Valeron’s 2022 album Aroma frames Greece’s diverse musical history through a contemporary lens and acts as a testament to the island’s current collaborative milieu — a dance between the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern instruments, all acoustic and recorded live, with the Mykonos natives hovering hand on mixers and synths — a rare feat for a well-versed hand that has helped shape an island’s electronic music scene and now DJs from a pedestal.
The opening title track is a reworked traditional folk song from the island of Leros that explores unrequited love. Over the next tracks, this reflection on suffering is tempered by downtempo psychedelic soundscapes such as ‘Eliana‘ and ‘Noema‘ that sit seamlessly into Valeron’s discography of floor fillers. Multi-instrumentalists Gabriel Russel, Sophia Mermigka, Panagiotis Gotsis, Thodoris Evangelou, and Antonis Kaliouris — who also play regularly in Valeron’s touring band — feature throughout the album, embellishing each track with their own personal touches: from other tech-tinged folk songs such as ‘Rebetis‘ to an emotive cover of Sting’s ‘Fragile‘ and Sezen Aksu’s ‘Istanbul‘, the album encourages the Cretan lyra, clarinet, oud, guitar, bouzouki, kanun, and kaval to follow a script that adheres to tradition yet leaves ample space for playful instrumentation.
There is nothing more beautiful than the sound of music and the aroma of its soul. To inhale is to capture, to experience.
– Valeron
Image Credits: Press Kit
