Steps

“STEPS” is the debut duo album by Laouto player Vasilis Kostas and Violinist Layth Sidiq, bringing together the musical worlds of Greek traditional, Arabic and contemporary improvisation. The repertoire consists of original compositions that explore musical bridges between those two cultures and expands on the possibilities of what a duo can realize. From the Tigris river to the mountains of Epirus, Greece, the duo aims to experiment with new structures, challenge musical boundaries while recreating the repertoire at the moment for the audience to behold. Merging different sounds and techniques, the duo has toured the world in the past six years performing at renowned concert halls and academic institutions such as WOMEX, ADEM festival, Tufts University, Berklee College of Music, Montreal Jazz Festival and Carnegie Hall. The vision for this album is to inspire similar collaborations that focus on friendship, respect and the philosophy of improvisatory exploration that takes tradition into new territories.