Greek Artists Talk To Michael

By Michael m on 7:31 PM 24 August 2017

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Hello there! Recently i decided to create a project. A few questions that would be answered by many Greek artists(As many as possible!!) . I was glad that most of the artists i asked to participate to my project were more than possitive and i thank them so much!!

The artists that answered to my questions are the following :


Iliana and Steelianos (Enemy Of Reality) :








Lia Hide:





Alexandra Misalilidou ( Quadrus) : 




Jon Galanakis (Quadrus) :





Andreas Papadopoulos (Serenity Broken)






1) Now that summer is almost over I ask you this : Which one do you prefer the most and why? Summer or winter?

Lia Hide : I hate cold, extreme cold, although I used to snowboard, and love the snow. But the cold days in Greece these past  few years were unbearable, so I’d rather say summer, although it gets really, really hot at times, too. Now, artistically speaking, I actually do prefer the winter, although I work long hours and have to fit everything into schedule, I like the events, the night life, the people crowding small venues and clubs, and I really do like rain, a lot. But I hate, utterly hate, wind. So.. a like and hate a bit of them all!


Iliana (Enemy Of Reality)  : When the winter hits the lowest temperatures, I 'll go with summer. When the summer hits the higher temperatures, definitely winter. The ideal is when it 's hot enough to go for a swim, but there 's still a nice breeze that keeps you from sweating. 



Alexandra (Quadrus) : Well I have aways loved winter, ever since I was a little girl. I just love the cold air on my cheecks and the enchantment it transfuses, it is magical!

Jon ( Quadrus) : That’s an easy question! WINTER OF COURSE! I was born in winter but that’s not why I love winter! Its way more inspiring composing a new song in your studio with a hot cup of coffee or a glass of scotch while you enjoy the rain outside instead of sitting in front of your pc sweating with 40 degrees  outside.

Andreas  (Serenity Broken) : Winter because..winter is coming! (laughs!) Seriously I think that I prefer winter. Makes easier for me to compose a song or so!

2) Which was your best moment so far this year?


Lia Hide :It actually was a very hard and harsh year, so no favorite moments to cherish.. If I have to chose one, I’d chose the day my cd’s arrived, in an old plain box, wrapped with cellophane, straight from the CD burning factory. I decided to independently release my new EP, so I had to do it all on my own, DIY packaging, designing the artwork and layouts on my own, and as we speak I struggle with distribution. So that day, was a really happy day, when the CD’s were delivered! It meant in a way that I can do it on my own, after all!


Steelianos(Enemy Of Reality): Hands down our live presentation of “Arakhne”, our latest album, at the MFVF in Belgium, where we had the honor of playing with Mike Le Pond from Symphony X, Chiara Malvestiti from Therion, Kassy from Mercy Isle, and our dearest friend, Maxi Nil from Jaded Star. 



Alexandra (Quadrus) :The best moment was when our creation came into existence!

Jon ( Quadrus) : I think it was the moment of Entropia’s release! After almost 3 years of hard work finnaly came the moment when all of this hard work went public! It was a huge relief and at the same time the begging of something new! Who knows..

Andreas  (Serenity Broken) : By far this year our best moment was the release of our second album entitled “Redefine”! We worked our asses so hard for this release and the final result justified us! We are really proud of it!

3) What do you do on your free time? (Something that probably relaxes you)


Lia Hide :Sad to say, I lately have no free time.. I used to like watching movies or tv series (used to be a big GoT fan, now I settle for old Downton Abbey episodes) or read a book, but alas, there’s no free time to spare now. I try to get together with my friends, my 2-3 really close friends, they are my.. psychotherapy sessions, and I speak with my facebook friends a lot, too. 



Steelianos(Enemy Of Reality)Not nearly as much free time as I need, but I enjoy the simple things, like spending time with the people I love, going out with friends and watching a movie. 

Iliana(Enemy Of Reality) :Same goes for me as well

Alexandra (Quadrus) : I usually write lyrics or melodies on my piano.

Jon ( Quadrus) : Besides composing and playing music? I love nature and I really enjoy taking long walks on forests or mountain sides.Aslo hiking,mountain biking or any activity of this kind! But mostly I love spending time on my studio writing whatever comes to my mind!


Andreas  (Serenity Broken) :  When I have some free time I usually play my guitar or killing people on Call Of Duty! Shooting is definitely relaxing!

4) Which are your 3 favorite songs?


