Cheap Pop for the Elite
Encyclopedia
Cheap Pop for the Elite is the second "proper" Kore. Ydro.
album. It contains 12 songs written in their majority between the years 2003 and 2005 and recorded in the group's "home" studio in Corfu
, Greece
, before the EMI
contract. The LP constitutes one of the few cases in the history of world discography that an entirely DIY production of substandard budget sees a first time mass distribution and promotion by a major label.
Selected reviews for 'Cheap Pop for the Elite':
Kore. Ydro.
-Biography:Kore. Ydro. were formed in Corfu during the autumn of 1993 by 15-year-old schoolmates Pantelis Dimitriadis, Giorgos Arvanitakis while Spiros Katagis. Konstantinos Amygdalos joined in 1997 and Spiros Katagis departed in 2000. Pianist/multi-instrumentalist Alexandros Makris joined in 2001,...
album. It contains 12 songs written in their majority between the years 2003 and 2005 and recorded in the group's "home" studio in Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, before the EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
contract. The LP constitutes one of the few cases in the history of world discography that an entirely DIY production of substandard budget sees a first time mass distribution and promotion by a major label.
Track listing
All songs by P.E. Dimitriadis and Alexandros Makris.- "The Lovers of Nothing " – 3:33
- "The House " – 4:36
- "Handshake / Gay Anthem for the New Millennium " – 6:32
- "Radar " – 4:41
- "About Passion '05 " – 3:18
- "No more Affairs " – 3:50
- "Now that I Do not Have Anyone " – 4:38
- "Again with the Villains " – 3:27
- "No Christina " – 3:54
- "Another Night of Confusion and Laughter " – 5:23
- "(Α) Nightmare " – 3:02
- "Second Program " – 3:25
Press
The record received enthusiastic reviews by the Greek music press.Selected reviews for 'Cheap Pop for the Elite':
- "The first listen may leave you baffled, however, after the second listen the incorporation in the "eliteEliteElite refers to an exceptional or privileged group that wields considerable power within its sphere of influence...
" will become something more than necessary, because the sentiment that it will leave you will be unprecedented, perhaps because it will take you somewhere that you did not have the courage to dream that you can go." (****/*****) AVOPOLIS online magazine, 05.06.2006 | SONIC magazine, issue 18 (June 2006) [Christianna Finne]
- "In some way they bring in mind Manos HadjidakisManos HadjidakisManos Hatzidakis was a Greek composer and theorist of the Greek music. He was also one of the main prime movers of the "Éntekhno" song ....
. They are forward-looking and open-minded like him, but with an absolutely personal and modern vision." (^^^^/^^^^^) ICHOS (SOUND) magazine [MUSIC BANK sector], #398 (May 2006) [Manos Mpouras]
- "Kore. Ydro. do what certain others don’t dare so many years in Greek-singing rock. With DIY + ambition, as themselves declare, they celebrate with devotion the memorial service on the inanimate body of the Greek-singing rock scene and they take the confirmation as its new kings." TRANZISTOR online magazine, 3 May 2006 [Angelos K.]
- "A combination of "dirty" sound, distortion, electronic experimentations and lyrical melodies, but (mainly) intense perfume of distinctive identity (from the opening track)." Ta NeaTa NeaTa Nea is a daily newspaper published in Athens, owned by Lambrakis Press Group that also publishes the newspaper To Vima. It is a traditional center-left friendly newspaper and has strongly supported PASOK, the Greek Socialist Party in the 1980s and 1990s...
newspaper [VIVLIODROMIO - IDEES inset], number 18.527, Weekend 29–30 April 2006 [Chari Pontida]
- "Eclectic electric pop vision, product of education, a variety of hearings and aptitude for experimentation […] Lyrics that give their own parallel fight in the same field so as to share in the end along with composition and interpretation the winner's podium." (***½/*****) HiTECH magazine [M3 REVIEW inset, I.33], May 2006 [Spiros Alexopoulos]
- "The most intelligent, romantic, powerful, sincere, enjoyable [album] I have ever heard. You will adore it..." (8,5/10) PENTHOUSE magazine, issue 88 (May 2006) [Dimitris Kladis]
- "«Haunted» by the great musical legacy of CorfuCorfuCorfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
, but simultaneously completely west-oriented, swims in the oceans of melancholic lo-fi New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
scene with lyrics surrealistically erotic and multilayered compositions that give it the title of one of the most important Greek-sung pop albums." SIGNATURE EXCLUSIVE magazine by Diners (spring 2006) [Fotis Valatos]
- "Exceptional… out-of-the way verses (with attitude), a strange glance that sees things sidelong (as each artist who respects his eyes should do) and a poetic mood that is in a shooting frenzy, careless for who gets hit by its lyrical bullets." e-go.gr online newspaper (7 Apr 2006) [Georgia Laimou]
- "The collective continues in the same lyrical and at points melodramatic pattern with their, also a home production, debut without deviating from its aesthetics, only that now the result is more completed." (8/10) POP+ROCK magazine, issue 321 (April 2006) [Dimitris Argiropoulos]
- "...they bring chaos to the cafe stupidity of the Greek song." (****½/*****) ATHINORAMA magazine, 6-13 Apr 2006 [Argiris Zilos]
- "Apart from deserving a bow for the choice of the title, they put (horn-rimmed) spectacles to the corresponding bands from IllinoisIllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, PortlandPortland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, OrlandoOrlando, FloridaOrlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
or NebraskaNebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
who sell their neo-folk scenes all over the world. And yes they sing in Greek and they are from CorfuCorfuCorfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
." (4/5) ESQUIRE magazine, March 2006 [?]
- "A collective from CorfuCorfuCorfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
produces cool, fresh and intelligent pop, mainly based on the '80s and '90s guitar sounds with progressive and post rock references being present, while their lyrics are heard contemporary, they have humour and clever ideas." ATHENS VOICE newspaper, 23 Mar 2006 [Makis Milatos]
- "The group "Kore. Ydro." released an exceptional album titled "Cheap pop for the elite", with music that exceeds Greek limits and touches upon progressive rockProgressive rockProgressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
, with the sound of keys being dominant." ApogevmatiniApogevmatiniApogevmatini was a Greek newspaper that was published nationally for decades until its owners latest declared its bankruptcy in November 2010. Its location is 12 Feidiou Street in the downtown area of the capital city of Athens. The newspaper was founded by the Botsis family in the beginning of...
newspaper, 18 Mar 2006 [Dora Amarantidou]