Villagers of Ioannina City (GRC) - Any Thoughts?

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   No sub genre suggestion for these guys at the moment - since I haven't really got a clue how to classify them - and only a brief biography until I get an idea of where we might be going with them (if anywhere).
There is not a single mention of them anywhere in the forum apart from their songs popping up fairly regularly on playlists in the 'Progressive Rock Music From The Netherlands' thread, and I only stumbled upon them myself while researching the other recently suggested Greek band Jupiter Fungus.

Proggnosis have them, and Uwe (Rivertree) added them to Awesome Prog (or Progfreak as it was then) back in 2019 following the release of their second full-length album 'Age of Aquarius'. Most of their releases are tagged as prog on there.

Villagers of Ioannina City (VIC) hails from Ioannina, Greece, and was formed in 2007. They play a mix of post, stoner and psychedelic rock infused with a large helping of Greek folk music from the Epirus region. The music from that area of the country is characterized by polyphony and specific rhythms, with pronounced use of clarinet, kaval, and bagpipe. This brand of traditional folk music is combined with modern psychedelic styles, creating a sound where the clarinet often stands out as a dominant instrument. They have played at several major rock festivals, and performed sold-out shows at some of the biggest live venues in Greece.

Full size image here: https://athensrocksfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/VIC-1024x683.jpg.

Listen on bandcamp here: https://vicband.bandcamp.com/album/through-space-and-time-alive-in-athens-2020, where they describe themselves as "one of the leading Greek heavy rock bands", who are "deeply influenced by Greek nature and cosmic phenomena and infuse their unique brand of heavy psychedelic rock with folk instruments such as bagpipes, flutes and, didgeridoo".

All their releases are on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/@VICband2010, including this incredible concert which was released digitally in May 2021 and on CD and Vinyl in March 2023:

They're on Spotify and all the other streaming platforms too, for those that use them.

I'm torn between throwing this over to the Heavy Prog guys, the Psych/Space team or even Eclectic. I just don't know lol!

Any help would be much appreciated, and I'll add more to the post if it seems that they might stand a chance of inclusion here somewhere. 

Edited by yam yam - November 19 2024 at 20:52

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yam yam Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Crossover Team Joined: June 16 2011 Location: Kerberos Status: Offline Points: 7527	Post Options Post Reply Quote yam yam Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Villagers of Ioannina City (GRC) - Any Thoughts? Posted: November 18 2024 at 17:18
	No sub genre suggestion for these guys at the moment - since I haven't really got a clue how to classify them - and only a brief biography until I get an idea of where we might be going with them (if anywhere). There is not a single mention of them anywhere in the forum apart from their songs popping up fairly regularly on playlists in the 'Progressive Rock Music From The Netherlands' thread, and I only stumbled upon them myself while researching the other recently suggested Greek band Jupiter Fungus. Proggnosis have them, and Uwe (Rivertree) added them to Awesome Prog (or Progfreak as it was then) back in 2019 following the release of their second full-length album 'Age of Aquarius'. Most of their releases are tagged as prog on there. Villagers of Ioannina City (VIC) hails from Ioannina, Greece, and was formed in 2007. They play a mix of post, stoner and psychedelic rock infused with a large helping of Greek folk music from the Epirus region. The music from that area of the country is characterized by polyphony and specific rhythms, with pronounced use of clarinet, kaval, and bagpipe. This brand of traditional folk music is combined with modern psychedelic styles, creating a sound where the clarinet often stands out as a dominant instrument. They have played at several major rock festivals, and performed sold-out shows at some of the biggest live venues in Greece. Full size image here: https://athensrocksfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/VIC-1024x683.jpg. Listen on bandcamp here: https://vicband.bandcamp.com/album/through-space-and-time-alive-in-athens-2020, where they describe themselves as "one of the leading Greek heavy rock bands", who are "deeply influenced by Greek nature and cosmic phenomena and infuse their unique brand of heavy psychedelic rock with folk instruments such as bagpipes, flutes and, didgeridoo". All their releases are on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/@VICband2010, including this incredible concert which was released digitally in May 2021 and on CD and Vinyl in March 2023: They're on Spotify and all the other streaming platforms too, for those that use them. I'm torn between throwing this over to the Heavy Prog guys, the Psych/Space team or even Eclectic. I just don't know lol! Any help would be much appreciated, and I'll add more to the post if it seems that they might stand a chance of inclusion here somewhere. Edited by yam yam - November 19 2024 at 20:52

octopus-4 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator RIO/Avant/Zeuhl,Neo & Post/Math Teams Joined: October 31 2006 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 14813	Post Options Post Reply Quote octopus-4 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: December 04 2024 at 23:40
	I'd say Space Rock. Age of Aquarius reminds me to the Dutch 35007. Excellent stuff.
	I stand with Roger Waters, I stand with Joan Baez, I stand with Victor Jara, I stand with Woody Guthrie. Music is revolution