Lia Hide : Really tough one, but I have to chose only 3, today, I’d chose
1. The Last to Know – Faith no More
2.  Dream Brother – Jeff Buckley
3. A sorta Fairytale – Tori Amos


Iliana (Enemy Of Reality): Hard question! I have around ten favorites from each band I like. But if I have to say just 3 at this given moment I 'd say 3 songs that lift me up when I 'm down. System Of A Down-toxicity, Machine Head-Halo, Demons 'n' Wizards – Fiddler on the green


Steelianos(Enemy Of Reality) : Bohemian Rhapsody- Queen, Here comes the sun- Beatles and Metropolis pt. 1, the miracle and the sleeper- Dream Theater



Alexandra (Quadrus) : Dream Theatre: Home, Dimmu Borgir : Reptile , The Gathering : In motion 1 & 2

Jon ( Quadrus) : Hm….For sure ‘Octavarium’ from Dream Theater, ‘Sons of Winter’ and Stars from Wintersun and of course Kingdom of Heaven part I and II from Epica! As you can see I love long songs. That’s why I composed the song “Entropia” from our album which is 19 minutes long. You can say that Its my ‘Octavarium’ 

Andreas  (Serenity Broken) : Tough question so I will speak the 3 first that cross my mind right now:
·         Metallica – Blackened
·         Parkway Drive – Karma
·         Alice In Chains – Check my brain

5) Name us 2 artists or groups that you admire their work(and maybe inspired you in some way)


Lia Hide : NIN (well, or, Trent Reznor) and Jack White. Both for their independence, charisma, output, drive, strong mindedness, talent, voice, lyric writing, forward thinking and aesthetic approach



Iliana(Enemy Of Reality) : Again they are plenty, but I 'll say right now the first two that come to my mind. Solstafir, cause their music touches me a lot, and Ronnie James Dio for obvious reasons.

Steelianos(Enemy Of Reality) : Jeff Waters and Steve Vai

Alexandra (Quadrus) : Epica ,I admire their lyrics and their choirs and the Gathering, or Anneke herself because of the way her voice makes me feel!

Jon ( Quadrus) : Hmm that’s hard to decide! In cinematic soundtrack music I can say for sure that Thomas Bergersen and Hans Zimmer are the top two artists that definitely inspired me. In metal music  Dream Theater and Wintersun are the 2 most beloved bands of mine! All of them inspired me in different ways to create my writing style!

Andreas  (Serenity Broken) : I’d say  Metallica regarding my personal musical inspiration & Godsmack as a band.


6) Want to share with us one of your big dreams? What do are you planning to succeed on the following years?


Lia Hide :I used to want to play in Wembley Stadium (or Hyde Park, for that matter), I used to wish I’d make it to the big arenas and multi-crowded festivals. Lately, I tend to wish more .. achievable goals, like, making it to the recordings of the next album, or making it though the day, actually, as everything seems to be really difficult! I wish my band mates be well in their health and be happy, I wish my family and friends who support me all the best, but yes, I do wish we can arrange a multi-stop European tour this coming winter, and I wish my music makes it to as many people as possible. And I wish I can make albums of my already written songs, and have the inspiration to keep writing and producing music! A dream come true would also be, if a charismatic producer cared to work with me, on my new sound, as I always find it difficult to get round to the production stage, on my own..


Iliana(Enemy Of Reality) : My greatest dream is to always be healthy and standing on my feet, and the same for everyone around me, for without being healthy you can't really fight for anything. Aside from that, I 'd like to keep our character and harmony between us in the band, in order to be able to grow and expand more. It 's generally a bit funny to make plans for success. You always do your best in every area and hope for the better results.



Stelianos(Enemy Of Reality) : Iliana covered for me as well, I agree with her

Alexandra (Quadrus) : I want to learn many things, on music or even things that will make me get better as a human being. For knowledge itself and to evolve in a transcendental way. This is success for me!

Jon ( Quadrus) : The only thing I wish is being healthy so I can overcome every challenge I face or any goal I set. From there everything else doesn’t really matter because at the end of the day all that matters is how many fights you’ve won. And you cant win a fight without your health! hehe

Andreas (Serenity Broken) : One of our big dreams is someday to be able to live and pay our bills with our music!

7) Any music plans for the rest of this year?


Lia Hide :We must record and finish at least 2 albums, with my band and sound engineer. One is half way there, and the other one is already rehearsed and waits patiently in line. I also want to tour as much as possible, and play in some major festivals, preferably not in Greece. 

Iliana (Enemy Of Reality)Yes there are plenty! Right now all I can tell you is that we 'll play in the UK in August along with Edenbridge as their main support, in Malta in September at the VOTS festival as the main support to Xandria, as well as in Athens in the end of September as special guests for Fragile Vastness.

Alexandra (Quadrus) : Yes lots of them!

Jon ( Quadrus) : For now we will make some lives maybe participate in few festivals to promote our debut album but I already started writing down ideas for the next album. That’s all I can say for now! 

Andreas (Serenity Broken) : We will continue to promote “Redefine” and perform wherever is possible.

8) How hard do you think is for a new artist to be known on the Greek audience and how hard is for him/her/them to be known worldwide?

