Demetrio Stratos facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Demetrio Stratos
Background information
Birth name	Efstratíos Dimitríou Ευστράτιος Δημητρίου
Also known as	Demetrio Stratos
Born	(1945-04-22)22 April 1945 Alexandria, Kingdom of Egypt
Died	13 June 1979(1979-06-13) (aged 34) New York City, U.S.
Genres	Progressive rock, art rock, experimental, world
Occupation(s)	Musician, lyricist, multi-instrumentalist, music researcher
Instruments	Vocals, piano, organ, keyboards, accordion, steel drums
Years active	1963–1979
Labels	Ricordi, Numero Uno, Cramps, Ascolto
Associated acts	I Ribelli, Area

Demetrio Stratos (born Efstratios Dimitríou, April 22, 1945 – June 13, 1979) was a Greek-Italian musician. He was a singer, played many instruments, and studied music deeply. He was best known as the lead singer and co-founder of the Italian progressive rock band Area – International POPular Group. Progressive rock is a type of rock music that often uses longer songs, complex structures, and influences from classical or jazz music.

Demetrio was born in Alexandria, Egypt, to Greek parents. He learned to play the piano and accordion when he was young. In 1957, he moved to Nicosia, Cyprus, and then to Milan, Italy, at age 17. There, he studied architecture and started his first band. In 1967, he joined the Italian beat band I Ribelli. Later, in 1972, he helped create the band Area.

Stratos made many recordings and performed in various countries like Italy, France, and the United States. He worked with famous artists such as John Cage, who was known for his experimental music. Demetrio was very interested in how the human voice works. He studied different ways to use the voice, including ancient singing styles and how language affects sound. He could make his voice reach very high notes and even produce two, three, or four sounds at the same time!

Demetrio Stratos passed away on June 13, 1979, in New York City, when he was only 34 years old. His goal was to free the voice from normal ways of singing and speaking. He believed that exploring the voice could help people express themselves more freely. Many people see his work as very important for new and experimental vocal techniques.

Biography

Early Life (1945–1971)

Demetrio Stratos was born as Efstratios Demetriou in Alexandria, Egypt, on April 22, 1945. His parents were Janis Demetriou and Athanassia Archondoyorghi. He lived in Alexandria for his first 13 years. During this time, he learned piano and accordion at the Conservatoire National d'Athènes. He also studied English at the British Boys School. Demetrio later said that growing up in Alexandria, a city with many different cultures, made him feel like a "porter" of cultures. He heard religious Byzantine songs, traditional Arabic music, and early rock and roll. These sounds had a big impact on him.

In 1957, due to political changes in Egypt, he moved to Nicosia, Cyprus. Two years later, his family joined him there. In 1962, Demetrio and his family moved to Milan, Italy. He studied architecture at the Politecnico di Milano University. In 1963, he started his first band. They played at student festivals and local clubs. One night, their singer couldn't perform, so Demetrio stepped in. This was the start of his singing career. Back then, he sang soul, blues, and rhythm and blues. He also worked as a keyboard player in Milan's recording studios.

In 1967, he joined the Italian beat band I Ribelli ("The Rebels") as their keyboard player. With I Ribelli, he recorded popular songs like "Pugni chiusi," which became a symbol of the 1960s in Italy. His fame quickly grew. In 1969, the band released their album, I Ribelli.

In 1970, Demetrio left I Ribelli. He formed a new group with English musicians and began focusing on his voice research. His interest in this started when he watched his daughter, Anastassia, as a baby. He noticed that children "play" with their voices before they learn to speak. But once they learn words, they lose some of the rich sounds they could make. Demetrio believed that "the child loses the sound to organize the words." This idea was key to his entire artistic journey. He wanted to explore the connection between language and voice.

In 1971, he released a solo song called "Daddy's dream." After this, he stopped making commercial music to focus on his experiments.

Area (1972–1978)

In 1972, Demetrio Stratos and drummer Giulio Capiozzo started the band Area. It was an Italian progressive rock and jazz fusion band. Jazz fusion mixes jazz with other music styles like rock. The band's members changed a bit at first. Soon, Patrizio Fariselli and Paolo Tofani joined, and Ares Tavolazzi became the bass player. Demetrio recorded many albums with Area. He also worked on solo projects with Gianni Sassi, who owned Cramps Records.

In 1973, Demetrio took part in the eighth Biennale de Paris, a big art exhibition. Area released their first album, Arbeit macht frei.

In 1974, Area toured in France, Portugal, and Switzerland. Demetrio became more and more interested in the sounds of the voice. He studied how important the voice was in Asian and Middle Eastern cultures. In Milan, he worked with artists like Gianni Emilio Simonetti and John Cage. John Cage was a famous experimental composer. Demetrio recorded Cage's "Sixty-Two Mesostics Re Merce Cunningham" using only his voice and a microphone. He performed this for many young people at festivals. Area also released their second album, Caution Radiation Area.