octopus-4 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator RIO/Avant/Zeuhl,Neo & Post/Math Teams Joined: October 31 2006 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 14813	Post Options Post Reply Quote octopus-4 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: December 08 2024 at 08:58
	I'm listening to "Riza". PSIKE for sure. I hope they'll be added soon.
	I stand with Roger Waters, I stand with Joan Baez, I stand with Victor Jara, I stand with Woody Guthrie. Music is revolution

yam yam Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Crossover Team Joined: June 16 2011 Location: Kerberos Status: Offline Points: 7527	Post Options Post Reply Quote yam yam Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: December 08 2024 at 09:57
	^ Thanks for your input, Luca. I'll ask the PSIKE team to check these guys out when they have a spare moment. I love this band, personally. I'll flesh the biography out a bit in the meantime.

octopus-4 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator RIO/Avant/Zeuhl,Neo & Post/Math Teams Joined: October 31 2006 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 14813	Post Options Post Reply Quote octopus-4 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: December 12 2024 at 14:29
	I'm listening to Age Of Aquarius now and It's one of the best things I've listened to this year. I hope it makes its way to the site
	I stand with Roger Waters, I stand with Joan Baez, I stand with Victor Jara, I stand with Woody Guthrie. Music is revolution

yam yam Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Crossover Team Joined: June 16 2011 Location: Kerberos Status: Offline Points: 7527	Post Options Post Reply Quote yam yam Report Post Thanks(1) Quote Reply Posted: December 18 2024 at 18:53
	Two 'yes' votes, and the band is marked as 'cleared' on Awesome Prog, so let's now add a bit more to the biography: Villagers of Ioannina City (VIC) was formed in 2007 by a group of friends who grew up in the city of Ioannina on the western shore of Lake Pamvotis in the mountains of Epirus, Greece, and had been playing music together since they were very young. The band claim to gather their strengths from Greek nature and cosmic spirits, and play a unique brand of heavy post, stoner and psychedelic rock which utilises various folk instruments such as bagpipe, clarinet and kaval (a type of flute), their music being liberally infused with the style of Greek folk music typical of the Epirus region of the country. The music from that area of Greece is characterized by polyphony and specific rhythms, and this brand of traditional folk music is combined with modern psychedelic styles to create a sound where the clarinet is often one of the most dominant instruments. Villagers of Ioannina City have played at several major rock festivals and European cities (including Berlin, Amsterdam, Barcelona & London) and performed sold-out shows at some of the biggest live venues in Greece. In the early days the band consisted of Akis Zois on bass, Konstantis Pistiolis on clarinet, kaval & backing vocals, Aris Giannopoulos on drums, Alex Karametis on guitar & vocals and Achilleas Radis on keyboards - with Giannis Haldoupis contributing additional clarinet and backing vocals on selected songs. Later releases did not feature Giannis Haldoupis on clarinet, but added Konstantinos Lazos on bagpipes and wind instruments and Kostas Zois on additional guitar. When the band was first formed they were essentially a heavy rock band utilising the standard guitar bass and drums instrumentation. They subsequently began experimenting with rhythms and melodies from Greek traditional music, and the music of the Epirus region in particular, and soon felt the need to diversify the instrumentation that they were using. Despite this, the band is always careful not to overfill their studio albums with lots of extra instruments to the extent that the music cannot be faithfully reproduced live, the intention being that the sound of a live show will always be very close to that which was originally recorded in the studio. Their influences are stated as King Buffalo, All Them Witches, Elephant Tree and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. The band released their debut album, 'Riza' in 2014, and followed it up with 'Age of Aquarius' in 2019. Their first live album 'Through Space & Time', recorded at a concert they gave in Athens in 2020, was released digitally on May 21, 2021, and as a CD and Vinyl LP via Napalm Records on March 3, 2023. The performance was largely based around the band's most recent studio album, 'Age of Aquarius' (2019), the tracks from which the band plays in sequence, though some additional songs from their debut album are spliced in at various points during the concert. 