Draft is the debut album from Hairetis Harper – Lute player and vocalist Yiagos Hairetis (Crete) and experimental harpist Maria-Christina Harper (London). Draft was released in December via Same Difference Music label (and is also available on vinyl). The album is described as bringing together the traditional music of Crete and the London avant-garde jazz music scene. While that’s all true, it is so much more…buy it…it is one of the most rewarding listens I’ve come across in a while.
Taken from the album, listen to second track, Lost in the City which is also our Song of the Day:
Order Draft via Bandcamp: https://hairetis-harper.bandcamp.com/
and: https://orcd.co/hairetis-harper_draft
Also from the album, watch them performing Bells live:
About Hairetis Harper
Yiagos Hairetis got involved in music at a very young age, picking up the lute and other traditional Cretan instruments. His upbringing in Anogia, Crete, home of legendary musicians of Cretan music like Psarantonis and Nikos Xylouris coincided with him listening to classic rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, Doors, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath which influenced him to develop his unique style of playing the lute.
Maria-Christina Harper is an award winning, London based, experimental electric harp player who creates compositions using loop, wah and distortion pedal effects. She is the first prize winner of the Wales International Harp Competition (2010) performing her own compositions on the electric harp. MC studied the harp with an entrance scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music.
Keep a listen out for tracks from the album in our upcoming mixes. You can also hear a track on our new Alternative Vibes Spotify Playlist which covers our more leftfield tastes:
Photo Credit: Alexandros Adam