INTERVIEW: ''I've often wondered why I chose this profession."
Original article
The unclassifiable Greek-American singer, songwriter, and pianist Diamanda Galás, will be performing the opening concert tonight at the Agora Center. The concert, featuring the artist and her piano, begins at 9 P.M.
What can your fans expect tonight?
"I'll sing songs in Greek, English, and possibly Italian. I never do the same songs for a show every time. If I feel like singing a song, I sing it. If I don't, I don't."
Language barriers are not something that affect you.
"No. I do two songs by Jacques Brel, which I love as a performer and composer. Also Gerard Jouannest, who still plays with his wife, Juliette Greco, and composed much for Brel. I like them, but they are very difficult."
Which songs will be performed in Spanish?
"I'm going to be singing a song by La Lupe, who is wonderful. She had a very hard life in New York and was treated very badly by the record companies. She died very young. To me, she was one of the greatest Salsa singers, much like Jimi Hendrix; crazy, genius, and extremely rare. But to the record companies, she was a freak. They preferred someone more conventional, such as Celia Cruz. I also do a song by Germaine Montero"
Do these songs have a connection?
"These songs, like those of Brel, were composed in the style of the Romantics; Chopin, Bartok....This can be heard in the dramatic themes. The chords are the path that the drama runs along."
You have previously stated that the songs you perform, depend on your mood.
"I'm a person that's happy or sad. It's either black or white. My mood changes often, like many singers, this life can be very stupid. It has both good and bad aspects. When you're making music, it is wonderful, but the business aspect can be horrible, especially when arguing with idiots. I've often wondered why I chose this profession, but it has given me the opportunity to work with very intelligent people. I can sing what I want to, find poems by writers who say things that identify with my life"
So what has been your experience in the collapsing of the record industry, which you have often fiercely critisized?
"(Laughs) It is extremely funny to me. The mangers of these record companies want to control everything. I now make and sell my own records. I am finished with these companies, I've lost all hope that they will ever change."
by Luis O. Ferreiro (translated from Spanish to English by Jeremy (Sebastien-Son) Wright)
Original article
The unclassifiable Greek-American singer, songwriter, and pianist Diamanda Galás, will be performing the opening concert tonight at the Agora Center. The concert, featuring the artist and her piano, begins at 9 P.M.
What can your fans expect tonight?
"I'll sing songs in Greek, English, and possibly Italian. I never do the same songs for a show every time. If I feel like singing a song, I sing it. If I don't, I don't."
Language barriers are not something that affect you.
"No. I do two songs by Jacques Brel, which I love as a performer and composer. Also Gerard Jouannest, who still plays with his wife, Juliette Greco, and composed much for Brel. I like them, but they are very difficult."
Which songs will be performed in Spanish?
"I'm going to be singing a song by La Lupe, who is wonderful. She had a very hard life in New York and was treated very badly by the record companies. She died very young. To me, she was one of the greatest Salsa singers, much like Jimi Hendrix; crazy, genius, and extremely rare. But to the record companies, she was a freak. They preferred someone more conventional, such as Celia Cruz. I also do a song by Germaine Montero"
Do these songs have a connection?
"These songs, like those of Brel, were composed in the style of the Romantics; Chopin, Bartok....This can be heard in the dramatic themes. The chords are the path that the drama runs along."
You have previously stated that the songs you perform, depend on your mood.
"I'm a person that's happy or sad. It's either black or white. My mood changes often, like many singers, this life can be very stupid. It has both good and bad aspects. When you're making music, it is wonderful, but the business aspect can be horrible, especially when arguing with idiots. I've often wondered why I chose this profession, but it has given me the opportunity to work with very intelligent people. I can sing what I want to, find poems by writers who say things that identify with my life"
So what has been your experience in the collapsing of the record industry, which you have often fiercely critisized?
"(Laughs) It is extremely funny to me. The mangers of these record companies want to control everything. I now make and sell my own records. I am finished with these companies, I've lost all hope that they will ever change."
by Luis O. Ferreiro (translated from Spanish to English by Jeremy (Sebastien-Son) Wright)