In 1975, Demetrio studied different music cultures and how people use their voices. He focused on vocal methods in East Asian music, especially overtone singing. This is a technique where a singer produces more than one note at the same time. He continued to explore the importance of the voice in Asian and Middle Eastern traditions. Area also released their third album, Crac!.

In 1976, Demetrio released his first solo album, Metrodora. This album showed the results of his vocal studies. Its name was inspired by Metrodora, a woman doctor from the 6th century. Area released their fifth album, Maledetti (Maudits), and toured in France and Portugal. Demetrio also performed a concert in Milan with other musicians. This live recording, Event '76, was released later.

During this time, Demetrio also studied psychoanalysis, which is about how the mind works. He researched the link between spoken language and the mind. He gave talks at the University of Padua in Italy, sharing his ideas on how to train the voice. He worked with doctors to study language and vocal techniques. Demetrio believed that the sounds from his vocal cords were like a musical instrument, connected to both language and the mind.

In 1977, Professor Franco Ferrero at the University of Padua studied Demetrio's vocal abilities. This led to two scientific papers. Demetrio also performed live in Milan.

Tran Quang Hai, a famous overtone singer, said that Demetrio learned from him in 1977. He said Demetrio learned his singing techniques in just two hours and then used them for his own research.

Area performing live in Castelmassa, Italy, August 1978

In 1978, Area changed record labels. They released their last album with Demetrio, 1978 Gli dei se ne vanno, gli arrabbiati restano!. Demetrio continued his solo work with Cramps Records, releasing Cantare la Voce. He performed in Paris and then in New York City, invited by John Cage. He was part of a show called "Event" by Merce Cunningham's dance company. In this show, Demetrio made amazing sounds using only his voice.

He also took part in "Sounday" by John Cage in Amsterdam, a ten-hour performance. He was also part of "John Cage's Train," where music was made on a special train filled with microphones and speakers. Area also went to the World Festival of Youth and Students in Havana, Cuba. There, Demetrio met Mongolian musicians to discuss East Asian vocal methods. After returning from Cuba, he recorded a sound poem called O Tzitziras o Mitziras, exploring the sounds of cicadas. He was also invited by John Cage to teach about the human voice at the University of San Diego in California.

Death

In January 1979, Demetrio recorded Le Milleuna, a long vocal piece. He also performed in Paris and Rome. He planned a show called "Rock'n roll Exhibition" to celebrate 1950s rock and roll musicians. A live recording of this show was released later. Demetrio also had a long interview where he explained his vocal techniques. He decided to leave Area to focus only on his vocal research and solo career. He taught a course on the voice at the Music Conservatory in Milan. His last solo concert was on March 30, 1979, in Monza, Italy.

In April, Demetrio Stratos was diagnosed with a serious blood condition called aplastic anemia. He was hospitalized in Milan and then moved to Memorial Hospital in New York City for treatment. His friends in Italy organized a concert to help pay for his medical costs. Many musicians agreed to play. This concert was planned for June 14, 1979. Sadly, Demetrio passed away in New York City on June 13, 1979, at age 34, while waiting for a bone marrow transplant. The official cause of death was a heart attack.

His death was a shock to many, especially those in experimental music. Some people even spread rumors that his unique vocal practices caused his illness. They thought he had pushed his voice too far, like a modern Icarus flying too close to the sun.

Demetrio's memorial is at the Cemetery of Scipione Castello in Italy. Every year since 2000, a music festival is held there to remember him.

Legacy

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The band Area, Demetrio Stratos, and other members were mentioned in the Nurse with Wound list, a list of influential musicians. After Demetrio's death, the Italian progressive rock band Premiata Forneria Marconi dedicated a song to him called "Maestro della voce" ("Master of the Voice"). A radio station in Milan, Radio Popolare, named its auditorium after Demetrio Stratos. There's also an event called "Review of Different Music – Homage to Demetrio Stratos" that supports new and innovative Italian music groups each year.

In 2002, another Italian progressive rock band, Picchio dal Pozzo, found old recordings of Demetrio from 1979. They used his voice in their 2004 album, Pic_nic @ Valdapozzo. On the song "Epitaffio," Demetrio's "Flautofonie" technique creates a beautiful melody, with soft music around it so his voice stands out.

The "Demetrio Stratos" International Prize for experimental music started in 2005. It gives awards to new musicians and projects that experiment with music, and also honors artists for their achievements in experimental music. Famous artists like Diamanda Galás and Meredith Monk have received career awards.

La voce Stratos ("The Voice Stratos") is a book and a documentary about Demetrio's life. It came out in 2009 and includes interviews with people who worked with him, plus photos and videos.

In 2009 and 2010, the remaining members of Area reunited for tribute concerts to Demetrio Stratos. His life truly represents the spirit of the 1970s. An Italian director, Gabriele Salvatores, has even announced plans to make a movie about music and politics in Italy during those years, focusing on Demetrio's life.

