Daemonia Nymphe @ Gagarin 205, 16.02.2019

The Greek project created in 1994 by Spyros Giasafakis and Evi Stergiou that play Ancient Greek Music with the instruments from this era, mixed with neoclassic, gothic and folk influences, performed last night at club Gagarin in Athens Greece. Since their relocation to London, Daemonia Nymphe hadn’t preformed in Greece for ten years! So the anticipation was very big. Something that showed from the moment we arrived at the venue where there was a huge queue outside for people waiting to get their ticket. Their performance started at exactly 10:00 pm in front of a well packed venue. With a deep droning sound, Spyros Giasafakis appeared on stage holding a lyre with singer Victoria Cooper at his side. Then Evi Stergeiou joined them banging on a drum. From the first minute they created a mystic, magical mood, captivating the audience with their hair-raising music. Then Evi Stergiou took to center stage with the backing singers on her left and right. Behind them stood Spyros Giasafakis with the rest of the musicians. In total the ensemble, consisted of seven musicians and two dancers.

For the next two hours, the band gave us a taste of their ethereal world music, using reproductions of ancient Greek instruments on many of the songs. While the band where playing, the two dancers gave a spectacular show, moving amongst the musicians. In many cases they gave fire dances that suited the mood of the music giving it that ritual taste. Their set had something from all their discography. I personally was overwhelmed by the beautiful ethereal vocals on "Enchanting Oneiro" and "Politeia of the unnamed" that featured the talented Victoria Cooper with her heavenly voice. Other standouts where "Thracian Gaia" and "Psychostasia". In the middle of the set they played two ancient Greek pieces, one being the "Seikilos epitaph", the only surviving score in its whole.

During the second hour, as things started to heat up and the audience was getting really into it cheering and clapping during the songs to the beat, we heard some of their older classics like "Hymn to Bacchus" and "Dance Of The Satyrs". They closed the set with the Greek traditional pagan song "Anastenarides". After all the musicians and dancers gave their final bow and left the stage, they returned after the tremendous enthusiastic demand of the crowd for an two song encore ending with "Thracian Gaia" played once again.