some of our client projects

Kontovourkis & Co. – Avril Mesimeri (Single)

Recorded and mixed by Andreas Matheou – at Hot Soap Studios in Summer of 2024.
Release: Single ”Avril Mesimeri”
Written by: Michalis and Panayiota Kontovourkis

Tender words of affection, softly strummed guitar strings, and sunset-tinged dreams of
tomorrow: Cypriot outfit Kontovourkis & Co.’s new number, ‘Avrio Mesimeri’ is a summertime
chanson that nods to technicolor romance serenades of 1970s Mediterranea. Translated to
“Tomorrow Noon,” the love song follows on from the septet’s country-teased debut single ‘Long
Way to Nirvana’, and features brother-sister duo Michalis and Panayiota Kontovourkis sharing
main vocals atop of a rocking rumba beat and gliding horns.

The song tells the tale of two lovers awaiting their escape the following day to embark on a
journey dedicating their lives to one another. They pledge to meet at the pier at noon, yet both
temper their hopes, wary of what may arise should either be overcome with a change of heart.
“Its a song filled with hope and the possibility of future joy. One simple step, physical and
metaphorical, will set them on a united life-changing adventure; but its a step that requires great
courage and conviction from them both,” explains the band.

With ‘Avrio Mesimeri’ sung in Greek and following ‘Long Way to Nirvana’’s anglophone release –
both penned by Anglo-Italian Cypriot Duncan McCowan – Kontovourkis & Co. lay bare their
bilingual makeup, offering a vista into the liminal soundworlds of their homeland in Cyprus, the
sonic landscape of which has taken shape by the slew of empires reigning over the island
across the millennia and its fast-forwarding into a globalised today. In ‘Long Way to Nirvana’,
Kontovourkis & Co.’s endearingly jovial energy makes it hard not to stomp your feet in time with
the freewheeling skiffle tune. In ‘Avrio Mesimeri’, the swaying rhythm of the track and unrefined
warmth of the siblings’ vocals lull the lyrics’ bittersweet qualms with a nostalgic glow, gliding
above the track’s background of acoustic guitar strums that intertwine with the trumpet’s
resonances and rays of electric guitar that twinkle like sun glitter.

Formed in 2016 by Michalis Kontovourkis, a key figure in Larnaca’s music hub on the southeast
coast of Cyprus, Kontovourkis & Co. honed their sound through their live gigs, drawing
inspiration from foundational artists across the rock, singer-songwriter, and indie genres
spectrum. After turning heads on the island with his solo 2018 singer-songwriter album “Ap tin
Arxi”, Michalis spearheaded Kontovourkis & Co.’s formation as its band members offered more
creative direction to the songs. Marking the band’s debut is a string of three singles written by
McCowan, who himself brings along his musical past from London’s roots busking scene of the
1980s.

‘Avrio Mesimeri’ is a sea-sprayed ode to hopes and dreams for the future, drifting between the
band’s own yearning of escape from a secluded island and settling into the solace of the
familiar, much like the bittersweet ebb and flow of the Mediterranean waters that surround them.

Kontovourkis & Co. – Long Way to Nirvana (Single)

Recorded and mixed by Andreas Matheou – at Hot Soap Studios in Winter of 2024.
Release: Single ”Long Way to Nirvana”
Written by: Michalis and Panayiota Kontovourkis

Kontovourkis & Co. debut with freewheeling country-teased single ‘Long Way to Nirvana’

