What are you listening to? 
Desert blues, Boubacar Traoré and Ali Farka Touré. Apart from being great guitarists, their creativity in melding the blues into their traditional music, their unadorned, naturalistic voices and authenticity of their performance, are good examples of genuine folk expression.

Your all-time favourite albums? 
My favourite is Bob Marley’s One Love [The Very Best of Bob Marley & The Wailers]. The reason is simple: it makes me happy!

Musician you most admire?
Tommy Emmanuel. He combines musicality and virtuosity in a magical way. 

Favourite new artist(s)? 
Nefeli Fasouli, a talented young singer and beautiful human. We should expect notable things from her. 

Memorable musical encounter? 
My collaborations with Thanasis Papakonstantinou, an eminent Greek songwriter and performer. We have enjoyed incredible moments together and every concert with him is a unique experience. He is a poet.

First album you ever bought?
George Dalaras’ 50 Years of Rebetiko. 

What’s your hidden talent? 
I’m a motorcyclist and I think I’m a good motorcycle engineer. 

If you weren’t a musician, what would you be? 
A motorcycle engineer!

Read the review of Dimitris Mystakidis’ album Morso

This interview originally appeared in the April 2023 issue of Songlines. Never miss an issue – subscribe today