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Othon Mataragas

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Othon Mataragas
Background information
BornAthens, Greece
GenresClassical, Electronic, World Music
Instrument(s)Piano, electronics
LabelsCherry Red Records/Strike Force Entertainment, Black Hole Recordings / Magicdeep, Durtro-Jnana
Websitewww.othonpanmuzik.com

OTHON, a.k.a. Othon Mataragas, is a London-based Greek composer, pianist, songwriter, producer, DJ and club promoter. He is mostly known for combining classically infused composition with electronic productions and experimental songwriting. Apart from his solo work, he has collaborated with notable artists such as Wolfgang Tillmans, Marc Almond, David Tibet (of Current 93), Peter Christopherson (of Throbbing Gristle, Coil & Psychic TV), Ron Athey, Ernesto Tomasini and Dan Hillier.

Early life

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Othon Mataragas started to play the piano at the age of four and the following year he gave his first recital. At seven he entered in the National Conservatoire (Greece) and graduated at sixteen with Distinction after winning the Prize of Exceptional Interpretation and the Xanthopoulidis Prize. While in Greece, Othon gave numerous recitals including a concert in the memory of Gina Bachauer.[1] organised by the Cultural Center of the City of Halandri. He appeared on Greek television both national (ERT) and private (ANT1, Blue Sky) and won several competitions and awards such as the National X.O.N. prize. At the end of the '90s he moves to London in the UK where he studies piano and composition at the Royal College of Music with British pianist Peter Katin, Birkbeck College and at Trinity College of Music with composers Andrew Poppy and Stephen Montague. As a Leverhulme Scholar at Trinity he wins the John Halford Prize. During this time he writes his first pieces but it is after leaving college that he begins his professional career as a composer and songwriter.

Pre 2012 Projects & Collaborations

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In the early days, Almond was among the first artists to spot his talent, others include David Tibet and Peter Christopherson, and Othon collaborated with them on various projects. In 2007, he performed a number of concerts with Current 93.[2] Other collaborations of note include those with composer Stephen Montague (Sonic Swamp, commissioned by Eye Music for the Colourscape Music Festival 2006), fashion designer Nasir Mazhar (London Fashion Week), photographer Hector de Gregorio[3] and performance artist Ron Athey with whom he performed in 2009 at the Napoli Teatro Festival Italia.[4] He composed music for the soundtracks of films by Bruce LaBruce (Otto; or, Up With Dead People), Derek Jarman (a new music setting for The Angelic Conversation, played live at the GLBT Film Festival in Turin)[5] and Jörg Buttgereit (new soundtrack of Nekromantik, played live at the Pre Final Fest in Rome)[2][permanent dead link].

In 2005 and during his time at Trinity College, he met Ernesto Tomasini with whom he started an ongoing collaboration. As Othon & Tomasini they performed Othon's music in concert halls, theatres, museums and churches all across Europe. In UK they performed in venues such as the Roundhouse, Leicester Square Theatre, Royal Exchange Theatre and National Portrait Gallery. Othon's debut album, Digital Angel, which features the voices of Almond, Tibet, and Tomasini, was released at the end of 2008 on the Durtro Jnana label.[6][7]

Othon performs his signature piece Boxer Coaster wearing boxing gloves.

In October 2009 Othon gave the world premiere of Boxer Coaster, the first piece ever composed for a pianist wearing boxing gloves, at the Pre Final Fest in Rome. Othon's second album entitled Impermanence, which includes vocal performances by Ernesto Tomasini, Marc Almond, Camille O'Sullivan and Othon, with Justin Jones (from And Also the Trees) on the guitar, was released by Cherry Red Records/SFE in November 2011. Impermanence was voted by leading Greek music website Postwave.gr the best Greek album of 2011. [3] Othon collaborated again with Ron Athey in 2011 for his large scale performance 'Gifts of the Spirit: Automatic Writing' in which he played under hypnosis while wearing boxing gloves and composed the soundtrack to performance artist Franko B's latest work entitled 'Because of Love' (2012). Othon composed the soundtrack for the awarded graphic novel The Tale of Brin & Bent and Minno Marylebone, written by Ravi Thornton and published by Jonathan Cape, Random House in 2012.

