Loustri" in Greek means "Shoeshine Boys." It is the result of a fusion of "Saoulis Ensemble" and other artists. The name is inspired by a music piece that was written by the Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis for the soundtrack of Elia Kazan's movie "America America." The second reason was that such a name represents simple, hard, honest polishing work. No fancy things here. Just honest music from a colorful and rich (in terms of culture) region. The region around the Aegean Sea and even more, the region around the East Mediterranean Sea, i.e., Greece (as the epicenter), Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon, etc.

The colors: Bouzoukis, Baglama, Guitars, Kanun, Upright Bass, Percussion, Accordion - Bayan, Kemence - Kemane. Five members are singing (most of the time), sometimes in two languages during the same music piece (Greek, Turkish). The concept: Let the audience fly with the ensemble "LOUSTRI" in different times and spaces around the Aegean Sea and beyond. From Athens's rebetiko of the 1940s to Smyrna of 1900. From Smyrna to Ottoman Istanbul of Aleko Badjanos at the end of the 19th century and the traditional music of the Black Sea. Back to Thessaloniki of the 1960s but not for too long as we travel to Lebanon to listen to the religious music of the Maronites. Suddenly the intervals of Gnossiennes No.1 sound very familiar to all this music of the East and create the bridge to a Waltz in B minor by Fr. Schubert, Piazzolla, and Rota. We need to get back to Athens where during the 1960s, 70s, and later on, M. Hadjidakis, M. Theodorakis, and S. Xarhakos created their legacy. We need to close with what inspired them the most: A long improvisation followed by a rebetiko song: "To Minore Tis Avgis." Repertoire: Greek (Rebetiko, Traditional, art music of Theodorakis, Hadjidakis, Xarhakos, Rebetiko, and the ensemble's own music), Turkish (Traditional music from Anatolia), Arabic, Azeri, Classical pieces (Satie - Schubert, etc.), Contemporary composers such as Piazzolla, N. Rota, etc.

~Instagram: @i.loustri
~Facebook: facebook.com/Loustros
~Vimeo: vimeo.com/eastmedarts

EastMedArts & Ironman Productions

Loustri Music Ensemble - The Musicians:

Dimitris Arabatzis: Accordion
George Vartsakis: Guitar, Vocals
Valantis Kapourelakos: Guitar, Vocals
Spiros Papadopoulos: Bouzouki, Baglamas, Vocals
Alexandros Azat Saoulis: Percussions, Bouzouki
Assimoula Azize Saoulis: Ukulele, Baglama, Vocals
Leonidas Kiridis: Contrabass
Görkem Devrim Saoulis: Kanun, Vocals
Yannis Saoulis: Bouzouki, Baglama, Vocals
Thanasis Tsitsaris: Cello, Mandolin, Vocals
Tasos Tsionis: Percussion
Alexis Stefanidis: Kemane