Music Escapades: In Orbit v.4

1 festival, 3 days, 12 bands, one full circle around the core of the contemporary music scene of Athens. Music Escapades: In orbit v.4 continues its dynamic trajectory across the musical firmament, recognizing trends, identifying new talents, and showcasing the sounds of the city.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, October 6, 7 & 8, the Dome of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) is hosting established and up-and-coming names of the domestic independent scene, in a multifaceted program that is indicative of the city’s ever-changing, ever-expanding musical universe. 

Friday is dedicated to hip hop scene, featuring pioneers of the genre, such as Taf Lathos, Vikkie, Complex Shadow, and Danaya; on Saturday, the line-up turns to electronic paths, with Veslemes, Autow Nite Superstore, Kristof, and the duo Alex Dimou & Vili mixing dance beats with avant-pop and electronica; Sunday witnesses guitars taking center stage, with the ever-evolving domestic indie scene represented this year by Deaf Radio, Lungs, AMKA, and Amalia & The Architects.

Music Escapades: In Orbit v.4 is staged with free admission, thanks to a grant by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).

The festival’s program is as follows:

Friday, October 6, 20.00 | Hip Hop

TAF LATHOS

Those in the know about the domestic hip hop scene surely know him. The uninitiated will have the opportunity to discover one of the most pioneering artists of the genre, who has managed, through the breadth of his music, the power of his lyrics and his collaborations, to carve out a special path in the scene and convey the culture of hip hop to disparate audiences. Six albums, one film, live shows at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus and the Anglican Church, unexpected collaborations with Stavros Xarchakos and Dimitra Galani, performances at festivals opening for Wu-Tang Clan and Cypress Hill, recordings in Japan — we are clearly talking about a creative mind that knows no borders.

Vikkie

In a room at her home in Kallithea, Vikkie found in hip hop a safe haven, through which she could make sense of, and manage, the reality around her and the feelings inside her. At the age of 16, she started writing her own songs, with English lyrics, mixing hip hop, trap and R’n’B, to then gradually start to release her music in a collaboration with the producer of BLK CLD. It is this personal coming-of-age journey that she will be telling us through her live performance at In Orbit v.4.

Complex Shadow

As his name suggests, Complex Shadow is a complex character. Born in Athens and tracing his roots to Sierra Leone, he expresses his artistic explorations through music, multimedia and visual arts, creating experimental and provocative works, aiming to “expand the limits of what is possible in art.” His elaborate miniatures captivate and inspire, while his music — which is not limited to a particular genre and is often incorporated into his artworks — compounds the emotional effect, sharpening the senses to a high state of acuteness.

Danaya

New blood in the Greek fem rap, Danaya took her first steps two years ago, releasing the album Phase2face, which caught the attention of those who had their radar tuned to the DIY scene. Since then, she has released four more singles and managed to collaborate with several producers, including Time94 and NTS. Wavy beats, electronic elements, feminist experiential lyrics, a strong flow, a recognizable timbre, and distinct influences from 6lack, XXXTentacion, Lucy Camp and Little Simz. What we call an “artist to watch.”

Saturday, October 7, 20.00 | Electronica

Veslemes

Yannis Veslemes, director of, among others, the film Norway, an overactive musician with two names (Veslemes / Felizol), and a composer for modern Greek film scores (Wednesday 04:45, Suntan, Thread), this year he released a new album titled Exorcism, ten years after his last Greek-lyrics album Parnitha. His domain is “electronic music with absolutely no pop mission, for people who have stopped dancing,” while his compositions in Exorcism are described as “ten tracks that bridge pagan rock with sad disco, acid with folk songs, hot oppressed Latin with a sort of frozen wave.”

Autow Nite Superstore

Also known as ANS, the Athens-based producer of electronic music and DJ has a soft spot for spanning bass, techno, grime and drum’n’bass, and yet always revolving around the energy produced by a liberated audience engaged in stimulating clubbing. Independent from record labels to this date, he has witnessed his music showcased by international media such as BBC Radio6, XLR8R, METAL Magazine, KALTBLUT, DUMMY, Bandcamp’s New & Notable, etc., and has collaborated on remixes with names such as Andy Barker, 808 State and Mikael Delta. At In Orbit, he will also be presenting tracks from his recently released project titled IDF/CITYHEDZ.

Kristof

Theatrical movements, painted face, unexpected objects as a backdrop: every live performance by Kristof is like a musical play, attesting to his studies in acting and captivating his audiences. A dreamlike, fairy-tale universe, created with humor and imagination, unfolds through his tracks, with those from his latest album, Entertainment, featuring lyrics in Greek. Avant-pop is fused with modern classical music, with the piano always in a leading role, turning the stage into a German cabaret where you never know what might come up next.

Alex Dimou & Vili

Thanks to Alex Dimou’s compositional genius (who can ever forget the “Quiet Riot”), Vili’s lyrics and musical acumen, and Damian Lazarus who released What Keeps You There from his record label in vinyl, the duet saw their first track climb up to the top 10 of the Beatport Deep House chart and conquer “holy lands” such as BBC Radio 1 and Tomorrowland. Their long-awaited first full-length album is still in production, but in their appearance at In Orbit v.4 we will be offered a kind of house music that is balancing between mainstream pop and underground sounds, stirring emotional explosions.

Sunday, October 8, 20.00 | Rock

Deaf Radio

Since 2015, when the band was formed, the name Deaf Radio is brought up in any discussion concerning the domestic indie scene, as a case study for a band that did not rest on its (rock/stoner) laurels — their first two albums had received excellent reviews and created significant buzz — but dared to change their sound and aesthetics. Armed with the experience they have gained over the years in European scenes and festivals, coexisting with names such as Black Angels, The Killers, The Kills, or the Clutch, with the confidence of a band that has come in first (of 200) in the European HEMI Music Awards, and with their latest album Arsenal of Hope in their quiver, Deaf Radio are looking forward to showing us how much, and in what ways, they have evolved. And we are looking forward to meeting them again.

Lungs

We have no reason not to believe their claim that “Lungs arose from an intense collective desire to embrace impulses.” Among them you will spot members of Chickn and The Steams; in their sound you will recognize both traditional and Western European influences; in their compositions you will identify half a dozen different kinds of music; and all of this will come to life on stage. The band will give in to their primordial instincts, and all together we will be carried away in a redemptive dance.

AMKA

Their name derives from the initials of the original members of the band, who met in Groningen, Netherlands, where they were studying at a jazz conservatory. By now, all three Greek members of the group and their British singer are based in Athens, headquartered at Dudu Loft, where they have recorded their first tracks, drawing influences from punk, kraut, noise, disco, jazz and pop sounds. Anyone who has ever seen AMKA on stage cannot stop talking about the band’s star quality and the raw post-punk energy of their front man. At In Orbit v.4, we will have the opportunity to hear them perform live the songs of their first album, which is expected to be released in the coming months by a surprise label.

Amalia & The Architects

It started out as a collaboration with two students of architecture (hence the name) and is now the solo project of songwriter Amalia: an easy-listening and tender mix of indie, folk and rock, dealing with themes such as isolation, selfishness, identity, and communication. Already known from their frequent appearances on small and large concert stages, as well as on the radio, Amalia & The Architects managed to open a concert by Anna Calvin and Courtney Barnett before they even released their first single, while their first full EP Growing Out Of, containing the radio hit single “Why Is The Night,” was released just this past summer. Time to enjoy it live!

Dome

Free admission

Lead Donor: Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF)
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