Spiros Soukis

~SPIROS SOUKIS~

ROCKIN’ BLUES WITH GREEK SOUL

"Soukis's high energy and versatility with the strings makes him a dangerous man."

-- Blues Revue

Spiros Soukis, guitarist/singer/songwriter, creates tunes that are spiced with funky grooves, shuffle beats and rock elements enlivened with European style and the freshness of Mediterranean breezes.

With his recent release, Sweet Thing (So Well Music), Soukis once again takes the listener on a musical adventure with his signature sound and versatile strings. Six songs cover a lush range of styles and moods - the exuberant title tune, Sweet Thing; country-rock ballad, Kathleen’s Song; straight-up rocker, Fool for Love; soulful-funk instrumental, Summer Breeze; funky blues rocker, Together We Will Grow; and You Don’t Really Love Me, a blues-rock classic in the making.

*

Native of Athens, Greece, Soukis began his love affair with the blues filtered through the British Invasion and guitar masters Peter Green, Eric Clapton, Robin Trower and Jeff Beck. In time he learned about American slingers like Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter, Duane Allman and Roy Buchanan. Reading liner notes and scrutinizing recording credits led him to discover the original men behind the music like B.B. King, Freddie King, Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters. His studies in guitar and piano earned him a Music Theory degree from the Athens Conservatory. He performed and toured with Greek rock legend, Pavlos Sidiropoulos, then moved to Stockholm, in the mid ’80s, where he continued performing live while teaching music and earning another degree, in Musicology, from Stockholm University. Returning to Athens in the early ’90s, Soukis formed the band, That’s Why, performed widely, recorded regularly and toured extensively. That’s Why opened for a diverse group of musicians ranging from The Pixies to Peter Green - one of his earliest influences.

Fota Tou Iliggou (Lights of Vertigo), his first solo album, was released in Europe to overwhelmingly positive reviews and voted ‘CD of the Month.’ Reissued September 2000, its songs have been included in numerous compilations. Soukis moved to New York City, just when the U.S. Congress auspiciously declared 2003, “Year of the Blues.” A year later he released Transblues the first of his English-language CDs. Recorded in both Athens and his newly adopted hometown, the record consists of eight of his own songs on which he sings and plays guitar. Two smokin’ blues covers, captured live in the heart of Manhattan, round out this dazzling American debut. Loveborne Blues highlights the incomparable Soukis style that takes the listener on an aural journey through six shades of blue.

A consummate performer, Soukis regularly played at the late, great B.B. King Blues Club, the place for live blues in Manhattan. With his eponymous power trio, Soukis, or as a solo opener for many other artists, including Robert Randolph and Popa Chubby, he played right to the end, performing at the iconic club’s closing night, April 29, 2018, for a blues-fuelled finale. His electric and acoustic tributes to some of his favorite slingers - Eric Clapton, Robin Trower and Johnny Winter - are big hits in NYC’s premier clubs such as Cafe Wha?, The Groove and Bonafide. Soukis returns to his earliest musical roots at his popular ‘Greek Music Nights’ which he hosts and performs at the New York Open Center with an array of musicians playing traditional instruments. A dedicated teacher, Soukis has a large number of private students, some of whom are invited to participate in his master jam sessions at his private Manhattan studio. His music scores feature in a range of film genres from documentary to travelogue.