Vocal Research

Beyond just cool vocal tricks, Demetrio Stratos wanted to free the voice from being limited to just language and pretty songs. He noticed that humans have amazing ways to express themselves with their voices. But as we learn to speak, we often lose many of these natural vocal abilities. He believed that exploring the full potential of the voice could help people feel more free, both personally and politically. He wanted people to truly find their own voice.

If a new way of singing can exist, everyone should experience it, not just one person. It's an attempt to break free from being just listeners and watchers, which culture and politics have made us. This work isn't meant for passive listening, but as "a game where life is at risk."

Besides his work with Area, Demetrio's solo albums are full of his vocal experiments. He pushed the limits of what the human voice could do. He could reach 7,000 Hz (a measure of sound frequency), which is much higher than a normal singer. He could hold notes for a long time, change them smoothly, and jump from low to high notes very accurately. Using techniques like overtone singing, he could produce two, three, or even four sounds at the same time with just his voice, without any special equipment. He worked with the CNR (National Research Council) in Padua, Italy, on studies about different music cultures, vocal ranges, and Asian music chants.

When I looked at what I found during the sound production, the vocal folds (voice box) did not vibrate. The frequency (for a human voice) was very high (vocal folds usually can't go above 1,000–1,200 Hz). Despite that, Demetrio produced not one, but two non-harmonic sounds. One went down from 6,000 Hz, and the other went up from 3,000 Hz. So, one sound wasn't just a higher version of the other. I also saw him produce three sounds at the same time.

Demetrio's amazing research opened up new areas of study. He showed how the sound of the voice itself can be more important than the words it carries. He also explored the special, almost spiritual, power of the voice. His studies in phonetics (the study of speech sounds) helped him free his voice from normal limits. You can hear the results in his albums Metrodora and Cantare la Voce, where his voice sounds like a musical instrument.

The (human) voice in today's music is like a channel that doesn't send anything. Western singing has made modern singers almost unaware of the many ways the voice can be used, trapping them within certain language rules.

Voice as Meaning

Demetrio understood that the voice itself adds meaning beyond just the words. A change in how loud, high, or rough a voice sounds can change the whole meaning of what's being said. He believed the voice has its own way of communicating, and it should be listened to for its sound alone, not just for the words. When the voice is heard in its purest form, it can create new possibilities.

He explored sounds like crying, breathing, and noise, trying to get back to the raw, natural sounds of the body. He wanted to break free from the strict rules of traditional singing. In his songs like "Mirologhi I," "Mirologhi II," and "Criptomelodie Infantili," his voice whispers, moans, and imitates sounds. It becomes multiple voices at once, without a single singer, mixing male and female sounds.

Stratos sang the voice as a pure act of play, just voice as voice. He believed this challenged the idea that reason is only about words. It was about understanding through our bodies and senses.

The Voice's Special Power

Stratos often referred to the aulos, an ancient Greek flute that made two sounds and could put people in a trance. In his song "Flautofonie ed Altro," he used two non-harmonic voices to create a trance-like state in the listener, similar to what happens in religious ceremonies. He saw his voice-music as a modern ritual that could help listeners connect to their ancient roots.

Stratos' flute-voice plays a repeating theme, a musical idea that brings us to a shared experience, like a ritual. That repetition suggests something hypnotic that helps create a trance. Stratos seemed to want people to listen actively and generously. Through these ever-changing repetitions, he aimed to get rid of the "ego," which is key for a sacrifice. In this loss of identity, we (the listeners) connect with gods, Earth, and life.

In a time when traditional religious practices were changing, Stratos offered a new kind of sacredness, inspired by ancient Greeks. He believed that the connection between voice and music had lost its ritual power. Today, it's often used only to share human thoughts, not to create a deep connection between people and nature.

He studied the triplophonies and quadriphonies used by Tibetan monks and Mongolian singers. He called this a "ritual use of the voice," and he kept this purpose in his own work. He saw four ritual elements: repetition, escaping the ordinary, losing one's ego, and a sense of community. He believed that repetition could help people escape everyday life and find a deeper truth. This trance, where the ego and known world disappear, opened up new worlds. The result was a collective, mystical performance.

In Demetrio's work, we can see the idea of modern rituals in rock concerts. The audience isn't just watching a star. Instead, they experience the voice-music in a way that feels almost religious, making them feel connected to life itself.

Because of his amazing talent, learned techniques, and studies, Demetrio Stratos achieved vocal results that are still very difficult for others to reach. He was described as someone who broke down traditional single-voice singing by creating many sounds at once. He could produce two, three, or even four sounds at the same time. His vocalizations became like tiny orchestras, using only his voice without any technology. He truly took rock singing to new levels with his incredible vocal skills.

Discography

Demetrio Stratos released several albums and singles as a solo artist, and he also appeared on albums by other musicians.

Albums

Compilations and Live Albums

Singles

Videos

See also

• Art rock
• Electronic music
• Italian progressive rock
• List of overtone musicians
• Tuvan throat singing
• World music