Post 2012 Projects & Collaborations

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In 2012, Othon experienced a deep spiritual epiphany, after attending his first series of psychoactive plant-medicine ceremonies in Brazil, including Ayahuasca. This was to change both his perception on life and his understanding on music. Though he had composed and performed music previously, Othon has wished to highlight the distinction from the work he created prior and after 2012, the year which he now considers as his true starting point[4]

In 2014, Othon released his third album (or what he now considers as his first album) Pineal via Cherry Red Records/Strike Force Entertainment, after he raised money from a successful fundraising campaign (Indiegogo). Swinging from cinematic pop and fierce shamanic techno to jungle evoking downtempo and violin driven electronica (Music News), Pineal forms both a link to the past (Part 1), and a fresh post-2012 beginning (Part 2) It features performances by past collaborators Marc Almond and Ernesto Tomasini together with amazonian shamans Don Javier Shahuano & Jessica Ramirez Seopa and multiinstrumentalist Bird Radio[5]. Pineal, which includes original artwork and photography by Predrag Pajdic received numerous positive reviews, including a full page preview at The Guardian Guide.

Othon composed & produced the soundtrack for Against Nature, based on the book À Rebours by Joris-Karl Huysmans, after creating an overwhelmingly successful fundraising campaign with project collaborators Marc Almond and British writer Jeremy Reed, in 2015 *[5.] In the same year, SFE released his Cobra Coral EP featuring a remix of the eponymous track by German duo Boss Axis [6].

In March 2017, his collaboration with photographer Wolfgang Tillmans resulted in a concert at Tate Modern, London. Othon performed a continuous set of dream-like semi-improvisations at the piano while Tillmans provided sonic interventions throughout the duration of the piece[7]. Later in the year, Othon did another successful crowd-funding campaign [8], offering exclusively to his fans his new and unreleased album Kodama, to finance the creation of yet another album The God Within. British artist Dan Hillier is providing the artwork for both albums.

DJing & Papa Loko

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In September 2014, Othon gave his debut as a DJ for the World Ayahuasca Conference closing party in Ibiza.*[9] Othon felt very inspired by this new form of artistic expression and soon started playing at parties such as Kaos (Electrowerkz) and Sabajaq (Egg London). Othon’s DJ sets are creative and bold and have defined musically his own party night Papa Loko, created in 2015 with the aim to bring progressive spiritual concepts and high frequency dance music to the underground club scene of London*[10]

Discography pre 2012

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Albums

  • Digital Angel (Durtro Jnana, 2008)
  • Impermanence (Cherry Red Records/SFE, 2011)

Singles

  • Last Night I Paid To Close My Eyes (Cherry Red Records/SFE, 2011)
  • Impermanence (Cherry Red Records/SFE, 2011)

Others

  • Otto; or, Up With Dead People (Crippled Dick Hot Wax Records, 2008)
  • Silky Hands of a Rough Piano Boy (Tapeworm, 2011)

Discography post 2012

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Albums

  • Pineal (Cherry Red Records/SFE, 2014)

EPs

  • Cobra Coral (Cherry Red Records/SFE, 2014)

Singles

  • Dawn Yet To Come (Cherry Red Records/SFE, 2014)
  • Japan Suite (Black Hole Recordings/Magic Island Deep, 2015)

References

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  1. ^ PANAYOTAKOS Panos, 'πανκ οργή σε ένα πιάνο' (Punk rage on a piano), in Eleftheros Typos, 24 April 2007 (article/interview)
  2. ^ MATTEI Paolo, RINALDO Arianna, BASILICO Gabriele, Abettercity, Cartiere del Garda, Italia, 2007, p.127
  3. ^ DESIENNA Luca, Gomma, issue 3, Spring/Summer 2007, p. 126 (interview)[1]
  4. ^ History of Ecstacy, directed by Ron Athey, sound design by Othon Mataragas, 6 June 2009, Napoli Teatro Festival Italia "Napoli Teatro Festival Italia - Programme - History of Ecstasy". Archived from the original on 2010-02-24. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  5. ^ DVORKIN Evgenij, 'Musik wie Sex' (Music like Sex), DU&ICH, Nr. 459, December 2008 / January 2009, pp. 24-25 (interview)
  6. ^ CASCADES A. G., 'Angel o Diablillo' (Angel or Demon) in Shangay, No. 346, 29 December 2008, p. 14 (interview)
  7. ^ GOTTERT Michael, LOBSTEDT Daniela, 'Othon', in Black, No. 50, 2009

Interviews & reviews

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