Sumiglia

Yannatou sings songs from her native country Greece, alongside tunes from Italy, The Ukraine, Sicily, Bulgaria, Moldavia, Palestine and Albania. 'Sumiglia' has a folkish charm, featuring skin drums, accordion, kalimba, violin and percussive backing.

Based on traditional material - mainly from the Mediterranean Area - Savina Yannatou and the group Primavera en Salonico offer an open sound without borders or labels, from simple songs extending to contemporary music forms. Insisting on acoustic instruments, half of which have their origin in the East, they attempt at exploiting their specific sound, oftentimes also exploring them to the limits of their possibilities.

Beyond her exquisite interpretive capacity Savina Yannatou gives special emphasis to the expression of the "music" of each different language, without letting that stop her from using her voice as one more instrument. With a background that combines classical studies and "authentic" traditional music with improvised music and jazz, Savina Yannatou and the musicians of Primavera en Salonico find themselves like rope-dancers on the chord which connects the modal music of the East with the equivalent music of Western Europe, music of the Middle Ages and the popular polyphonies of the Mediterranean.

Beginning from the melismatic riches of the Eastern Maqam and the charming irregular rhythms they explore the territory of collective free improvisation, meeting modern jazz.