Inner Joy

EVRIPIDES EVRIPIDOU (www.evrimusic.com)
BIOGRAPHY

Evripides was born in Cyprus and migrated to Australia at the age of fifteen years old. Since the age of six, he has studied mandolin, piano, clarinet, saxophone, guitar and bass and completed courses in Classical and Jazz guitar. Influenced by the strong rhythms and melodies of a Mediterranean culture, the freedom of Jazz, the discipline and elegance of Classical and Flamenco styles of music, and his deep experiences as a long-term meditator, he has found his 'sound' and fulfillment in expression through his original compositions performed on a vast selection of bass guitars. Evripides has gained a reputation as an inventive and electrifying player by taking bass playing to the extreme through innovative use of his six and seven string basses and a variety of electronic effects. As a producer, composer, arranger and performer he has worked with an amazing array of artists including:
Jazz:
James Morrison - “Scream machine”
David Jones Trio – “Intuition”, “Meditations on Love”
Matt Kirsch – “Untitled”, “ Mat Kirsch Trio”
Bob Sedergreen – “David Jones Trio”
Christine Sullivan – “Christine Sullivan band”
Rock:
Rod Morgenstein-“Ultimate Drummer’s day”
Mike Portnoy -“Ultimate Drummer’s day”
Bruce Kullic-“Ultimate Drummer’s day workshop”
Eric Singer-“Ultimate Drummer’s day workshop”
Pop:
Peter Andre - "Get down on it",
Past to Present - "September",
Jane Rutter - "Blow"
Tony Lee Scott – “Take me Away”
John St Peters – “In so many ways”
Dave Weckle – “In so many ways”
Jazz Rock:
Virgil Donati – “On The Virge”
David Hirschfelder – “Nothing”
Jeff Pressing –“ World Rhythm Band”
Sam Aliano – “Emalgamation”
Frank Gambali - “Emalgamation”
Brandon Fields - “Emalgamation”
Fred Leduc – “8th Wonder”
Film:
Phil Judd - “Death in Brunswick”
Original compositions can be heard on:
James Morrison - “ Scream Machine”
The David Jones Trio - “Intuition”, “Meditations on Love”
Carmen Warringhton - “Today I Will”
Sam Aliano – “Emalgamation”
Virgil Donati - "On The Virge"


QUOTES and REVIEWS

James Morrison

"Evripides transcends the usual role of the bass with his musicianship, creativity and the sheer beauty of his playing. The vibe he creates lifts everyone around him."


Intuition was CD of the Week in The Melbourne Age Green Guide
27 July, 2000. CD OF THE WEEK
David Jones Trio: INTUITION (independent release)

Most of this was recorded live for a studio audience in Melbourne last April. All except for the jaw-dropping track on the second disc, Destiny, recorded at Bennett's Lane last year. That little number has 18 minutes built around a shimmering bass solo where Evripides Evripidou seems to transform the instrument into something approaching a flamenco guitar.



The Australian Financial Review
20 January 2001
Shane Nichols

This is a supergroup: as well as Jones's spectacular drumming there is Evripides Evripidou, whose effects-laden electric bass is often used for an orchestral effect.



David Jones

"Evripides is an unbelievable bass player, who has the technique of a classical/flamenco guitarist, whilst also providing all the gutsy and rootsy foundation of the bass."

“There’s a nobility and majesty about his playing that moves the audience and the other musicians into very deep emotional spaces. His mastery of the six string bass and effects is unparalleled in the world. When you have Evripides in the band, it’s like you have a guitarist, a bass player and synth player all in one.”



The Melbourne Age Green Guide of December 2000
Green Guide’s music reviewers select their top CDs of 2000.

Intuition - David Jones
(Independent Release)
An extraordinary double-disc release featuring the freakish local drummer David Jones, pianist Bob Sedergreen and bassist Evripides Evripidou.



Evripides Evripidou

“I remember when I was five years old asking my father to play his guitar
over and over again because it made me feel good. I have fallen in love
with music and all its facets ever since. Throughout my life’s journey I
have been blessed and fortunate enough to experience immense joy from
performing and composing music. I believe that this same joy is embedded in my recorded music and performances, in the form of its attributes, which in turn are experienced as uplifting emotions.”



Australian Musician magazine.
"Evri- his name sums it up, every bass player in one, how else can you describe this guy. He plays bass lines, melodies, chords, all at the same time. He is a futurist, innovative talent." Wayne Jones

NEOS KOSMOS.

Evripides Evripidou is a master at his craft. With the power of a seven string bass he can set you in a trance while he performs magic on stage. Possed by a love for music, he casts a spell on the common bass. Kathie Kambouropoulos,


Mixdown magazine
Evripides Evripidou plays the 6 and 7-string basses like nothing you’ve ever heard before. His performance is spectacular, with a spellbinding effect that demands enthusiastic applause. Evripides pulls some absolutely devastating sounds, which make you think, “who needs guitarists”, the guy is hot. Mixdown magazine.

Excerpt from Mixdown interview with Evripides

Q: Your music is original and different. How do you go about selling it as it is more complex than a local pub gig?
Evri: On the surface its unusual but in depth it has common elements which make it very listenable, such as intensity, skill, very strong rhythmic and melodic aspects.
Q: How would you describe your music?
Evri: I would describe it as an adventurous and courageous journey into as many areas of the soul as possible, and as a result there is a sense of freedom in rhythm, harmony, melody and contour that pervades it and at the same time a sense of unity, as the source of inspiration is one.
Q: In a lot of your pieces, you use a classical or Spanish guitar kind of a sound which has become your trademark. How did that come about and how do you get that classical sound where the strings sound like they are nylon?
Evri: The style comes from my classical and flamenco guitar background; the sound comes from my piezzo bridge pick-up, which is similar to what is fitted to an acoustic guitar in order to amplify it. It senses the signal by vibration, unlike magnetic pick-ups which work off a magnetic field.
Q: You play both a six and seven sting basses yet your music sounds like it would be hard to play on a conventional bass (i.e. four string). Why is that?
Evri: On the seven string for example I’m allowed more freedom in expressing different chordal patterns and brings me closer to the guitar register.













