25-year-old guitarist Jannis Moras is a rising star on the Brno scene. The songwriter with Greek roots works with his father Trifon Moras and his two brothers in the I Parea band. With the Anatoli band that plays traditional Greek music, he recently won the South Moravian round of the Porta competition. And he has his own original project Jannis Moras a band(a) that will perform on 4 June as part of the Greek Saturday at the Veveří Castle. We talk to Jannis Moras about music that he plays and about the Greek community in Brno.
In the I Parea band you play with your father and two brothers. Did you play with your father when you were little?
Not when we were very little. I Parea started as a band where it was me, my father and several of our friends. Then we separated and we started to play in pubs as a duo in about 2007. And we waited until my brothers grew up and improved their bass and drums skills. In 2010, we started to rehearse intensively as a four-member family band.
Had your father had any musical projects before?
He had a band sometime between the 1980s and 1990s. Later, he used to play during breakfast, he would pull out a bouzouki and started to sing. He also played a lot of Greek music which was crucial for our future direction. We probably listened to rebetiko the most, which is a genre that we play today with the Anatoli band and partly with I Parea.
What was in the repertoire of your family band at the beginning?
My father put together the repertoire because he had prior experience with playing at Greek nights and he knew what would succeed. But he also listened to our choice. Today, we play a mix of rebetiko, folk songs from the mainland and the islands, and works of Greek composers of the second half of the 20th century. Some of the best known are probably Mikis Theodorakis and Manos Chatzidakis, author of the Children of Piraeus. But it's not just them, Greek music is very broad. Our main instrument is the bouzouki and we are looking for what can be played on bouzouki and what is easy to dance to. We play mostly at Greek nights, weddings and other events where people dance.
You mentioned some Greek authors. Can Greek music of that period be compared to our popular music or other genres?
A certain comparison in terms of genres is possible but as I said, Greek music is broad, so I am talking only about a specific segment. Compared to the Western music, for example, a strong trend exists in Greece which is based on folklore but at the same time it borders on artificial music. For example, a continuation of rebetiko with better sound and new arrangements can be found. In the first half of the 20th century, rebetiko was played in distilleries or pubs in infamous neighbourhoods of large cities. At a certain stage of development, it morphed into a new genre with elements of Eastern music and popular entertainment for the masses, where bouzouki is the dominant instrument. In addition, rock music or songwriter activity was, of course, developing as well.
You also play rebetiko with the Anatoli band. How was it created?
At the beginning, there was a band that operated at the Lyceum of Greek Women in the Czech Republic. They invited me to two or three concerts and we agreed that we would continue separately. Under the name Anatoli and with small alterations among the band members, the band has existed since 2011. Currently, it has two programmes. The first one is based on the traditional music of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, where a large Greek community still lived in Asia Minor. These are songs heavily influenced by their place of origin – the coast of Asia Minor, or the Greek islands. The dominant instrument is the Turkish lute, called uti in Greek. The guitar was not used much then, but we included it due to our capacities. Percussion and vocals are important. Such music is a major learning experience for everyone who specialises in it, even in Greece.
Is the other programme the aforementioned rebetiko?
Yes. It is a genre that is once again associated with Greeks living in Asia Minor, who came to Greece after the forced exit and began to settle down in the outskirts of large cities. This way, they formed a closed, peripheral community, to which drugs and prostitution as well as the actual music production belonged. It was based on Eastern influences, and it recreated them in a way. Mainly the violin was still used in the 1920s which is specific to Eastern music. Furthermore, santuri and kanonaki were widely used in rebetiko, which are types of Greek dulcimer, and the so-called folk guitar, i.e. a guitar with the body of the Spanish guitar, but with metal strings, is played a lot. Bouzouki became the dominant instrument in the 1930s and replaced the Turkish lute known from older music.
Where do you play this repertoire with the Anatoli band?
Mostly at chamber concerts, either alone or with someone else. We seem to most often play at the Stará Pekárna Club, which is a space that is close to us and is reminiscent of the interiors in which rebetiko was originally played.
In April, you won the South Moravian round of the Porta competition. Did you expect it?
We just went to play and we were wondering what happens when someone like us comes there. We did not expect to place at all. But when we learnt that we won, I personally was actually not very surprised. I had a good feeling about our performance and I felt that we were a special feature at the competition. However, it shocked our bandleader Alexandr Knápek so much that we all went to sit down in a pub, which we normally do not do.
