It is quite a rare thing to find a debut album, by a non US/UK artist, to have such an impressive array of musical guest vocalists. But that is what happened in 2003, with Sigmatropic & internationally acclaimed debut: ‘Sixteen Haiku & Other Stories’. This album had an astonishing 20 guest musicians singing the Haiku poetry of Nobel laureate George Seferis on a spellbinding musical odyssey. Diverse artists such as Robert Wyatt, Mark Eitzel, Howe Gelb, Alejandro Escovedo, Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth), Cat Power & Laetitia Sadier (Stereolab), to name a few, appeared on a beautiful sprawl of music created by main Sigmatropic henchman Akis Boyatzis. This haunting soundtrack-like album was exotic & far removed from the customary musical travails of the acclaimed guests. Nevertheless they all agreed in unison that they were honoured to be apart this dazzling fusion of Mediterranean folktronica with its swirly twinkly electronica. It was a challenge they enjoyed & cherished. Armed with the international acclaim of the album Akis Boyatzis embarked on producing & writing a major part of Carla Torgerson’s (Walkabouts) solo debut ‘Saint Stranger’ (Glitterhouse). His talent is etched all over this album which has some sublime moments of Can-like tinged grooves. A twee Country Folk album it isn’t! On the new Sigmatropic album ‘Dark Outside’, it is immediately apparent that Akis Boyatzis is in a buoyant mood & is making a mark as a great singer as well. The ‘Sixteen Haiku & Other Stories ‘is more of a themed album and as a long musical odyssey that it is, it only featured Boyatzis on several vocal tracks. On ‘Dark Outside’ Akis Boyatzis unveils a mature & compact contemporary album balanced between his own & guest artists’ vocal duties. There is an additional Sigmatropic member introduced as well, vocalist Anna Karakalou, who injects a breathy & sensual tone. There is a sterling guest cast as well with vocal participations from: Robert Fisher (Willard Grant Conspiracy), Howe Gelb, Carla Torgerson (Walkabouts) & Jim Sclavunos (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds / Grinderman / Vanity Set). Mixed by Ian Caple (Tindersticks, Tricky), ‘Dark Outside’ is a fluid album that combines the dreamy aspects of Electronica & Rock elements together. Robert Fisher excels in participating in 2 tracks as you have never heard him before! In ‘Song In My Wallet’ he is in a Gospel toned & commanding role singing over a majestic toe-tapping groove, as in ‘Blue Side Of The Sun‘ we find him engaged in Eighties Power Pop mode. A stern Howe Gelb is in a Trip-Hop vibe together with Anna Karakalou in ‘White’ as Jim Sclavunos delivers ‘Ours At Least’ with the aplomb reminiscent to Michael Gira’s legendary ‘mellow’ Swans phase. But Akis Boyatzis does complement the visitors contributions with some great vocal deliveries of his own, such as on the magical & playful EE Cummings poem ‘Maggie And Milly and Molly And May’, the stark & sombre intro ‘Position One’ or the tight & spiky ‘New Life’.

Sigmatropic 12” is a very limited (400 copies only) release which sits alongside the cd album of the same name. It features 5 exclusive tracks with guest artists participating on different tracks from what they have done on the album. The 12” features mark mulcahy who does 2 of the 5 tracks then 1 each by the following artists: carla torgerson (walkabouts), edith frost and james william hindle. Radio plays from xfm, virgin fm and radio 3. Reviews in logo, cwas, rocksound, the fly and the wire.

“16 haiku & other stories” is based on the japanese chopped up poetry style haiku. The music is based on the work of the great nobel laureate george seferis. After this album was released in its original format in greece, early 2002, spurred on with its success akis boyatzis (sigmatropic) stuck his neck out enough to boldly extend an invitation to overseas musicians for an english version: it is an outstanding and diverse range of vocalists from both sides of the atlantic. The full guest vocal line up for “16 haiku & other stories” is truly awesome : robert wyatt, cat power, mark eitzel, alejandro escovedo, alex gordon (lincoln), john grant (the czars), edith frost, howe gelb (giant sand), james william hindle, simon joyner, pinkie maclure, mark mulcahy, lee ranaldo (sonic youth), martine roberts (broken dog), laetitia sadier (stereolab), james sclavunos (nick cave & the bad seeds / the vanity set), carla torgenson (the walkabouts), steve wynn. Initial copies will carry a bonus cd featuring alternate versions and remixes that are not on the album. Artists on the bonus disc are robert wyatt, edith frost, howe gelb and carla torgerson.