Iro - 'Straight to the Heart'

Iró is coming to London for the first time, bringing along her voice, a piano and many beloved melodies. On the 6th of May, the awarded Greek singer and pianist will be taking us on a musical journey aiming “Straight to the heart”. Music is an element that unites people beyond borders and national considerations. Iró wishes to bring Greeks and friends of Greek culture together around classic songs of world famous composers, such as Manos Hadjidakis, Mikis Theodorakis and Mimis Plessas, songs that not only reflect but have also shaped modern Greek cultural identity. Iró will also be singing some of her own greatest hits, together with great songs of contemporary Greek artists and composers, specially selected to create the cozy atmosphere of a group of good old friends.

Organised by Ark4Art and The Hellenic Centre. This concert is part of The Hellenic Centre's Easter Celebrations and admission includes a glass of wine and a red egg for everyone.

Iro was born in Patras, where she lived until the age of 20. Her parents loved music and her mother was a music teacher, so, from a very young age, she took piano lessons. She was awarded many scholarships and graduated with first class honours. She also studied music theory and advanced music theory, graduating with first class honours degree in fugue. Iro managed all this in spite of taking breaks to study nursing at university. She pursued her nursing studies, but found it was not exactly what she was looking for, so she decided to channel her energy into the music that she loved. She worked in small clubs and music venues in Patras for three and a half years. Very soon she realised that singing was what she wanted to do professionally, and with this in mind she moved to Athens. There she worked first for two years in a bar in the Athens suburb of Neo Psychiko, playing the piano, and singing Greek and foreign songs. Later she turned her attention to working with an orchestra, wishing to test her skill at creating more demanding musical arrangements using more instruments. She worked in a bigger concert venue for the first time and did very well, as her career so far has proved.

Before releasing her first solo album, she contributed two wonderful ballads to an album by Nikos Laryngakis called Atakto paidi (Naughty child).

1995: Iro released her first album entitled Atima ta pragmata (Things are tricky) and set out on a unique journey.

1998: Her song Tipota (Nothing) was selected from among 113 entries for the final stage of the competition to select a song to represent Greece at the Eurovision Song Contest. She came second out of the 10 competing songs, only few votes behind the winner.

1999: Etsi eimai ego (This is what I am) was the title of her second solo album, containing 11 songs and released by Virgin Records. Having composed the music and written the lyrics for most of the tracks herself, she was trying to open a new, fresh and direct channel of communication. The songs are youthful and lively, with a strong personal style and their melody is “flowing”, complementing the dynamism and the spontaneity of the text. On the album she collaborated with Margarita Mytilinaiou, who wrote the lyrics for some of the tracks, and Dimitris Kontopoulos, who composed one of the songs and did the arrangement of the whole album. The album also contains a cover of an old song entitled Giati fovasai (Why are you afraid) with music by Stelios Vlavianos and lyrics by Pythagoras. This album remained at number 18 in overall album sales (based on the official IFPI music market index) for over 18 weeks until 31 May 2000. Long after its initial release, it remained a radio station favourite, with three of its songs being a constant feature in all playlists – Tipota, Chronia (Years), and Etsi eimai ego.

2001: Iro’s third solo album Αpogeiosi (Take-off) has sold 86,000 copies to date, becoming a gold and platinum album in Greece and Cyprus. It reached number 1 in the IFPI rankings, and remained in first place for radio preferences for four consecutive months, and second place for airplay from 2002 to 2004.

Her concerts all over Greece brought Iro even closer to her public, which she adores. By mid-September 2001, having given 39 concerts, Iro chose to surprise her fans by releasing an English version of her hit Tipota under the title “Away From You”.

2002: Iro wrote songs, with her own music and lyrics, for Aleka Kanellidou’s big comeback solo album Argises (You are late). In April 2002 Iro won two awards – best solo album and singer of the year – at the Arion Music Awards, organised by MegaTV and IFPI. 2002 also saw the release of the album Ena pouli pou to elegan agapi (A bird called Love) with four children’s songs. Profits were donated to “Iris”, a housing project for children with mental health problems.

2003: Iro released her fifth solo album Koita me antexo (Look at me, I’m standing), on which she wrote most of the music and lyrics herself.

2005: Iro released her sixth solo album Chromata (Colours), with music, lyrics and overall arrangement by her. Iro collaborated for the first time with Dimitra Galani and Stefanos Korkolis.

2007: She was chosen by leading Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis to interpret songs based on poetry with the popular Mikis Theodorakis Orchestra both in Greece and abroad. This collaboration is still running to date.

2008: Her seventh solo album Allazo (I’m changing) was released, with her own lyrics and music, and including a very successful collaboration with Italian singer Gigi D’Alessio.

2011: Eighth solo album entitled Psychraima (Calmly), all music composed by her, lyrics by leading writers, arrangement and production by herself. The title song Psychraima was highly praised by radio broadcasters, and the song Mono Emeis (Only us) also achieved high acclaim.

2012: Iro composed music for the theatre in connection with the Athens Festival for a production of the Strindberg play Miss Julie, directed by Dimitris Lignadis. In autumn 2012, she took part in the closing ceremony of the International Film Festival of Thessaloniki.

2013: In the summer of 2013, again at the Athens Festival, she presented two concerts at the Little Theatre of Ancient Epidaurus with tango as the basic theme, collaborating with guest artist Javier di Ciriaco, a very popular Argentinian tango singer. The concerts were a huge success with audiences and were given glittering reviews by journalists and critics.

2014: Iro’s ninth solo album entitled Kateytheian kardia (Straight to the heart) was released with all lyrics written by Eleana Vrachali. The music was mainly composed by Iro herself, but also by partners and friends such as Giorgos Tzavaras and Dimitris Tsoukas. She arranged the album herself using both physical instruments and synthesisers, a combination that creates a very traditional but contemporary effect. Iro also performed live all over Greece and received outstanding reviews for performances (piano and vocal) in music venues such as Vergina Theatre, Thessaloniki Concert Hall, Ianos, and the Half Note Jazz Club, as well as many other acoustic music venues in Greece and Cyprus.

2015: Iro continued her successful voice & piano performances, while she collaborated on stage with new generation composers, such as Dimitris Maramis, and with younger artists, such as Adam Tsarouchis and Thodoris Voutsikakis. At the same time, she launched a musical journey dedicated to leading Greek composers Manos Hadjidakis and Mikis Theodorakis, which she has been presenting in different European countries, accompanied by the string instrument ensemble Evikoon Melos and bouzouki virtuoso Giannis Matsoukas.

Iro is a member of the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AEPI) as a composer and a lyricist, and a member of the singers’ rights association ERATO as a performing artist. She has written and composed more than one hundred songs. Iro has given a large number of live performances, including piano, singing and arrangements, and collaborations with well-known Greek composers, musicians, actors and singers. At the same time, she is passionate about social causes, taking an active part in and endorsing campaigns and events for children and vulnerable groups, including To Xamogelo tou Paidiou (The smile of the child), the Organisation for the fight against breast cancer, the Special Olympics, and the Tzeni Karezi Foundation. Iro also teaches music theory and music, having collaborated among others with the Iasmos Higher Drama School.