Sousamlis Panagiotis

Place of birth: Agiasos, Lesvos

Year of birth: 1944

Short biography:

Panagiotis Sousamlis was born in 1944 and is a professional musician. He plays the drums, but began his career as a trombone and euphonium player. His family included several musicians, one of them being his father, who: “…made (taught) many musicians, so many […]”.

As well as being a musician, Panagiotis Sousamlis also trained as a carpenter, in a school in Athens, in 1962: “In ’62 I went to Athens for a year, I went to a school, to study carpentry, and again in ’63, ’64. In ’64 I did my military service, and spent some time in Athens when I was dismissed. I worked in Athens as a musician and went to some of the suburbs, too. I worked in folk clubs, because, even now, my music is laika, folk, traditional. Of course, we also play more modern things, too, but it’s mainly folk […]. I went to Corinth, Nafplio – I worked there for two years, both winter and summer –, to Chios – I went there from Athens –, to Samos. In the winter, we worked mostly in Athens, and in the summer we went elsewhere.”

While in Athens, he had the opportunity to take music lessons in a Conservatory, for about 3 years. He had taken first lessons in music theory, however, from his cousin, Stratis Sousamlis, or “Selemis”.

In 1972 (two months after he got married), Panagiotis Sousamlis migrated to America, with his wife’s consent. While there, he worked as a musician in various clubs in Canada and New York. He returned to Agiasos in 1986.

Since then, he collaborated with the bands of Giannakoudakis and Nikos Kalaitzis, or “Bidagialas”. During the last few years, he and his new band have performed at various social events and festivals: “I came here (in 1986, from America), I found some musicians and we formed a band over here, sometimes it’s one group, sometimes another, and we go round the villages now, to festivals and weddings. It was two bands in particular. I worked with Giannakoudakis, two brothers, one plays the bouzouki and the other the guitar, for three or four years, and two or three years with “Bidagialas” (Nikos Kalaitzis). I’ve been with the new band for two years, now.”

The new band included: “Panagiotis Frantzis, or “Karvounaki”, from Asomatos, Panagiotis Limnaios, or “Psimenos”, from Ippeios, another man, Stratis Arapoglou, quite elderly, who’s from Gera, he was in America, too, he plays the bouzouki and sings, and Christos (Papanikolaou) from Vasilika, he plays the guitar but he lives in Athens, he only comes over in the summer.”

From 1986, when he returned to Lesvos, his repertoire has included: “We play the traditional and the modern laika [folk], mostly zeibekika, they ask for them, both the old folk, […] of course, the younger ones are more likely to dance a syrtos, and then move on to zeibekiko. Then they might ask for a karsilamas in between, and zeibekika, they ask for old smyrnaiika [songs from Smyrna].”