hEre nOw theN
for solo 8 string guitar

The new work of the guitarist / composer Giorgos Tabakis entitled hEre nOw theN (upcoming cd – Efkrassis Productions 2021) for solo 8 string guitar comes as a continuation of his collaboration with the German clarinetist Rebecca Trescher and the cd Dual Nature (2020) which was internationally distinguished, gathering excellent reviews from Europe and US.

In hEre nOw theN Giorgos Tabakis captures his personal view of the modern guitar, presenting a set of compositions and improvisations that focus on the broader modern music approach, assimilating elements and trends of modern classical, modern jazz, avant garde, progressive music, with the Greek sound being often present both melodic and rhythmically giving a result that is fresh and distinctive.

The use of material of tropical (modal), modern tonal and atonic music, natural sound effects, expressive and percussive media, places hEre nOw theN in the direction of a personal and free sound expression.

Through the special instrument Giorgos Tabakis 8 string MOOV guitar – made by George Behlivanoglou – reveals an artistic world rich in guitar ideas and techniques that offer comfort and space to the music and soundscapes that are created.

hEre nOw theN is a single work with different parts, highlighting the need for a source and unfettered expression of deeper ideas, experiences, concerns and questions of the composer in an unprecedented reality.

"My interest while i was composing and recording this cd, was to perceive the 8 string guitar as a "larger" instrument (like a piano, a string quartet etc), something like an "orchestral guitar".
This "view" gave me the freedom to experiment with several approaches in order to produce something that is kind of "more than a guitar" as far as the spectrum of frequencies, sound, parallel voices, music concept, music ideas, new techniques.
I always wanted to express a personally united contemporary music universe, somewhere between contemporary classical/modern lazz/progressive/folk oriented music and 'hEre nOw theN' features these elements".
Giorgos Tabakis


interview to Chris Wheatley & All About Jazz
www.allaboutjazz.com/giorgos-tabakis-moovin-with-the-eight-string

"8 strings. 10 fingers. 10 songs.
8-string guitar player Giorgos Tabakis’ remarkable new album “hEre nOw theN” will keep you in rapt attention from its beginning to its very end. Drop what you are now doing and buy it!"
- Walter Kolosky Author of the renowned book about The Mahavishnu Orchestra (Power, Passion and Beauty), and co-host of the popular Jazz Rocks Podcast.

"Nothing feels predictable here, yet at the same time the music is never obtuse. Emotion lies at the core of Tabakis’ music, and that emotion is channelled through mesmerizing technique. It”s a cliché, but you will utterly forget that this is a solo album"
londonjazznews.com/2021/11/12/giorgos-tabakis-here-now-then/amp/

"Armed with his one-of-a-kind guitar, Giorgos Tabakis releases his most heartfelt and inventive body of work yet – “hEre nOw theN”
Jazz Guitar Today
jazzguitartoday.com/2021/10/8-string-guitarist-giorgos-tabakis-releases-solo-album/

"Athenian avantgarde 8-string guitarist Giorgos Tabakis release a Masterpiece"
European Indie Music Network
euroindiemusic.info/2021/10/27/athenian-avantgarde-8-string-guitarist-giorgos-tabakis-release-a-masterpiece-attraction-is-the-first-song-of-his-new-album-here-now-then-and-is-a-must-have-in-your-collection-on-air-in-t/

"Giorgos Tabakis and the new face of the eight-string guitar"
TopGuitar Poland
topguitar.pl/newsy/giorgos-tabakis-i-nowe-oblicze-osmiostrunowej-gitary/

"The fact that he plays on a specially built eight-string also gives him his very own sound. Giorgos Tabakis is simply a unique musician with a highly personal expression"
Tor Hammerø (Norway)
www.nettavisen.no/plateanmeldelse/musikk/jazz/unikt-og-helt-gresk/r/5-95-329832

"Tabakis plays an 8 string guitar and brings incredible colour and depth to his sound. hEre nOw theN is notable for its great beauty and many moments of leisurely listening, but get with that listening because Tabakis is working hard to help you relax. I'm reminded of the flamenco improvisations of Carlos Montoya, where there's so much going on beneath the surface. There's serious graft behind this facade. There are propulsive moments, like the opener Attraction, and times of great tenderness like the short and sweet Touch. It's also worth checking out tracks like 'Dream within a dream' for the contrast between lively, sonorous expression and sudden bass drops. Tabakis presents an engaging extrapolation of what at first sounds like classical guitar, but soon reveals itself to be much more. There's a lot going on over hEre nOw theN's 10 tracks, which deserves your attention."
Graeme Murrell (UK)

