Kairos Collective | Ariadne (live EP)
Ariadne features a selection of live tracks recorded in the garden of Labyrinth Musical Workshop in Houdétsi, Crete. The workshop was named after the maze that the mythological king Minos of Crete used to keep the Minotaur, a creature with the body of a man and the head and tail of a bull. Every nine years, a group of fourteen young Athenians, handpicked by their king Aegeus, was sent into the labyrinth to be devoured by the Minotaur as retribution for the death of Minos’ eldest son, Androgeus, in Athens.
To break this cycle, Athenian prince Theseus volunteered to join the sacrificial group and kill the Minotaur. Minos’ eldest daughter, Ariadne, who was put in charge of the labyrinth, fell in love with Theseus immediately after he set foot in Crete. She provided him with a sword to kill the Minotaur and a thread to help him retrace his steps out of the maze. In return for her help, Ariadne made Theseus promise to marry her and take her to Athens, where they could escape Minos’ wrath. However, after the deed was done and the couple fled from Crete, Theseus abandoned Ariadne on the island of Naxos.
This album emerged from the current Cretan Labyrinth in a much more peaceful and fortunate way and is named after the true hero of this rather grim myth, without whom the Minotaur would not have been defeated. Five of the compositions previously appeared on the studio albums Európe and Erato, and two are new. The EP is a happy excerpt of the full concert, conveying the atmosphere and energy of the evening, and adding something to the studio renditions of the repertoire.
Michiel van der Meulen
Brussels, November 2024
- The Rose and the Nightingale / Phrygian phantasy
- Nazar / Hüseynî mandıra
- Manastırka / Poustséno / Pušteno
Genre
Credits
Musicians
Christos Barbas – ney [1, 2, 3, 5], kaval [4, 6, 7]
Giorgos Papaioannou – violin
Nikos Papaioannou – cello
Michiel van der Meulen – tambura [1, 4, 6, 7]
Taxiarchis Georgoulis – oud
Pavlos Spyropoulos – double bass
Sergios Voulgaris – bendir [1, 3, 4, 6, 7], kudüm [2, 5]
Tracks
All tracks were composed by Michiel van der Meulen. Vangelis Apostolou (Kima Sound) recorded the album live in the garden of Labyrinth Musical Workshop in August 2023, and mixed and mastered it at Studio Vasmaris in November 2024. Studio versions of the pieces previously appeared on Európe: [1], [2], [7], and Erato: [4], [5], [7].
Album
Production – Vangelis Apostolou
Artwork and liner notes – Michiel van der Meulen
Album cover image – Martine van der Meulen
Acknowledgements
Many thanks are due to: Ross Daly, Stella Vasilaki and Labyrinth Musical Workshop for organising the concert • The musicians and Vangelis Apostolou for the great time we spent and the great job they did • Kelly Thoma and Jennifer Blanco for flanking Martine, and Martine van der Meulen for being there – this album is for you, of course.
TouMilou #8 / EAN 8714835183204
© 2024 M.J. van der Meulen/TouMilou
Get the album
Ariadne is available on Bandcamp: € 6.00
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Album art (1000 x 1000 px jpg)
Scores / pdf
About the artwork
The album cover image features the rosette of a ghost plant (Graptopetalum paraguayense), which was photographed near the concert location. With its regular structure, the design of the rosette is the very opposite of Ariadne’s labyrinth, but it somehow possesses the same fathomlessness that catches your eye and draws you in. The ghost plant is a succulent, which means that it is able to retain water in order to survive in arid regions. Its resilience reminds me of the photographer, my wife and muse Martine, who attended the concert despite the aftereffects of a COVID infection she contracted more than two years ago. Mostly confined to our house and its immediate surroundings, she developed an interest in photography, focusing on patterns and textures in plants, water, and nature in general. Her symptoms require caution around music and crowds, and since the concert would involve both, her attendance was not a given. She actually trained for the event by listening to music – every day a little more. In the end, she managed to stay throughout the program, sitting on a flimsy beach chair, flanked by two friends, and enjoy it. It was the best part of the whole evening.
The web page cover image is a fragment of ‘Ariadne in Naxos’ (1898, oil on canvas, 91 x 133 cm) by Evelyn de Morgan (London, 1855 – London 1919).