Search - Melina Kana :: Portrait

Music of Beauty and Originality

Mary | Los Gatos, CA United States | 02/23/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am frequently in search of music by modern Greek artists which is both original yet authentic. Melina Kana's CD, "Portrait" is such. She sings with a haunting sweetness and a serious passion. The lyrics of her songs remind me of the demotika and laika songs I listened to as a child --- often with mythical references juxtaposed against strangely poetic interpretations of stark realities of the mundane world. Others of her songs transport us to another time and place. "Logia, Tsigara" reminds me of the rembetiko tragoudi yet it also reminds me of the quintessentially modern world --- perhaps the world of a Greek woman of the 21st century wherever she finds herself. "Argonaftes, Pezonaftes" transports me to Homer's Odyssey and also to the world of my Greek immigrant grandfather who told me quite fantastic stories of a world that he claimed his own and of which I could only dream. I did say Melina Kana's music will transport you. In "Milo Gia Sena" I imagined myself in northern Greece --- waterfalls, forests, and love --- somewhere near the Balkans. At other times I remembered the music of Rosa Eskanazi. The musicians who accompany Kana are "the bomb." Almost all acoustic instruments: clarino, violin, bouzouki, baglama, guitar, piano, and accordion. Alekandra (Salamandra)is about a fickle she-devil; the clarino is so pure and soulful, and it is the type of song reminiscent of the type I can remember an aunt singing as she cleaned house. Was she a housewife or a "tragoudistria"? This is the music of the double take. Kana and her musical collaborators and partners create a hypnotic space --- melodies and lyrics of beauty and originality that transport you. Again, the authentic and classic influences are clear to anyone who has listened to the full range of Greek music. It's beautiful. Buy it. You'll be glad you did. remember an"

Mesmerizing Music, Soulful Vocals with Rembetica Roots

Erika Borsos | Gulf Coast of FL, USA | 08/25/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Melina Kana presents her beautiful and haunting vocals matched with mesmerzing roots-like music played on traditonal instruments creating a nearly perfect CD. The club sound of her hometown Thessaloniki comes alive, although she now resides in Athens. The poetic expressive lyrics dig deep emotional caverns - where the feelings reside for a long time within the listener. The many manifestations of love are expressed and interpreted with the intensity of rembetica ... which is a highly personalized blues-like expression of deeply intense feelings.



All the songs are in Greek and the translations which follow were obtained from the liner notes.

Track # 2 "I will wear silk" became a favorite among the younger generation of Athens. Track # 6 "Farouz" is highly appealing based on its modal musical influence harkening back to the Arabic roots sound. The referencs to Lebanon, "wa habibi", the ancient cedar trees and the hot plains of Bekaa reveal the longing and love for Farouz.



Track # 9 "O, Fever Come to an End" is among my favorites for its hypnotic musical phrases and the realistic lyrics ...

"An aspirin and a coffee

and then two cigarettes.

This evening the souls

creak uphill

Like rusty cars ...

O, fever come to an end

So that two friends can viisit us

and the self

that touches our lips

from the depths of a glass."



Track # 10 "Four Kisses" has excellent lyrics coupled with mesmerizing music ... "If I go mad tonight, And my heart screams, Blame the moon ... And I wander mad and screaming, For four kisses, Tonight I wear high heels, And a dress of silk and luxury."



Track # 13 "Alexandra" is filled with emotion-laden lyrics, pleading, accusatory, and sorrowful sung by a broken-hearted lover. Another highly poetic and beautifully expressive song is Track # 15 "Ten Silver Poplars". "Ten silver poplars were my dowry, Together with their silver, I became the quiver of their leaves, and the creature of their branches."



Anyone who loves Greek music and wants to connect with the heart and soul of both traditional music and modern expressive lyrics will immediately be hypnotized by Melina Kana and the Thessaloniki Sound on this CD.

Erika Borsos [pepper flower]"