Sakis Gouzonis gave an interview to Exposed Vocals

Interview with multi-award-winning Greek composer Sakis Gouzonis

Interview by Rebecca Cullen
Senior Music Editor of Exposed Vocals
United States of America
Saturday, 29 April 2017

So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

First of all, I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to present my music and my thoughts to your readers. My name is Sakis Gouzonis, and I come from Greece. I am an electronic music composer, orchestrator, producer and performer. To this day, I have released 10 studio albums (100 original music tracks in total). It is very common for people to be attracted by seeing certain people exercising a specific gift. But that was not the case with me. No one in my family was a musician, and I had never been to a concert before. Then, one day, I found some cassettes at my parents' home with beautiful music on, which I had never heard before. It didn't take me long to fall in love with all the wonderful melodies and great orchestrations. When I was about twelve years old, I asked my parents to buy me an electronic keyboard. When I touched my first electronic keyboard for the very first time, I felt a strange power all over my body. I instantly understood that music was and will always be my special gift. I can still remember myself sitting at my parents' home in Elassona, Greece, spending countless hours every day teaching myself how to play and compose original music.

Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

First off, you must have great music. Booking gigs and getting airplay without having great music is going to be really tough. Have a quality website, not just profiles / pages on various social media, but an official website, where music professionals will be able to find more information about you and listen to your music. When you contact music professionals, keep your e-mails as short as possible and to the point. Put your official website and a few press quotes within your e-mail. Be kind, patient and persistent.

Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?

I am a human too, and humans make mistakes. Mistakes are very important learning tools. They show me that there is still room for growth. If I make a mistake during a live performance, I keep playing as if nothing has happened.

Do you tour? Has anything interesting happened on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?

Up to now, I have performed more than a thousand concerts. People of all ages and backgrounds have come to my live performances, and I feel really blessed. I definitely like the studio and the creative process. But my favorite part has always been communicating with my audience. I love the tremendous energy on stage, the give-and-take with my listeners. I really enjoy the smiles on my fans' faces each time they come to see me perform live. Being able to inspire people from all over the world and change their lives for the better is a beautiful gift for which I am really grateful.

Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?

I use the Korg Triton Studio to compose and orchestrate music; the number of its professional sounds and effects is really stunning. For studio monitors, I use the Sennheiser HD 600 headphones, which are engineered for the true audiophile. For live shows, I use the Yamaha MG 16/6 FX mixing console along with the Mackie SRM450 portable powered loudspeakers; their professional sound quality and indestructible portability have made them a live sound legend. One piece of hardware I'm still looking to add to my collection now is the Korg Kronos X. Acquiring the Korg Kronos X is one of my dreams.

How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

I have my own official website, which I promote on a daily basis. Also, I have my own e-newsletter, which helps me to keep in touch with my existing fans and acquire new ones. In addition, I use a few music social networking sites, which have been very helpful so far. And I always try to get my music into popular websites and blogs, and to get as much radio airplay as possible.

If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (dead or alive) where and who would it be with? Why?

I would love to perform with Vangelis on a European tour. When I first listened to his electronic music, my life took a whole new direction.

So, what's next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

My 10th studio album, Amazing Space, was released just a few weeks ago, so I am in the process of promoting it both online and offline. As always, I worked very hard to produce a quality album with excellent music compositions and powerful orchestrations.

If you weren't making music, what would you be doing?

Apart from an artist, I am also an English teacher in Greece. As an English teacher, I have always loved the power of words. Great speeches, poems, lyrics, novels and short stories have touched and moved many people throughout the human history. People frame words, and words in turn impact people. This relationship has always been of interest to me.

What should fans look forward to in the next year or so?

Fans should look forward to a new studio album featuring original electronic music, plus some gigs in Greece. For more details, they will have to visit my official website.

Any shout-outs?

I would like to give a shout-out to both my online and offline fans for their continuous love and support, and tell them that I will keep producing beautiful electronic music. Given the opportunity, I would also like to invite your readers to visit my official website, which is https://www.sakisgouzonis.com. My official website is full of beautiful electronic music and other interesting material. People from over 100 countries / territories visit it every month.