Michalis Violaris – Έλα Να Σμίξουμε Τα Θκυο / Αρκείς Τζιαι Πέθανα | Vinyl 7" Single | (VG+)
Record - VG+
Cover - Generic/Plastic Sleeve
This single is by Michalis Violaris, a well-known Cypriot/Greek folk singer popular in the 1960s–1970s. The songs are in Greek (actually Cypriot dialect), which places it in the Mediterranean folk / Greek pop category.
Michalis Violaris
Michalis Violaris (Μιχάλης Βιολάρης), born Michalis Kyriakou in 1944, is a Greek-Cypriot singer, composer and occasional actor associated with modern Greek and Cypriot popular music and the New Wave (“Neo Kyma”) scene. He is widely recognised for bringing Cypriot-dialect songs into the Greek mainstream in the 1960s and 1970s.
Key facts
- Birth name: Michalis Kyriakou
- Born: 9 January 1944, Agia Varvara, Nicosia, Cyprus
- Main styles: Greek popular music, Cypriot popular music, modern Laïka, Greek New Wave
- Occupations: Singer, composer, actor
- Active: From early 1960s to the present
Background and training
Violaris grew up in Larnaca and studied at the National Conservatory of Music there, a branch of the National Conservatory of Athens. In 1962 he moved to Athens to study at the University of Athens’ School of Philosophy, completing a degree while starting his musical career. His early work is closely tied to the Greek New Wave movement, initially through collaboration with composer Yannis Spanos.
Career and musical style
From the mid-1960s, Violaris became a central figure in modern Greek and Cypriot song. He is especially noted for interpreting Cypriot folk and popular material in the Cypriot Greek dialect, setting it within contemporary arrangements that appealed to audiences in Greece as well as Cyprus. His style blends gentle New Wave chanson, Greek popular song and elements of Laïka, often with lyrical, poetic texts.
He signed with Zodiac Records in 1971 and later recorded for Lyra, working with prominent composers such as Mimis Plessas, Yorgos Katsaros, Apostolos Kaldaras and others. Many songs set poems by writers including Odysseas Elytis and Georgios Vizyinos, reinforcing the link between contemporary Greek poetry and popular song.
Notable songs and achievements
Violaris scored a major hit in 1973 with “Ta Ryalia” (“Ta Rialia”), sung in Cypriot Greek, which reached the Greek Top 10 and became emblematic of his role in popularising Cypriot-dialect songs.
