The Sisypheans

Description

The duo composed of Cretan laouto player and singer George Xylouris and Australian songwriter and drummer Jim White announces their fourth album - and first for Drag City - The Sisypheans. Their music combines free jazz, avant rock, and traditional Greek folk. The friendship between Jim White and George Xylouris dates back to Jim's early days with Dirty Three. Their musical connection goes back to that time, leading them to start Xylouris White in 2013. The Sisypheans follows the circular trilogy Goats, Black Peak, and Mother. Inspired by the myth of Sisyphus, condemned to push a stone to the top of a mountain from which it endlessly rolls back down, the eight compositions of this fourth album showcase the different sounds of the lute, George Xylouris's singing, and Jim White's drumming, which blend together in a vast sonic space. The duo imagines Sisyphus transporting the stone in various ways as the flora and fauna change with the seasons, a renewal in repetition, a perfect metaphor for the musician's craft. Artwork by Elsa Hansen Oldham.