BIO
Netherlands-based, Greek born pianist and multi-instrumentalist Thanos Fotiadis expresses himself through his balancing act between music genres such as ambient, classical music, post-punk, noise-rock, free improvisation and post-metal. He grew up in a rough neighborhood in the not-so-charming urban part of the city of Thessaloniki and was raised in a leftfield middle-class family with honesty and trust. He tried for years to deny the Greek folk tradition that he was raised in, just to realize that it’s what connects him with his heart. He studied classical piano for most of his life, and with a Master’s degree in Piano Performance he decided to experience all the music worlds he enjoyed as a listener. He joined a noise-rock band as a bassist, then a shoegaze/dream-pop band as a guitarist and then as a drummer with a raw rock act for what some may call the highlight of his career: a live show in the main hall of Paradiso, Amsterdam. Currently and after years of wondering to the outer spaces of music experimentation, he is back to his beloved piano, combining all the knowledge he gathered in a simple form: piano and electronics. Driven by the wild avant-garde of Stockhausen and Xenakis, the minimalism of composers such as Steve Reich and Morton Feldman, the sensitive touch of jazz legends like Keith Jarrett and the ambient tradition of Pauline Oliveros, Eliane Radigue and Brian Eno, he’s searching for a balance between the strict structure of classical music, the improvisational tradition of jazz music, the meditative qualities of ambient music and the free expression of punk rock. Thanos has performed in many unconventional locations with his ambient guitar solo project “Owlbites” and with various bands/projects in many established stages throughout Europe and Canada. He’s currently composing and performing live music with the theater group Dender, he’s a guitar player in the post-metal band Shunyata/Void Diver and since 2017, after completing his studies on composing electronic music, he has released several albums in various labels with his electronic works.

Timetable

Instrumentalist/Composer

1999-2004: Keyboardist in ‘Hilia Louloudia’ (Psychedelic Rock/GR)
2008-2010: Bassist in ‘Labasheeda’ (noise-rock, NL)
2008-2021: Pianist for the ‘Cantatori del Duomo’ choir
2011-2013: Guitarist/songwriter in ‘Bodypolitics’ (modern rock, NL)
2013-2016: Guitarist in Minus the Tiger (electronic dark pop, NL)
2013, 2016-2018: Pianist in the ‘LIZ musical orchestra’
2014-today: Composer/Performer with the solo project ‘Owlbites’
2015-2018: Pianist for the ‘Chorus Line’ choir
2016-today: Guitarist/Songwriter in Shunyata (post-metal/sludge-metal, NL)
2017-2020: Drummer/electronics in ‘Larmschutz’ (impro-punk, NL)
2017-today: Composer/performer of experimental electronic music under his own name
2018-today: Composer/performer for the ‘Dender’ theater group

Diploma’s/Music teacher
2004: Bachelor Piano Performance (Contemporary Conservatory of Thessaloniki, GR)
2004: Bachelor Composition & Music Theory (State Conservatory of Thessaloniki, GR)
2004-2007: Master Piano Performance (HKU, Utrecht’s Conservatory, NL)
2008-today: Piano teacher (private lessons)
2012-2018: Music teacher for ‘De Grasboom’ institution that helps adults in the autistic spectrum
2014-today: Piano teacher for ‘De MuziekFabriek’ music school
2018-today: Piano teacher for the ‘KunstenHuis’ music school