EVRIPIDES EVRIPIDOU
EMOTIONS - the CD in the making.

I have played, recorded, composed, and produced other peoples’ music for more than 15 years and now I have finally completed and released my own CD with my original compositions and signature sound of my basses and effects. It was long overdue but I guess the lengthy wait meant a more mature result. I begun putting ideas down for this CD about a year ago when my good friend David Jones, who I’ve been working with for many years, insisted that I start tracking ideas even if they were very rough. So the process begun with spontaneous melodies, rhythms, and improvisations being recorded sporadically, usually after a meditation, and then gradually refining them when time became available in between my clients’ projects in the studio, which I run as a business, my students, band rehearsals, gigs and family commitments.
I mentioned before about my signature sound; let me explain because it is this sound which is the predominant texture of my music and which gives it character and strength. It comprises of ethereal, ambient, sweet, sparkly, melodic and rhythmically hypnotic elements, carefully put together to induce a calming and soothing but also uplifting and empowering effect in the listener. The order of the music was also carefully chosen to gently take the listener from a place of busy mind activity to a peaceful sanctuary and then bring him/her out refreshed and rejuvenated, hence some of the titles of the pieces. In technical terms, I have collected various basses and pieces of equipment over the years, in a search for means of expression, and then begun to program and customize sounds that I heard in my head. I have been working with loop machines live, for many years and really enjoy the hypnotic aspect of a repetitive idea with the gradual adding of layers of melody, harmony, rhythm and color. So I naturally gravitated to this same methodology for the recording of ‘Emotions’. To be more specific here is a list of instruments and effects used and the process of putting together the music:
• 4-string Tune fretless
• 5-string Godin acoustic fretless
• 6-string Belman custom electric with piezzo pick-ups in the bridge
• 7-string Belman custom electric with piezzo pick-ups in the bridge
• 6-string Seagull steel acoustic
• 12-string Cort steel acoustic
• Roland XV5080 (various samples of percussion)
• Roland VF1 multi effects
• Roland RC-20 loop machine
• Digitech harmonizer
• Software based effects like filters, delays etc.
The process was quite similar for all the pieces. I would first loop one or two chord progressions, then proceed with a lengthy improvisation and an intention of including repetitive motives to give the sense of melody development. The rest was additional arrangements based on color, texture and counterpoint. The ambience comes from 2, 3 sometimes 4 delays and reverb behind the bass, the ethereal sounds are generated by the very airy sounding piezzo pick-ups using my nails on the strings, the sparkles come out of the bright guitars and harmonized high register 7-string bass lines, strings and pads are also generated by the swelling of airy chorused chords from the Belman basses, and the meaty mid range chord progressions are taken care of by the Belman 6-string bass. For the double bass-like sound in ‘Togetherness’ I used the Godin acoustic bass, the distorted guitar in ‘Inner Joy’ was created by the harmonized up the 8ve and multi effected through the VF-1 6-string bass, the introduction and harmonic background of ‘Togetherness’ was also a product of harmonization and multi-effects, the rich textures of ‘Inner Joy’, ‘Peace’ and ‘Rejuvenation’ were all created using only bass guitars and effects. No other instruments were used in these three pieces. ‘Togetherness’ was also entirely put together just using the basses and various effects, but with the exception of the drum loop. In summary, all pieces include 2 to 5 basses simultaneously with some being supplemented with acoustic guitars, and percussion. Most of the synth like sounds are actually generated by the effects and played by the 6&7 string basses.


EVRIPIDES the Theacher

I have been teaching at Monash university and the Victorian college of Arts for about 10 years.
The lessons I give are one on one basis and this gives me an excellent opportunity to refine and tailor the lessons not only based on the syllabus but also on the idiosyncrasies of the student.
I am also a working musician, composer, arranger, programmer and producer, involved in a myriad of projects varying from producing pop music to composing meditation and relaxation music, to performing jazz and other styles of music. This involvement gives me a wealth of information and deep musical experiences and insights which I pass on to my students in an organized and methodical manner. I am always very pleased to read my students’ journals during the school years as they confirm that my teaching methods are most pleasing and beneficial to them.
One major aspect, and perhaps the foundation on which relies the success of the lessons, is the 'duo' like, 'free style' performance between the student and my self in the first five minutes of the lesson. During this performance the student is encouraged to explore his musical (and non musical!) horizons in an innocent and uninhibited attempt to express his/her emotions rather than play the 'right notes'. This procedure provides opportunity to release the student from the bondage of fear, in its broadest sense, and also allow the mind to settle thereby opening the pathway to the heart. The results are remarkable as the performance is transformed into a journey of very expressive musical experiences during which ironically and paradoxically the student discovers that his/her playing becomes increasingly coherent, musical and free from the influence of the conditioned nature of the mind. Consequently the student becomes established in a blissful and receptive state of mind which in turn allows him/her to absorb the rest of the lesson with ease; hence the saying: "A happy person is a more effective person."
In conclusion, I would like to point out the importance of establishing a pathway of communication between teacher and student based not only on the teacher's ability to transmit knowledge, but also on culturing in the student ways to receive this knowledge more effectively. In the future I am aspiring to develop as many of these ways as possible.