Lia Hide :I don’t know if it is a matter of easy or hard, of hard work or talent, or simply social acquaintances and luck. I watch fellow musicians, bands and singer/songwriters “make it” and once I press the “play” button, I wonder why.. I am not here to judge whether someone deserves it more than others, but I can say, to my humble opinion, that some of the most celebrates artists in Greece and not only, actually don’t make sense, whereas some other artists remain neglected. So to answer the question, it is very hard, and no matter how hard you work for it, no one can guarantee you that you will make it, although it actually does not matter, after all, as we don’t make art to be famous (well, artists don’t, entertainers might), we do it because we can’t express ourselves otherwise. 


Steelianos(Enemy Of Reality) : It 's pretty hard to get well known at a short time period, but it 's even harder to maintain a stable value in the eyes of your fans, to overcome any difficulties and keep on doing your best presenting your best self to your audience. 

Alexandra (Quadrus) :It is hard but, in my opinion, if the artist strays from this kind of motivation and the only goal is to write music for the joy of creation, then the audience will sense that!

Jon ( Quadrus) : That’s a delicate matter that I cant answer for sure since I am not an experienced musician or artist but I can say my personal opinion. I believe that if you do what you love eventually youwill make it no matter how good or bad you are at it! All that matter is to love the thing that you spend most of your time! If you love it eventually you will succeed because you rewire your brain and your energy to obey your dream. Universe will listen..Just make the right request! From there its matter of a little bit of luck, recording label,money and promo agencies to become know whether you are in Greece or at any country of the world 

Andreas (Serenity Broken) : To be known in Greece or elsewhere or worldwide is something that is not always up to you.  You have to work really hard, devote to your art and love what you do, have great songs, killer production, a good manager, a lot other things and of course luck..! Which still doesn’t guaranteed you success! But many bands know it, they still perform and record because it’s their passion, their lives, they don’t do it just to be known. Probably that’s the key.

9) Would you like to share with us a funny moment that happened on a gig? (a crazy fan perhaps or something else )

Lia Hide :Hmmm .. lots of stuff have happened throughout the years.. once, after playing bass on a gig, I tripped on a cable, fell on my hand. and completely dislocated all the bones of my wrist, spending 3 months in plaster cast and doctors insisted I’d never be able to play piano, again (lucky for me, that didn’t happen!). Another time, during a full-house show on a large venue (KooKoo) in Athens, a technical problem stopped the show, so I decided to share a joke with the audience to .. crack the ice. The trouble is, my joke was not very successful, resulting in a very icy-cold audience staring at me, puzzled (no, I won’t share the joke with you, I swore I’d never say it ever again!).  During the summer tours, where not everything works properly, lots of things tend to fall off stage.. my keys (electro – nord) have fallen of their stand (yes, I tend to play a bit.. violently), my laptop has fallen of its rack, music and mic stands have fallen on me, and I remember a time when the wind was so hard, I actually .. fell on the drum set.  Stuff like that, there!



Iliana(Enemy Of Reality) : Sure!  I 'll mention something unusual rather than crazy.The first things I can think of is at the MFVF signing session, where we had to sign on an enormous plastic duck (much like a small person's size) and a red high heel shoe. You can find these pictures in our official page.

Alexandra (Quadrus) : Well, few years ago on a gig with another band, I stepped on some guy’s foot just a few seconds before I go up on stage, but this is something far too common for me!

Jon ( Quadrus) : We were out for a gig in a studio here in Athens. This studio has only 1 elevator for reaching the rehearsing rooms so we took it and load all of our equipment. As you can imagine the poor elevator was over weighted so we let our guitarist to take the equipment to the first floor and then we would follow. Poor man he was stucked on this elevator for 1 hour and he was yelling for help while we were laughing are asses off. I can still remember him shouting  “You assholes That’s not funny Its too hot in hear and I have some bad gasses. I cant hold out much longer” We still make fun of him ! :p

Andreas (Serenity Broken) : We were playing  at the legendary AN club in Athens and we had George Kollias (NILE) as a guest performing 2 songs with us and everything was killer. Crowd was enjoying it! At that point there was a drunk guy at the crowd that was having fun without causing any troubles. He sung and having a great time. At some point before I realize it he got on stage and grab my microphone trying to sing something else, something that probably wasn’t a song!(laughs) Our sound engineer hopefully closed my mic  and some other guy dragged him offstage quickly. We were looking at each other on stage and we couldn’t stop laughing our asses off!  


Thank you for answering my questions. It was a pleasure and a honor for me and I wish you all the best!

Lia Hide :The pleasure and honour was all mine!!

Iliana(Enemy Of Reality): It was a pleasure for us as well  mate! All the best to you and the people who just read this, hope to see you soon! Cheers!

Alexandra (Quadrus) : The honor is ours dear!

1 comments for this post

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Posted on 14/2/18 12:12  

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