Dimitris Lappas

Dimitris Lappas was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1973.

His first contact with performing on stage came at the age of just 9 in Australia, playing the bouzouki. At the age of 11 he moved to the city of Thessaloniki, where he continued to be involved with music until he was 16. He then moved to Brussels to attend guitar lessons, and in 1997 he went to Sofia where he collaborated with Ilias Klonaridis and the orchestra Alternative Bulgarian Orchestra.

His great love for music and his desire to explore “folk-style music” and maqam modes led him to Istanbul, where he lived for four years and began collaborations with musicians from the city. Some of these included the Turkish Cypriot singer Ziynet Sali, the musical group Café Aman İstanbul, the orchestras of the state television channels TRT1 and TRT2, clarinet soloist Vasilis Saleas, as well as the A la Turka Pop Star Orchestra, performing concerts throughout Turkey.

He has long-standing and stable collaborations with renowned composers, lyricists, musicians, and singers such as Vasilis Lekkas, Eleni Vitali, Giorgos Dalaras, Dionysis Savvopoulos, Sotiria Leonardou, Nikos Dimitratos, Petros Dourdoumbakis, Pantelis Thalassinos, Arleta, Lefteris Papadopoulos, Dimitris Starovas, Mimis Plessas, Haris Alexiou, Nikos Papazoglou, Sokratis Malamas, Lizeta Kalimeri, Melina Kana, Giannis Haroulis, Ferhat Gocer, Eleni Tsaligopoulou, Thanasis Papakonstantinou, the rock opera Alexander, Gerasimos Andreatos, Apostolos Rizos, Makis Seviloglou, Kostas Anastasiadis, Giotis Kiourtsoglou, Tricoolore, and others.

He has written music for theatrical performances and composed musical works such as Trilogy, Lapino, Bouzouki Swing, and others. He has also taught seminars as a soloist, mainly on topics such as approaches to improvisation based on folk modes and “urban folk music,” at venues such as Yeni Mosque (Yeni Tzami), the World Congress of Scientists in Ayvalik in 2010, the Terminus Brasserie in France, and elsewhere. He is the founder of the musical ensemble LAPINO PROJECT (a mix of jazz, funk, and fusion with an Eastern approach).

He has more than 5,500 participations in live, television, and radio appearances worldwide, as well as in recordings as a musician, composer, producer, and arranger.

Main instruments:

Acoustic, electric, fretless and classical guitar; bouzouki; oud; tzouras; baglamas

Secondary instruments:

Bass, drums, synthesizer