Above: The crowd at the Cyprus Music Awards 2007

If anything, the beauty of having a history of colonial invasions is that a nation’s culture becomes richer. It can be seen most apparent in architecture, language, and customs. Cypriot music is no exception. As an important trading post between European, African, and Middle Eastern civilisations throughout history, the influences of these cultures on Cypriot music cannot be denied.

Traditional Cypriot music

Aside from the Greek and Turkish influences on Cypriot medieval music, also notable is that of the French. Cyprus became a cultural capital of Europe from 1394 to 1492, and this was largely attributed to Pierre I de Lusignan or Peter I of Cyprus. Peter I traveled to Europe to seek the recognition of the Pope and other heads of kingdoms and brought along with him musicians whose sound made an impression on French nobles. When Peter I returned to France, he introduced to Cyprus the French groups Ars Nova and, later, Ars Subtilior. These French musicians became established in Cyprus, and Nicosia became the center of Ars Subtilior style. Years later, when Janus I de Lusignan’s daughter Anna married a count of Geneva, she brought with her to Switzerland a manuscript containing several polyphonic compositions.

As a result of this, there are a handful of notable Cypriot composers who reflect this kind of influence, such as Yannis Kyriakides, Solon Michaelides, Michalis Chrysanthou, Nicolas Economou, among others. The Cyprus Opera Society and Cyprus State Orchestra are also well respected.

Above: “An Evening of Opera and Ballet” by the Cyprus Opera Society

Cypriot folk music, which is similar to Greek and Turkish music in a lot of ways, includes songs that are played with lyre (kemenche), mandolin (askomantoura), lute, and violin. It’s the type of music that Cypriots dance to and is often played during gatherings. The most popular is syrtos (also known as kalamantianos), which includes both male and female dancers who perform 12 basic dance steps, while the lead dancer improvises to match the tempo and pace of the music. Another folk dance is sousta, a dance of courtship and eroticism. Involving elaborate movements, hasapikos is believed to be a slaughter dance associated with Byzantine guild of butchers.

In 2004, the Uniting Through Traditional Music (UTTM) was founded through the efforts of ethnomusicologist Dr. Panikos Giorgoudes and Cyprus Musicological Society. It aims to “to unite those interested in Cypriot music regardless of ethnicity” through the establishment of a Cypriot music archive.

What’s rockin’

Rock music came late in Cyprus. It was only in the 1970s, after the 1974 war, which is considered as the first rock era of Cyprus, when it began to surface. The pioneer in the island’s rock scene is Kimstyle TR, which was led by its English Cypriot vocalist Kim Nicolaou. They introduced live rock shows, but the lyrics of their single, “The Lady & the Parrot,” were found offensive by authorities and, therefore, the song was banned. This banning led many teenagers to form their own bands. Armageddon, a heavy metal band that later on shifted to progressive metal, cites Kimstyle TR as one of its influences. Power metal also surfaced through the bands Diphtheria and Aryan Path. 1990s saw the rise of Reckless, Mythos, and other bands.

The second era of rock in Cyprus is aided by the internet, as marked by the appearance of bands such as Diphtheria, Aryan Path, Armageddon, Sulphur, Arkhon, Bludgeond, to name a few, in magazines and websites around the globe.

Above: The Amazing Sunburn Festival ‘07

Hip Hop in the islands

In 1993, Vaomeni Esso (Locked Indoors) started performing in public but never released any of their recordings. Also in the 90s, Haji Mike mixed traditional Cypriot tunes with dance music. His music is mostly reggae but it has hip hop blended into it. His popularity enabled him to release songs independently through his own label, and succeeded where Locked Indoors did not. In 1997, Yiannis Wu, a member of Locked Indoors, released 2 albums through the label All Records. Rapping in standard Greek, Yiannis Wu’s messages touch on the world, religion, and doomsday. Around 2000, many new DJs and producers emerged and made hip hop popular in Cyprus.

Also significant in Cypriot hip hop scene was HCH (Hardcore Heads), a group of breakers, writers, and emcees. In 2001, some of its members had great success in their performances in clubs in Nicosia such as Club Treno, which earned them “street respect” because of their hardcore style. Another group, Lyrical Eye is fluent in rapping in English, which enabled them to reach the finals of an international songwriting competition. MB59, on the other hand, uses Turkish Cypriot language in their lyrics. To date, the most successful hip hop artist is Sniper who started his career as a young DJ in Ayia Napa, or what is considered to be the Ibiza of Cyprus. He is currently based in Greece and is making a good name for himself and for Cypriot hip hop music.

Music to chill out to

Reggae has been made popular by Haji Mike since the early 90s. He has released several songs, and in 2004 he teamed up with Turkish Cypriot poet Zeki Alli and formed Olive Tree Music. Together they worked with several local artists and a US producer to form Poetz4Peace. Poetz4Peace played in several events in Cyprus and in the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival in the US.

Another interesting reggae duo is Intibah. The duo is experimenting with Greek lyre, birimau, heremins, dijiritu, classical guitar, bass and percussion, instruments not usually associated with reggae music.

Evolving music

Cyprus airwaves and TV music channels also feature pop stars such as Anna Vissi. There is also the Cyprus Music Awards that is highly anticipated by musicians and music lovers alike. Cyprus is pretty much like your typical music scene, which has become modern and is no stranger to trends and current sensations. The only thing that sets it apart, in this age of increasing globalization, is that it has retained its commitment to preserving and promoting its traditional music.