigre music, a mix of Latin American and European rhythms and colors.
> Ivano Rossato
What inspired Tigre, the new album of Banda Magda?
It was a series of events. One was that the past three years have been a little difficult for the band and as a band leader I had to keep on doing it, by overcoming the challenges that this kind of adventure has. The other inspiration was Greece’s economic crisis, and all my community back there. So basically the album came as an expression “ok, all these overwhelming things are happening, so how do I push it through and how do I overcome this?”. And that’s why the colour of Tigre is so intense and the music is cataclysmic. It is supposed to be bold, powerful and positive.
What about the musician as an entertainer and music teacher?
Björk in an interview said “my work is to be emotional” and I like that. I love the fact that music is also entertainment, and I seek to do that whether it is an album or a show, where the entertainment factor is even more prevalent. But it is a careful balance. We can also be almost a vessel where community can find ground where they can be expressive. I also feel that as musicians, we have some responsibilities in education and in being a part of the community in a broader sense. Something I like to teach my students is that, whatever you do in music, you have do it as if you were a drummer. And whatever you do in music, sing it! It’s not only about melody, it’s about personality, because you internalised so many things when you sing them.
Björk in an interview said “my work is to be emotional” and I like that. I love the fact that music is also entertainment, and I seek to do that whether it is an album or a show, where the entertainment factor is even more prevalent. But it is a careful balance. We can also be almost a vessel where community can find ground where they can be expressive. I also feel that as musicians, we have some responsibilities in education and in being a part of the community in a broader sense. Something I like to teach my students is that, whatever you do in music, you have do it as if you were a drummer. And whatever you do in music, sing it! It’s not only about melody, it’s about personality, because you internalised so many things when you sing them.
You sing in many different languages and look very comfortable at doing this; how do you choose the right language for a song?
I study the pronunciation a lot, again and again. I love languages. Sometimes I want to have something more nuanced and more subtle and I like French language for that, or sometimes I look for something more open and I use Greek language because it has all these open vowels. I also feel that language is almost like a drum set, and every letter is a different cimbal or drum.
I study the pronunciation a lot, again and again. I love languages. Sometimes I want to have something more nuanced and more subtle and I like French language for that, or sometimes I look for something more open and I use Greek language because it has all these open vowels. I also feel that language is almost like a drum set, and every letter is a different cimbal or drum.
In these days it seems that YouTube makes music even more visual than in the ‘80 with MTV; what’s your opinion about that?
For Tigre we realized a video for every single song. I’m happy that I did that but, at the same time, there are some songs where I feel that the video doesn’t really allow the listener to dream. Today it’s all about “the video” and perhaps it’s gonna saturate. One of the reasons I like vinyl is because it’s very “social”, it’s a warm gesture, and you don’t see vinyl, you only listen to it. So, video is important but we don’t have to saturate because audience has to dream.
For Tigre we realized a video for every single song. I’m happy that I did that but, at the same time, there are some songs where I feel that the video doesn’t really allow the listener to dream. Today it’s all about “the video” and perhaps it’s gonna saturate. One of the reasons I like vinyl is because it’s very “social”, it’s a warm gesture, and you don’t see vinyl, you only listen to it. So, video is important but we don’t have to saturate because audience has to dream.
Where is your music going now?
I think the next album’s gonna be a smaller project, I’ve already written some of the music and it’s gonna be instrumental music, a tribute to Earth, a hopeful album. Maybe it’s gonna be only digital or only a limited number of printed eco-friendly packages. Very minimalistic, a quintet, strings, more impressionistic than before. Tigre doesn’t have any space, it’s like a punch! And it was designed to be full like that. But now I want to have space.
I think the next album’s gonna be a smaller project, I’ve already written some of the music and it’s gonna be instrumental music, a tribute to Earth, a hopeful album. Maybe it’s gonna be only digital or only a limited number of printed eco-friendly packages. Very minimalistic, a quintet, strings, more impressionistic than before. Tigre doesn’t have any space, it’s like a punch! And it was designed to be full like that. But now I want to have space.
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Jazzespresso is a jazz magazine, but also a website, a network, a hub wishing to connect the different souls of the jazz world: American, European, Asian, Australian and African. A multicultural reference point in English, Chinese and Spanish language for the lovers of this music in every Country, who want to be updated about what is happening all around the world… Stay tuned.
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ABOUT US / 關於我們 / 关于我们 / NOSOTROS
Jazzespresso es una revista de jazz y también un sitio web, una red, un centro que desea conectar las diferentes almas del mundo del jazz: americano, europeo, asiático, australiano y africano. Un punto de referencia multicultural en lengua inglesa, china y en castellano para los amantes de esta música en todos los países que quieren estar al tanto de lo que está ocurriendo en todo el mundo. Manténganse informados!
Jazzespresso is a jazz magazine, but also a website, a network, a hub wishing to connect the different souls of the jazz world: American, European, Asian, Australian and African. A multicultural reference point in English, Chinese and Spanish language for the lovers of this music in every Country, who want to be updated about what is happening all around the world… Stay tuned.
Jazzespresso 不只是一個爵士樂雜誌，也是一個能將擁有各種不同精髓的世界爵士樂，包括美洲、歐洲、亞洲、澳洲及非洲各地，互相連結起來的網站及交流站。以中文及英文寫成的內容將是一個新的多元文化交流的參考點，為各地的爵士音樂愛好者提供來自全世界最新的消息。請持續關注！
JazzEspresso 不只是一个爵士乐杂誌，也是一个能将拥有各种不同精髓的世界爵士乐，包括美洲、欧洲、亚洲、澳洲及非洲各地，互相连结起来的网站及交流站。以中文及英文写成的内容将是一个新的多元文化交流的参考点，为各地的爵士音乐爱好者提供来自全世界最新的消息。请持续关注！
Info: info@jazzespresso.com; Advertising / 廣告 / 广告 / Publicidad: adv@jazzespresso.com.