'Riza' (2014): 1. Kalesma (1:29) 2. Echoes (3:43) 3. Nova (6:52) 4. Jiannim (7:45) 5. Tabourla (feat. Ioanninas Nobody) (5:37) 6. Krasi (6:47) 7. Ti Kako (9:31) 8. Perdikomata (8:46) 9. Chalasia (feat. G. Mitsis) (6:59) 10. Skaros (3:54) 11. St. Triad (9:54) 12. Riza (2:00) Total Time 73:17 - Alex Karametis / guitar, vocals - Akis Zois / bass - Aris Giannopoulos / drums - Konstantis Pistiolis / clarinet, caval, backing vocals - Achilleas Radis / keyboards With: - Giannis Haldoupis / clarinet (2,3,6,10), backing vocals (6) - Poylcheria Tsavdaris / vocals (2) - Katerina Konstantinou / vocals (2) - Giannis Mitsis / vocals (9) - Heracles Kakavos (aka "Ioanninas Nobody") / vocals (5) All music performed and arranged and produced by V.I.C Recorded at Magnanimous studio, Thessaloniki Greece between January 2010 and January 2014 Engineered by George Pentzikis with the assistance of Asteris Partalios Mixed by George Pentzikis Mastered by Giannis Christodoulatos at Sweetspot Studios Artwork by Diogenis Hantzopoulos CD Mantra Records - MAN 001 (April 1, 2014, Greece) 2 x Vinyl LP Mantra Records - Man 001 (April 1, 2014, Greece) Digital album April 1, 2014 Note: The above track list is taken from the CD version and the digital album on Bandcamp. The Vinyl LP version and some other digital releases include 'Tabourla' as track 9 rather than track 5. The album includes the band's original compositions, plus some covers of traditional songs of Epirus which are all in the public domain apart from a part of the song "St. Triad", which includes a cover from the song "Eho Zali" by Tasos Zoumpas. The samples on 'Riza' are taken from the 'Pogonisia Polyphonika' & 'Pogonisios' documentaries, of the show 'Ellinon Dromena', directed by Antonis Tsavalos. 'Age Of Aquarius' (2019): 1. Welcome (2:58) 2. Age Of Aquarius (8:43) 3. Part V (9:47) 4. Dance Of Night (8:33) 5. Arrival (1:52) 6. Father Sun (8:37) 7. Millennium Blues (8:42) 8. Cosmic Soul (9:03) 9. For The Innocent (5:02) 10. Sparkle Out Of Black Hole (2:30) Total Time 65:47 - Alex Karametis / vocals, guitar - Akis Zois / bass - Konstantis Pistiolis / clarinet, wind instruments - Aris Giannopoulos / drums, percussion - Achilleas Radis / Rhodes electric piano, Hammond organ - Kostas Zois / guitar - Kostas Lazos / bagpipes With: - Chrysa Tsolaki / vocals (2,7,9) - Sofia Kamina / vocals (2,7,9) - Anthie Kirkou / vocals (2,7,9) - Pleba / backing vocals (7) - Tzamala / backing vocals (7) All music by VIC Lyrics by Alex Karametis Produced by VIC and Asteris Partalios Recorded by Asteris Partalios at Magnanimous Studio, Thessaloniki, GR Mixed by Keith Armstrong at Pietown Sound, Los Angeles, CA Mastered by Justin Shturtz at Sterling Sound, Nashville TN Cover art by Fotis Varthis Cover editing and layout design by Graphic no Jutsu CD Napalm Records - NPR 939 DP (April 3, 2020, Germany) 2 x Vinyl LP Napalm Records - NPR 939 VINYL (February 14, 2020, Austria) Digital album Mantra Records (Sept 20, 2019) 'Through Space & Time (Alive In Athens 2020)': 1. Welcome (3:47) 2. Age Of Aquarius (8:09) 3. Part V (10:01) 4. Nova (7:37) 5. Perdikomata (7:49) 6. Skaros (8:25) 7. Dance Of Night (8:46) 8. Zvara (5:53) 9. Arrival (2:26) 10. Father Sun (7:19) 11. Millennium Blues (8:18) 12. Ti Kako (9:20) 13. Audience I (1:38) 14. Cosmic Soul (8:30) 15. For The Innocent (5:51) 16. Audience II (0:51) 17. Karakolia (11:27) Total Time 116:07 - Alex Karametis / vocals, guitar - Akis Zois / bass - Konstantis Pistiolis / clarinet, trumpet, didgeridoo, wind instruments, backing vocals - Aris Giannopoulos / drums - Kostas Zois / guitar - Achilleas Radis / keyboards - Konstantinos Lazos / bagpipes With: - Chrysa Tsolaki / backing vocals - Sofia Kamina / backing vocals - Anthie Kirkou / backing vocals The full live performance from VIC's headline show at Faliro Sports Pavilion Arena in Athens, GR on February 15th 2020 Recorded live by Vasilis Skouras and Marios Kambouroglou Audio edited by Asteris Partalios at Magnanimous Studio, Thessaloniki, GR Audio mixed by Keith Armstrong at Pietown Sound, Los Angeles, CA Audio mastered by Justin Perkins at Mystery Room, Milwaukee, MI Drum programming and engineering by George Asteris Design & layout by Ilias Tsafaras Photography by Zissis Tsoubos 3 x Vinyl LP Napalm Records - NPR1083VINYL (March 3, 2023, Europe) 2CD Napalm Records - NPR1083DGS (March 5, 2023, Europe) Digital album May 21, 2021 Note: The 3 x Vinyl LP release does not include track 16, 'Audience II' Edited by yam yam - December 18 2024 at 20:00

Gordy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Folk/Eclectic/PSIKE/Metal/Post/Math Team Joined: January 25 2007 Location: US Status: Offline Points: 4493	Post Options Post Reply Quote Gordy Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: December 18 2024 at 23:06
	Added to Psych/Space