"The album is an exquisite work, and a rare virtuoso, dancing the fine line between music for music and poetics that overflow subtle emotions through transcendental soundscapes.
Giorgos has an incredible ability to extract emotions hidden in the depths and, therefore, it is impossible not to get emotional listening to his work"
Roadie-music (Brazil)
roadie-music.com/giorgos-tabakis-artista-grego-explora-limites-em-here-now-then/

"Tabakis leaves the obvious and delves into the search for new sounds, new stylistic possibilities through a personal acoustic expression and without ties"
La Habitacion del Jazz (Spain)
lahabitaciondeljazz.blogspot.com/2021/11/giorgos-tabakis-cd-here-now-then.html?m=1

"What a wonderful cd by Giorgos Tabakis the 8 string guitar have such a rich sound wonderful and very versatile."
JazzReporter (Germany)
jazzreporter.com

"If there’s one thing that’s abundantly clear from Giorgos Tabakis’ latest record, the man is an absolute wizard with the strings. ‘hEre nOw TheN’ sees the guitarist show his listeners just how powerful and majestic an eight string guitar can be"
findnoenemy.com
findnoenemy.com/giorgos-tabakis-here-now-then-enchanting/

"How do you pin down this album? The answer is you can’t. 8 string guitar player Giorgos Tabakis presents 10 track album ‘hEre nOw theN’ entwined with jazz, celestial folk, and progressive fusion; every listen offers something completely new."
snackatrackmusic.monkjackpublishing.com/2021/11/05/giorgos-tabakis-presents-a-refreshing-8-string-guitar-experience-with-album-here-now-then/

"The playing is nothing less than masterly. Tabakis likes to paint with sound and silence and manages to do that in a beautiful way with contemporary compositions"
Geert Ryssen (Belgium)
www.fullcirclemisicblog.be/448495689

Interview at Wyrd Daze
wyrddaze.wordpress.com/2021/11/17/wyrd-question-daze-giorgos-tabakis/

"Ten tracks hEre nOw theN eloquently reflect both the capabilities of the instrument and the ideas of the album's creator. Contemporary jazz and contemporary academic music, judging by hEre nOw theN, are equally close to Giorgos.
Carried away by unusual sonoristics, he does not forget about the emotional side of his compositions. Fans of guitar music will be curious to get acquainted with the undoubtedly talented new work of an experimenter from Athens"
Leonid Auskern
jazzquad.ru/index.pl?act=PRODUCT&id=6074

CD of the Week (November 15, 2021)
donos.home.blog/literackie-biuro-podrozy/

"It is not very often that you hear an entirely, 100% original song. However, the Athens-based experimental ambient composer Giorgos Tabakis brings something new to the table with an 8 string guitar, prog/jazz/folk fusions and sounds that exist on the cutting edge of modern creativity"
Words by Jacob Braybrooke
urbanradarmusic.monkjackpublishing.com/2021/11/18/giorgos-tabakis-strives-for-string-based-originality-with-8-string-produced-new-album-led-by-sensational-cut-attraction/

"Athen base Giorgos Tabakis is familiar with sounds that are of the fringe, especially since he’s the one making them. Prog, jazz and folk collide when Giorgos picks up his eight stringed guitar"
headinthesoundclouds.monkjackpublishing.com/2021/11/15/giorgos-tabakis-pulls-out-all-eight-strings-for-here-now-then/

interview with Yiannis Panagopoulos & Fragile magazine (greek language)
fragilemag.gr/synenteyxi-moysiki-to-neo-almpoym-toy-kitharista-giorgoy-tampaki-here-now-then-sprochnei-ton-icho-tis-eyropaikis-tzaz-se-alla-epipeda39624-2/

interview with Liana Malandrenioti & Epohi newspaper (greek language)
www.epohi.gr/article/41057/giorgos-tampakhs-h-hara-kai-h-eleytheria-ths-moysikhs-sto-proskhnio#.YaQVkAlpFAE.facebook

reviewed by Dimitris Orlis & mixgril.gr (greek language)
www.mixgrill.gr/ar72121el-giwrgos-tampakis-here-now-then.html