The Show Went On – Dimitris Chrisanthakopoulos / George Paloumpis – Music review and interview
‘The Show Went On’ is a beautifully emotional and poetic pop ballad. The piano and the strings join forces with a fairly live sounding drum beat, topped off with a gentle but clearly experienced and controlled vocal performance. The track builds in power and depth throughout the verses, then furthermore in the pre-chorus, and finally hitting that huge moment of strength for the chorus section – in the melody, the vocal rising, ascending through the notes, climbing up to the key change; everything climbs higher together, as a unit, which is wonderful to listen to.
The structure of this song is actually fairly unusual, there seem to be more than just the usual number of sections, and then a second vocal comes in and throws everything up in the air even further. It’s really beautiful to listen to, it has a theatrical sound to it that suggest it might be well suited or welcome within a musical theatre piece, or even a movie.
The vocal performance was well controlled at the beginning, when it was soft, almost whispering the lyrics to you, but as you move through the song the performance just gets better and better. It’s really a sensational singing voice, so much strength and emotion, and this is really an artist who has mastered the art of vocal control – those notes are found and stretched and played with, all with no damage to the sound at all; quite the opposite. It sounds fantastic, and it really stands out as the sort of song that would send shivers down your spine if you were to hear it being performed live.
The lyrics and the whole structure of this piece is really interesting and intriguing as well. There’s a story slowly building and revealing itself throughout the lines. The emotion that has been weaved into every element of the music and the vocal is consistently striking, and so all of this really works in favour of bringing the track into the now – making it very new, fresh, relevant, and exciting to witness.
By Rebecca Cullen
Exclusive Interview
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
Dimitris: I was born and raised in the small city of Patras, Greece. At 18 I moved to Athens, Greece’s capital, where I live and work ever since. As for being an artist, I guess I could quote John Lennon on that: “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans”. You see, music was only a hobby for me for many many years: I studied piano for a long time [it was my parents who sent me to piano lessons when I was 8], but didn’t think I would ever become a professional musician. Then little by little I got deeper into performing, teaching, improvising etc., until music became my passion, then profession, then full time occupation, and finally a way to communicate and express myself through my own work. I could say that songwriting just came out naturally, when the time was right for me to take it to the next level. That’s why I decided to avoid the typical “boy-loves-girl-gets-hurt” theme, and went for a more “personal”, “lifeview” kind of song: The Show Went On (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdC0Ila2Dqs)
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
Dimitris: Well, it’s my real name! My full name is Dimitris Chrisanthakopoulos, which is really hard for non-Greek people to spell, let alone pronounce properly. A nice lady in Budapest, where I gave a piano-recital in 2010, told me that she had to rehearse my name over and over many times, so that she could present me to the Hungarian public after her initial speech! For a lot of colleagues and friends out there I’m still just “Dimitris”, or “the Greek guy with the funny name”.
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
Dimitris: I’m totally in favor of online music sharing. Heck, I was downloading/sharing mp3’s long before it became mainstream. Remember Napster and Kazza? It was like 15 years ago. Back then, the internet was really slow, and you had to wait for maybe 2-3 hours to download a full 3minute track! So now that I am on the other side of music-making, it would be ridiculous to be against it.
Exposed Vocals: 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?
Dimitris: Well, I’ve only just released my first single with a major record company here in Greece (POLYMUSIC) so I don’t consider myself as seasoned enough to give advice to other people 🙂 But, the one thing I’ve learned thus far is this: Believe in yourself, do not fear of being exposed, invest as much as you can in what you do, and then try, and fail, and try again! Other than that, I think that the most important thing is to respect your audience. The way I think of it, when someone gives you the time and attention to listen to what you do, you must have something to say to them, something to give them in return. You must really believe that you are not wasting their time just to show-off, become famous, rich, or whatever. You must honestly believe that what you “say” deserves to be told and heard.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Dimitris: Trial and error! I start with improvising, or with a small melodic or rhythmic fragment that sticks to my mind, and then I expand it and give it a better shape until I’m satisfied with it. I know I’m done when I feel that nothing more can be added or removed from it. With lyrics, it’s the other way around: I tend to write and write really long verses about a certain subject, and then discard everything that doesn’t fit into the song or does not add anything new to it.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
Dimitris: No, not yet. It’s just my FB page for now (https://www.facebook.com/dimitris.chrisanthakopoulos), and our label’s site where people can contact us (http://polymusic.net/wp/?release=the-show-went-on-dimitris-chrisanthakopoulos-george-paloumpis-d0880176). We are in the process of launching our song in as many platforms as possible, but for now you can find us on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdC0Ila2Dqs), Spotify ( https://open.spotify.com/album/6JBi4Y7tUyijUocSeMgqze), and of course Exposed Vocals (http://www.exposedvocals.com/video/15599/the-show-went-on-dimitris-chrisanthakopoulos-george-paloumpis) 😉
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
Dimitris: I would invest it somehow so that I wouldn’t have to worry about earning a living any more, and then I would take the next 30 years off, travelling, learning new things, and focusing on music making!
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
Dimitris: As I said before, I’m still rather new to this so I’m not sure yet. I think word-of-mouth is the best way for promotion now days. Mass communication seems to fail more and more often. And from what I’ve seen, it’s also important to have a strategy, a plan, a clear, “message” aimed at those more likely to receive it, or find it interesting.
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
Dimitris: I’m still deeply involved in promoting my first single – “The show went on”, so I dont have anything final to report for the moment. However, other than live gigs, there are 2 or 3 upcoming projects I’m currently working on: Another single, some instrumental tracks, music for an animation movie… But nothing really announcable for now.
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
Dimitris: Currently I am working as a music teacher, as a classical pianist, as an accompanist for ballet, opera etc., and as a session pianist for all kinds of gigs, so my everyday life is centered around music. Still, the world is such a big place, with so many things to see, and do. I don’t know for sure what I would be doing if I wasn’t a musician, but I have studied Finance, I did a Master’s in Cultural Administration, and currently I’m doing another bachelor’s in Media and Communication. I think I would do anything that would keep me interested and evolving as a person.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
Dimitris: I sleep less than I should 😉
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?
Dimitris: Not sure myself! But there will definitely be some more music released before the end of 2016. So stay tuned!