Cypriot band Kontovourkis & Co. are what you’d least expect to find belting out country tunes à
la skiffle craze of yesteryears that invaded the island’s former reigning empire – yet their debut
‘Long Way to Nirvana’ is a love story that recalls just that era and carries an ungovernable
joviality that’s hard not to kick your shoes off and dance to. Slated for release on 29 March
2024, ‘Long Way to Nirvana’ is an uncomplicated bluegrass jaunt that holds a foot-stomping
pulse and is accompanied by a music video capturing the band revelling in music’s conviviality.
The story of Kontovourkis & Co. begins in Larnaca’s southeast coast of the much-coveted island
of Cyprus, a country not quite in any of the three continents it intersects, with local dialects that
aren’t quite Greek or Turkish, and with a cultural identity long effaced by more conquerors
across the millenia than its fellow EU members can bear to admit. Yet rather than succumb to
overworn PR stunts of anthems of resistance or exotic folk-psychedelic fuzz fusion, the band
take things as they come, liberated by any sounds that bring music to their ears. With their
‘Long Way to Nirvana’, its harmonica-powered engine and rowdy rendering, Kontovourkis & Co.
are befitting just that.

Formed in 2016 by Michalis Kontovourkis, a key figure in Larnaca’s music hub, Kontovourkis & Co. honed their sound through their live gigs, drawing inspiration from foundational artists
across the rock, singer-songwriter, and indie genres spectrum. After turning heads on the island
with his 2018 singer-songwriter album ‘Ap tin Arxi’, Michalis spearheaded Kontovourkis & Co.’s
formation as its band members offered more creative direction to the songs. Marking
Kontovourkis & Co.’s debut, the band is releasing a string of three singles penned by harmonica
player Duncan McCowan, who himself brings along his musical past in London’s roots busking
scene of the 1980s. Led by ‘Long Way to Nirvana’, the band will follow with ‘Avrio Mesimeri’ – a
Mediterranean chanson about two star-crossed lovers, and singer-songwriter number ‘Last
Farewell,’ out this Spring.

The song expresses the universal, farcical dilemma arising when an unsophisticated guy falls
for an enlightened, cultivated woman. He’s panic-stricken, but ready to sacrifice his world to
reach hers. There’s an endearing vulnerability about him, and an alluring, charismatic charm
about her, explain the band.

Pinwheel Valley – Dark Side of the Light (Single)

Recorded, mixed and produced by Andreas Matheou & Kais Khoury at Hot Soap Studios in April 2020
Release: Single ”Dark Side of the Light”
Written by: Pinwheel Valley (formerly ‘KAIS’)

Kais Khoury, professionally known as KAIS, is a Canadian, Jordanian born singer-songwriter and producer.
Blending a fresh fusion of Indie, Alternative, and Soul-infused Blues & Folk Rock, he’s creatively addressed a wide array of topics. Recognizing music as a tool that could move and influence people, he first wrote about world issues like war and global warming. Today, his poetic complexities have grown to express the plain difficulties of being human. Always a lover for mysticism, he’s woven a fine balance between natural inclinations and the demands of the social world. For the most part, he certainly is no stranger to wanderlust and has expanded the boundaries of his spiritual development with an avid love for traveling and open expanse sports like kitesurfing and even skydiving.

Gradually having made ripples in the music industry as an independent and self-funded artist, he’s performed quite a number of gigs since the early 2000s. In 2014, he took part in the Mayor of London Big Busk. That year, he put a stamp on his music career after graduating with a diploma in Music Production and Sound Engineering out of Point Blank Music College. It’s safe to say that he’s dabbled with electronic sound design and other far-reaching aspects of the music industry, and has prolonged the rewards of that entrepreneurial musicianship with a broader vocabulary and a hands-on approach. In alliance with a full band, he continued to perform throughout Vancouver, BC, Toronto, ON and Seattle, WA in 2016 and 2017, and was set to perform at SXSW in Austin, TX in 2018. Recent achievements include an ‘Honorary Mention’ in the 2016 International Songwriting Competition, a ‘Best Out of Province’ Nomination at the 13th Annual Toronto Independent Music Awards and a ‘Lyrics Finalist’ in the 2017 USA Songwriting Competition.

Although he has retired from live performing in the last couple of years since moving back to his hometown, he gradually continues to write and record music now with greater maturity and a stronger approach, all to be released in due time. One thing seems certain for this artist… His intense passion and an insatiable thirst for self-betterment are taking things up a notch for both him and the steadfast comrades by his side.