Listen to the Debut Album by Harp & Cretan Lute Duo Hairetis Harper: ‘Draft’, It’s Out Now via Same Difference Music

Hairetis Harper has released their debut album ‘Draft’ via Same Difference Music label.
The record is available on LP and digitally on all major platforms. Stream it in full below

Hairetis Harper – ‘Draft’
Stream: YouTube | Bandcamp | Spotify

Lute player and vocalist Yiagos Hairetis (Crete) and experimental harpist Maria-Christina Harper (London) collaborate for the first time to produce a dynamic unexpected duet. The duo brings together the traditional music of Crete and the London avant-garde jazz music scene. The unique rock soundscapes that Hairetis creates with his lute are fused with Maria-Christina’s powerful and experimental playing on her harp.

The band has appeared in prestigious venues and festivals in Greece and Europe such as the Anglican Church of Athens, Six D.o.g.s, Duende Jazz Club in Thessaloniki, Melitzazz Festival and Vovousa Festival. They toured Belgium and the Netherlands in October 2019 appearing in the historical venue Vera in Groningen, Worm in Rotterdam, Occi in Amsterdam and Art-base in Brussels. Their debut album will be released by Same Difference Music in December 2020.

The record was written a year after their initial musical acquaintance when their improvisations took the form of complete tracks and it was recorded at Suono Studio by Coti K. who also did the mastering and at the Music Art Lab by Nikos Asimakis.

In the seven tracks of the record, the two musicians masterfully combine the sounds of the two instruments and their musical influences, approaching the Cretan tradition in many ways and creating their own distinct sound. 

Purchase on: https://orcd.co/hairetis-harper_draft

Tracklist:
1. Intro
2. Lost In The City
3. Bells
4. Tsakoniko
5. Lute Interlude
6. Meadow
7. Speedy

Yiagos Hairetis got involved in music at a very young age, picking up the lute and other traditional Cretan instruments. His upbringing in Anogia, Crete, home of legendary musicians of Cretan music like Psarantonis and Nikos Xylouris coincided with him listening to classic rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, Doors, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath which influenced him to develop his unique style of playing the lute.

Maria-Christina Harper is an award winning, London based, experimental electric harp player who creates compositions using loop, wah and distortion pedal effects. She is the first prize winner of the Wales International Harp Competition (2010) performing her own compositions on the electric harp. MC studied the harp with an entrance scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music. 

The duo has appeared in prestigious venues and festivals in Greece and Europe. They toured Belgium and the Netherlands in October 2019 appearing in the historical venue Vera in Groningen, Worm in Rotterdam, Occi in Amsterdam and Art-base in Brussels.