MUSICIAN JAMES BASDANIS
James Basdanis, is a musician from Greece who’s genre is world music with rock influence and references to Eastern music.
His upcoming release “Kaemos' is the Debut album for his ''Anatolian Trio'' described as melodies from the Aegean Sea blending perfectly with electric guitar, drums and bass.
Tell us about yourself James.
I was born and raised in the city of Volos but I have lived all my adult life in Ioannina. I started playing music at an early age but became dedicated to it during University. I started playing professionally at a bar and began my first recordings in 2009.
Tell us career highlights so far
The truth is not easy to answer because every moment from the smallest to the greatest has contributed to where I am and where I plan to go with my music. I will say that the first big release we did in Greece with my music family called “Stichovoli” as one, and the fact that I’ve been part of over 500 live concerts / appearances in Greece and Australia, as well as the worldwide release of my tutorial book “Anatolian Modes”.
Greatest inspirations or influences?
Classic Rock is definitely a big influence (Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Rory Gallagher etc.),
For blues (BB King, Eric Clapton, SRV etc.)
Artists / bands from other genres, like Tool, Beirut, Laco Tayfa, Ibrahim Maalouf, Socrates, Yiannis Spathas
Of course, much of the inspiration comes from traditional Greek and Balkan music.
most interesting response you've heard about your music so far?
The moments are many, a simple applause, a "thank you" at the end of a performance, but the moment that has engulfed my soul is after the first concert in Sydney (Australia) where we were playing in front of an audience of 2nd and 3rd generation Greek immigrants, a man came to me tearful and emotional said: "I haven’t been in Greece in many years, but the way you play the guitar took me there, thank you!”. I think this is a great honor for any artist!
what do you think about the music industry as it is now?
In Greece we have an expression: "we fight with beasts" ha ha ha! It’s difficult time for the music industry here, but the internet helps us discover new music and, of course, allows us to publish and promote our stuff.
tell us about your upcoming album, how and why did you decide to mix so many genres?
My new album “KAEMOS” will be released worldwide in october and. In case you are wondering what it means, “kaemos” is the “fire” that melts for a desire that is sometimes unfulfilled.
As for the genres I decided to mix, the answer is so simple and so complex at the same time. All my life I’ve struggled between two musical worlds, this Western music (which I’ve studied) and Eastern music (which lives in my soul, and is my tradition), so I decided in the rest of my music life to reconcile both of them.
We have some booked gigs in the big cities of Greece (Athens, Volos, Ioannina, Salonica etc.) and we're in discussions about some shows in other European cities. Our next step would be to do a USA tour so if someone is a booking agent and is reading this interview, “send me a message” :)
Favourite websites, or social media handles you like?
Guitar Player (www.guitarplayer.com),
for music news i like to read a Greek site, RockAp, (www.rockap.gr)
and for Greek or world news I’m a fan of Typos Ioannina (www.typos-i.gr).
Now, I’m also a big Ninu NIna fan!
Thank you for this interview is there anything else you’d like to share?
leila, i would like to thank you very much for this interview! “Kaemos” is coming out (October 1st 2019)… Here is a premiere link on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_eIF_zq1ao. You can also find links to purchasing the album on my site: https://www.basdanis.eu/2019/09/kaemos.html
Congratulations James we wish you the best of luck on your album debut and hope to see you live in the U.S!
