The Other Side

Description

Before becoming the songwriter we know him as today, Jim Yamouridis made a name for himself with his band The Streams in the 90s. In the early 2000s, Yamouridis returned to France, where he began a solo career. "The Other Side" is his fifth album, a particularly important record for him. "From the outset, I wanted to make an album that would restore my faith in music and my faith in the world. It was an exercise I had to undertake alone, and for it, I chose a form of music that has always moved me: Rembetiko. The Rembetiko I know is music of truth. All the songs on the album adhere to this law. I started by writing the music, which is essentially modal, without chord progressions. Then I developed a guitar technique that provides both rhythm and melody. I used ancient musical modes and specific meters to create Sound before Words. Then the lyrics came – and they came from the Shadows, from the beyond: 'The Other Side'. On this album, the singer is a character from the Underworld who feels the need to speak to us. This is the premise of this album. I recorded it in my studio: a guitar, a microphone, and a direct vocal take – without any sound processing. What you hear is that moment of raw truth. This is my contribution to the Rembetiko vocal form. With no intention of 'revival', no nostalgia. Rather, it's a modern poem born from ancestral dust. New flesh covering old bones." - Jim Yamouridis