O Trellos Mou Haraktiras

Zafiris Melas, (Music Box) 15 tracks.

From time to time, Greek artists attempt crossovers through collaborations with singers or songwriters from a completely different genre. An example is Zafiris Mellas’s collaboration with rapper Docta on this album. Yet Melas cannot escape–nor should he want to–his musical identity as an authentic laika singer. “O Trellos Mou Haraktiras” (My Volatile Character), the album’s title track is typical of his voice and style–and is the sort of song the bouzoukia were built on. If you cannot picture yourself taking a turn at the zeibekiko on the floor cigarette dangling from your lips or cupping a glass of whisky, then this probably isn’t the music for you.