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Music

 

Nikolas Asimos

Nikolas Asimos was a musician, composer, singer and lyricist who was mostly interested in rock and Greek folk music. He was one of the most talented Greek musicians of the 20th century. He was born on the 20th of August 1949 in Thessaloniki, but his family was originally from Kozani. He committed suicide on the 17th of March 1988.


In 1973, after studying philosophy at the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, he moved to Athens. It was there that he first started recording music. However, because he was disgusted by the way that recording companies functioned, he decided to record and sell his own music by himself, selling his CDs on the roads of central Athens, which makes him unique. This is why a lot of his songs were recorded with rather bad sound quality, since he was financially limited. However, even in the face of his struggles, he managed to become loved by the public, playing in boutiques in Plaka and cooperating with musical legends of the time. In 1978 he was drafted into the army, but he did not go as he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Later he claimed he did not have the disease, saying that he only said he had it in order not to go to the army, as he was against it.
In 1980-1981 he wrote his book entitled: “Anazitontas Krokanthropous”, which translates to “Looking for kronathropous”. “Krokanthropos” was a term first used by Asimos and it was referring to the idea of a man who is trying to free himself of everything that keeps his soul suppressed. Through this book, Asimos is said to be looking for other “krokanthropous” to get in touch with. However he never found any, which could have been one of the factors that led to his suicide through hanging. He also sold his book on the streets, not wanting to sell his thoughts to any publishers, regarding them as unworthy (after his death his book was officially published, which was against his will). Additionally a lot of stories are told about Asimos’ suicide. The most accepted one is that for 15 days before he hung himself, he kept a diary. Through his writing he was trying to find a reason to live, putting a big X at the end of each page for every day he found no reason to. On the 15th day he put his last X.
Politically, Asimos was left wing, as he strongly disagreed with the way capitalism operated/operates. This is one of the main reasons he did not want to co-operate with any of the publishing agencies. At some point he expressed an interest in anarchism, but however did not accept being an anarchist, not wanting to be stereotyped or trapped within one framework.
As for his songs, I strongly recommend his song “Mpataria” which means “battery”.

Ξερνάω τη μπαταρία

δεν εκτελώ εργασία
δεν θέλω ενημέρωση, τροφή και διασκέδαση
γουστάρω ελευθερία.
I belch the battery
I will not work
I do not want to be informed,  eat and party
I want to be free.

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