I think that not all the members of Anatoli have Greek roots...?
Half of us have some ties to Greece – I, the bandleader Alex and Tomáš who plays baglamas and bouzouki. The remaining members are the Czech flutist and clarinetist Iva, Martin, who is Slovak, plays the percussion, and Honza from Moravia. But Honza says that he had some ancestors in Greece a long time ago, he certainly looks like it.
You have recently added your own project Jannis Moras a band(a) on top of the bands I Parea and Anatoli. Was it created due to creative overpressure?
I played my own songs solo before, which is the most difficult discipline for me, by the way. But my goal was different. I have many favourites among contemporary songwriters from Greece and I wanted to play some of their works. Already in 2014, I brought together my brothers, some members of Anatoli and other friends. There were nine of us, and with no experience in arranging and performing with so many people we played one concert of contemporary Greek music. We then repeated it and set a goal to play our own music. In September 2015, we performed with borrowed repertoire, but we also played a few of my songs. And now we have been playing only my songs for about 6 months. We found ourselves in it and no one feels like returning to covers. I write the songs, but everyone else contributes to the final version, therefore I usually say that we are all songwriters.
How do you do at concerts with this band?
This spring, we played a lot, many opportunities piled up. Considering that we have played together for only one year and that we play our own music in Greek, which people usually do not understand, it is going pretty well.
How do people in Brno actually respond to Greek music? Do they perceive it as something exotic?
We would have to ask them, but at concerts I feel like they are excited and do not consider it exotic. The excitement fascinates me because I do not know how I would respond in their place. First and foremost, Czech audiences come to see us and they also like Greek circle dances. They feel joy not only in music, but also in dance, and they participate. Part of the Mediterranean mentality is stored in the music and people appreciate it as a form of entertainment different from what they are used to.
We can say that Martha and Tena Elefteriadu, who taught the Czech audience to listen to Greek music, paved your way many years ago. To this day, they actually organise Greek dancing courses. How do you, as a musician of the younger generation, perceive their importance for the Greek culture in the Czech Republic?
Martha and Tena Elefteriadu played an important role at their time. I only perceive music and I cannot analyse other social impacts of their activities. But in terms of music, they reflected on the then Greek culture in their repertoire. As we now draw on the contemporary Greek scene, they did the same in their time, but today it sounds like a historical event. However, big thanks go to them for succeeding in the Czech society with Greek music. At that time, there was no possibility of daily connection with Greece and the Greek culture, the Internet did not exist. So they certainly paved the way for us. People accepted us better, too, because they knew them. We play similar Greek music, but otherwise, we have a different experience.
Does anything exist today that could be called the Greek community in Brno?
It exists institutionally in the form of the Greek Community in Brno. But it also exists socially but in a different form than thirty or even fifty years ago. Its character has changed a lot with changes in society, politics and world events. Today, the community is not as closed as before, the members have also been people who have genetically very little or nothing in common with Greece. There have been many mixed marriages so often not even the name tells you who has Greek heritage. Members of the older generation still meet but young people don't, unfortunately.
Do you speak Czech or Greek at home?
Czech dominates, but sometimes we speak Greek. We mainly keep in touch with Greek through the media.
The album of I Parea entitled Babylonská věž is a synthesis of all your musical projects. Both Anatoli and Jannis Moras a band(a) are guests on this album. How did it happen?
That was the intention from the beginning, which is again the work of the musical event director of (not only) our family - my dad. His wish was that Anatoli plays one song on the album and eventually suggested that "Banda" should come too. We were happy to accept this proposal because that is how we got to experience studio recording in high-quality spaces for the first time.
Does your dad follow your musical activities? And does he give you advice?
Yes, he does, he gives us advice, even though we, as representatives of the rebellious youth, do not let him express his opinion too much. However, sometimes we agree with him, other times we keep it to ourselves. But he is very engaged, especially because we play our own music. He is a big fan.
The Greek Saturday at the Veveří Castle is dedicated to Greek cultural traditions and their ties to Brno and the entire Czech Republic. The programme includes music and dance performances, a Greek dance school, a historical exhibition and many other events. The sixth annual event will be held on 4 June from 9.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m.
