The iconic masters of Greek folk and rebetika, Apodimi Compania return to Australia! This five-piece band from Greece features Yiannis Niarhos, Chrysoula Kechagioglou, Vangelis Votteas, Manolis and George Galiastos. The band have a strong improvisational disposition, that can take you from melancholy to exaltation in one breath. Whether it be through transcendental amanedes, a kind of improvised sung lament, in unmeasured time, or through meandering taximia, improvised preludes that bring us closer to the divine.

Originating in Brunswick, Melbourne and now resident in Athens, for the past 22 years, Apodimi Compania offers its listeners an unparalleled opportunity to experience the musical flowering of rural Greece with its various regional styles. Their repertoire ranges from tunes from the mainland, joyous melodies of the Aegean islands, fierce Cretan grooves, soulful laments from Asia Minor through to hauntingly beautiful pieces from the Northern region of Thrace. The group perform with grace and dexterity on a variety of traditional instruments, including the fiddle, six string bouzouki, tzoura, baglama, banjo, guitar, oud and lute.