ElectroSantouri by Epa Fassianos

Submission for SF Tape Music Festival 2020

"ElectroSantouri" (2017): "ElectroSantouri" is an acousmatic work which includes transformed soundworlds emerging from a traditional Greek instrument called santouri. The santouri is mainly used for traditional ceremonies such as weddings or Hellenic islands’ local feasts. I decided to make use of this instrument in a totally different way; by exploring its pitch and gestural possibilities and by using its idiomatic sound as a basis for transformed soundworlds. A number of electronic works featuring the santouri have been composed but through detailed research I found out that in these works, the instrument was used in its natural form whereas other electronic sounds were added in the background. In opposition to these works, my work features new sound textures emerging from the instrument itself as the main compositional tool.